Parental Involvement in Homework During Covid-19 Confinement.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare parents' involvement in students' homework during COVID-19 confinement and their involvement in normal circumstances. METHOD 628 parents of elementary and high school students completed a questionnaire about their family and family involvement in their children's homework. To address the objective, data were examined using mean differences and analysis of variance. RESULTS As predicted, the COVID-19 situation led to more time spent doing homework for students, as well as higher levels of conflict and stress within the family. In addition, parents reported having increased their homework management during confinement in terms of emotional and motivational support for their children compared to normal circumstances. Finally, the data showed more conflicts and family involvement in the families of children with special needs compared to families of children without special needs. CONCLUSIONS The time spent in confinement posed many challenges to families' routines and the data indicated a lack of resources available for families to manage their children's tasks, as well as an increase in family stress and conflicts.