Poster #44 - Latino’s Experiences with Remote Schooling During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Poster Session 14

Abstract

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced more than 50 million students and their families to adapt to remote schooling and manage their child’s learning. Most disrupted were communities of color who faced multiple and overlapping inequalities in digital and equipment access exposing and exacerbating pre-existing disparities. This study surveyed the experiences of Spanish-speaking Latino caregivers in a small rural school district as they navigated schooling their children during COVID school closures. A total of 104 caregivers responded to a survey assessing caregiver digital literacy and access, school support, caregiver-teacher relationship and communication, and caregiver values, expectations, and teaching efficacy. Findings highlighted wide disparities in digital access and availability of equipment or devices with over a third of participants reporting not being able to provide their children with the same level of support as before the pandemic. Moreover, the lack of digital literacy in the school required online platforms translated into missed assignments and more. Findings also highlighted that strong and supportive caregiver-teacher relationships were a linchpin in helping caregivers to navigate children’s instruction during remote instruction. While student learning losses have yet to be fully assessed, hints at the full impact of school closures for rural linguistically and culturally diverse families are available from other countries, and they suggest that learning losses will be much greater for children from disadvantaged families than the population at large.

Authors

• Rebecca Jane Sanchez, University of Houston
  Presenting Author

• Jorge Gonzalez, University of Houston

• Mariana Vazquez

• Francisco Usero-Gonzalez

• Jacquelin Anderson

• Stephanie Kriescher

• Jeff Carter

• Rosie Bumgardner