According to the latest survey conducted by The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), more than 80% of primary school parents felt stressed when supporting their children in online learning during the pandemic. In particular, lower-income families were less likely to engage in their children’s online learning due to a lack of digital resources and skills.

The survey was conducted in two phases from 17 February to 15 November 2021 by the Department of Education Policy and Leadership (EPL). In the first phase, the research team sent the questionnaire to all government and aided primary schools in Hong Kong and collected 141 schools' responses to examine the overall implementation of online learning in schools. Next, the team purposively selected eight schools for a case study to explore the challenge all parties faced at home and school during the pandemic. In total, 2,630 questionnaires were received and in-depth interviews were conducted with 139 stakeholders in primary schools, including principals, teachers, parents and students. 

Among 755 parent survey responses, more than 80% of parents reported feeling stressed to help their children with revision, balancing their personal work with their children’s learning support, and helping them solve technical problems. Meanwhile, lower-income families receiving subsidies under the School Textbook Assistance Scheme (STAS) faced relatively high pressure in handling children’s emotional behaviours, monitoring their discipline during online classes and managing online learning expenses.

Table 1：Source of parental stress for children’s online learning 

In addition, STAS families’ support in digital resources and home environment, as well as parental digital literacy, were significantly lower than non-STAS families. Only about 30% of STAS families reported that they were confident in identifying the problem and providing technical support for their children in online learning. Yet, STAS families also had a relatively low parental engagement rate in online learning. 

Table 2：Parents’ digital literacy

A total of 150 questionnaires were also collected to explore the difficulties and challenges teachers encountered during online learning and teaching. Over 50% of teachers contacted parents by phone, via video conference, or met face-to-face during class suspension, increasing to an average of four or more times per month. Taking a class of 30 students as an example, class teachers needed to contact parents more than 100 times a month to maintain close contact with them. The survey also found that teachers still contacted parents more frequently after class resumption than before.

Table 3: Number of parent contacts per month by teachers

Dr Trevor Lee Tsz-lok, Assistant Professor of EPL, who was in charge of the survey, said that many parents interviewed had reported that the difficulties in supporting their children’s learning during class suspension were not limited to online activities, but more about what happened offline. For example, apart from their work and family commitments, parents had to take care of their children's tight schedules of online classes and various new arrangements, which put pressure on them in terms of time management. 

He added, “Online learning also reflects the phenomenon of ‘educational inequality’. Lower-income families are deprived in terms of digital resources and digital literacy. The more serious problem is the lack of a suitable learning environment at home and the relatively low level of parental engagement in their children’s learning.”

Dr Lee suggested the authorities provide schools with additional funding and more flexibility to use resources strategically in different school circumstances, such as employing additional staff, upgrading digital resources and technologies, supporting students from lower-income families, streamlining curriculum and teaching strategies, and strengthening home-school partnerships. He also agreed with some of the school principals interviewed that the authorities should take the lead in conducting a comprehensive review of the challenges and experiences of learning and teaching during the pandemic and formulating a long-term policy for the development of education in the future. 

Appendix: Survey Findings

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