Find answers from parents about the positive and negative impact home-schooling had on them and their children aged 5-18.
We asked parents globally about the positives and negatives of homes-schooling. Find their answers about the personal and family impact here, as well as additional Physician perspectives.
Globally, 86% of the parents interviewed with children aged 5-18 participated in home-schooling due to the pandemic. Half of these parents home-schooled their children for more than 13 weeks due to the pandemic (49%). Three quarters of Brazilian parents (76%) along with 70% of US and 69% of Indian parents spent this time homeschooling their children.
Singaporean parents had the shortest period spent homeschooling, with 90% doing so for under 12 weeks total.
Of those parents who home-schooled their children, more women reported to be primarily responsible for education (78%) than men (52%) globally. Women’s primary role was reported the highest in Brazil (82%) and men’s primary role was reported the highest in France (64%).
For parents who had home-schooling responsibilities (sole or shared), 29% of women and 16% of men were not working prior to the pandemic.
Men reported to experience the biggest changes to their employment, with two thirds reducing or changing their hours (67%) in comparison to 56% of females. In addition, 17% of male and 15% of female parents left work during the pandemic.
Globally, more than 7 out of 10 parents enjoyed something about home-schooling their children (72%).
China was the only country where a greater majority of parents interviewed reported not to enjoy anything about their experience (53%), with only 47% enjoying it.
For those who did enjoy something about homeschooling, there were many logistical reasons around daily routines.
However, on a deeper level, the parents interviewed shared a number of reasons that made it enjoyable for them and their families.
Here's some of what they had to say....
Being able to see and be involved in their children's educational journey was important for many...
"I'm getting more involved with their school work, getting to know more on the areas that they are good at and struggling with and being able to be there for them as I have been a working mum throughout."
"I enjoyed watching my daughter focus and work hard on her schoolwork. She excelled."
"Seeing what my child was learning, having a glimpse into their school day that I wouldn't normally."
"I liked being able to see their pride when they learned something new, and seeing their accomplishments throughout the year."
"Being able to be in the lessons with him, so to speak. It was informative, eye opening and a little concerning in one particular teachers case."
"My middle child used to struggle with reading but home schooling meant I could bring him on."
Home-schooling also brought closer relationships as parents got to know and bond with their children better...
"I liked being much closer to my son, knowing his aspirations, his ideals, thoughts, way of thinking, and learning things from him made him enjoy that activity a lot"
"I love the way I bonded with my kids, it gives me joy."
"Being together during the difficult times. Took more care of each other by spending quality time and could check on children daily progress."
"Just sharing quality one on one time with my son."
"Being able to bond with my kid more often which really is a positive step towards building a healthy family."
"I enjoyed spending more quality time with my children. It made us much closer and a deeper understanding about each other."
Positives
Half of all parents interviewed report that spending more quality time with their family has been the most positive impact of home-schooling.
Enjoyment from learning or remembering things parents hadn’t learnt about in years (i.e. History/ science/ math) were second or third ranked as positives from home-schooling for India (54%), Brazil (48%), China (32%), UK (27%), Germany (26%) and France (25%).
Negatives
Fewer parents reported a negative impact of home-schooling on their well-being, notably lower in the US (34%), UK (33%) and France (27%).
Of those that did, having to update their knowledge to support their child’s curriculum subjects was the greatest negative impact globally (29%).
Balancing both work and home-schooling, getting children to do their work and limiting screens throughout the day were the three biggest challenges felt by parents globally when home-schooling their children.
Parents in China (40%) and Germany (26%) had high concerns over getting their children to exercise whilst in a home-schooling set up, ranking these challenges as second and third biggest respectively.
Helping their children with classwork was equal third for German parents (26%) and the second biggest concern for UK parents (34%).
The biggest concern felt amongst parents of children returning to the classroom is that they might contract the COVID-19 virus, reported by 44%. This is highest in Brazil (70%) and India (64%).
Masks being required is the secondary concern of all parents globally (38%) whilst their children being behind in their education is the third highest concern (32%).
The secondary highest concerns for parents in India is that their child will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to return (59%).
Parents in the UK are concerned the least about the return to school (30%), in comparison to Indian (2%) and Brazilian (5%) parents with no concerns.
For physicians, the largest concern they have is children being behind in their education (56%). They are also concerned about the potential of children contracting COVID-19 (42%) and the need for new protocols to be in place (42%).
Support of child vaccinations when, or if, approved in their country grows based on the age of children. Nine out of 10 physicians in all the markets interviewed support the vaccination for 12-17 year olds, apart from Germany (85%).
Overall, US physicians are most supportive of vaccinations across all age ranges if/when approved for them, however only 69% are supportive of vaccinating children age 0-1.
Physicians in Spain are the most supportive after US physicians. They are more hesitant regarding children aged 2-5, but have a similar perspective on children 0-1.
German physicians are the least supportive of vaccinations for all ages, with support not surpassing 50% for anyone under the age of 12.
Support from UK, Italian and French Physicians fall somewhere in the middle, ranging from 36% (for ages 0-1) and 74% (for ages 6-11).
