A poll released April 21 by a school choice advocacy nonprofit found that since the coronavirus outbreak has caused many brick-and-mortar school closures, 52 percent of parents have a more favorable opinion of homeschooling.
EdChoice, a national organization that advocates for state-based school choice programs, joined with technology company Morning Consult to survey American K-12 parents on the topic of how the coronavirus crisis has affected them and their children, particularly regarding education:
Because many more American parents are engaged in at-home schooling with their children, the survey asked, “How have your opinions on homeschooling changed as a result of the coronavirus?”
Among parents participating in the poll, 52 percent said their view of homeschooling was “more favorable,” with 28 percent labeling their opinion as “much more favorable,” and 24 percent stating their view was “somewhat more favorable.”
Of those parents who responded with a “less favorable” opinion of homeschooling, 18 percent said their view was “somewhat less favorable” and 8 percent said it was “much less favorable,” while 22 percent either did not know their view or had no opinion.
When parents were asked “how prepared” they felt to facilitate their children’s online learning, 71 percent said they felt prepared, with 38 percent stating they felt “very prepared” and 33 percent responding they felt “somewhat prepared.”
Among the parents, 14 percent replied they felt “not that prepared,” and 7 percent said they were “not at all prepared,” while 8 percent had no opinion.
According to the survey, 54 percent of parents are concerned about their child missing schoolwork during the closures, with 33 percent “very concerned” and 21 percent “somewhat concerned.”
Additionally, 43 percent of parents said they were “very concerned” about their child “missing instruction time,” and 26 percent said they were “somewhat concerned.”
Of those surveyed, 43 percent said they were concerned about “making up for free or reduced meals at home,” with 25 percent “very concerned” and 18 percent “somewhat concerned.”
However, 45 percent of parents said they were not concerned about making up meals at home, with 17 percent stating they were “not that concerned” and 28 percent responding they were “not at all concerned.”
A higher percentage of parents responded with concerns about the cancellation of afterschool activities or other programs due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Among those surveyed, 61 percent expressed concern about the cancellation of afterschool activities, with 35 percent “very concerned” and 26 percent “somewhat concerned,” while 26 percent said they were not concerned.
Most parents expressed concern about their children getting exposed to the COVID-19 infection at school, with 48 percent stating they were “very concerned” and 19 percent saying they were “somewhat concerned.”
According to EdChoice, the survey was conducted April 10 and 11 with 510 parents of school-age children who are part of a larger nationally representative sample of 2,201 adults.