Asynchronous Distance Learning: Parents’ Purview

The goal of the study was to explore the scope of parental participation in junior high school education, particularly in the asynchronous modality. Specifically, parents’ perspectives, challenges, and contributions to children’s education were probed. Using social constructivism as a worldview, the study employed a qualitative phenomenological research design. Research participants comprised ten parents of junior high school students who were purposely selected based on the inclusion criteria as well as the appropriate ethical protocols of consent, anonymity, and confidentiality. Key informant interviews were conducted in the first quarter of 2022 in Barangay Colorado, Digos City. Three themes that describe the parents’ perceptions of the new normal education system were identified through thematic analysis of the qualitative data, including; saddening due to difficulty, requiring a positive attitude, and necessitating a positive change in attitude and mentality. The challenges faced by parents can be thematically described as; becoming passive, disinterest in studies, and constraints and limitations. Lastly, for the contributions given by the parents to their children’s studies under asynchronous distance learning, the themes are; reinforcing extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, giving support, and constructing a support system. It is hoped that these findings may be relevant for DepEd’s implementation of the self-learning modules.