一、简介
2019 年底爆发的 COVID-19 扰乱了全球大多数学校的常规学校教育。为保证教育的持续发展,学生在家中通过网络技术(包括同步或异步等多种形式的网络学习)参与在线学习,成为最有效的应急措施之一。但是,COVID-19 大流行期间的在线学习与疫情爆发前后的情况存在显着差异 [
1 ,
2]。学生和教师还没有准备好进行长时间的全学科在线学习,但学校必须在短期内从传统的面对面学习过渡到技术驱动的在线学习。学生、教师和家长缺乏对技术使用、在线学习和培训的支持 [
3],并且没有足够的知识和经验来处理在线学习过程中的问题。小学生的家长是必不可少的参与者之一,决策者儿童参与在线学习,尤其是低年级的小学生。由于数字媒体的能力有限,在线接触并不安全,也不存在学习适当的内容。由于数字媒体的能力有限,在线学习过程中可能存在不安全感、不恰当的内容,过多的媒体使用可能导致健康问题和风险。结果,父母面临着巨大的压力[
4]。此外,他们需要花费更多的时间和精力来支持、协助和监督孩子的在线学习。研究表明,COVID-19 大流行对幼儿(11 岁以下的儿童)的学习产生了显着的负面影响 [
5 ]。小学生缺乏学习自主权,难以控制学习管理系统。在线学习过程中,家长更需要支持和帮助[
6 ]。作为他们的代理教育者,父母承受着巨大的压力[
7 ]。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间,父母在孩子的在线学习中发挥了重要作用 [
8 ],但在 COVID-19 大流行期间,父母对孩子使用在线学习完成学业的看法参差不齐。一方面,家长认可在线学习,学生通过在线学习取得成果。此外,疫情爆发导致家长留在家里,为家长参与孩子的在线学习创造了条件,促进家长参与孩子的教育过程,有利于他们的发展[
1 ,
9]。另一方面,疫情期间的在线学习也有很多家长担心的问题,比如长时间看电子屏幕导致孩子的眼睛健康问题,以及对接入设备的需求给家庭带来的经济压力[
10 ]。
疫情期间的在线学习经历将影响未来家长对在线学习的选择,因此有必要进一步明确影响疫情期间家长对在线学习的认知和态度的关键因素。在后疫情时代,将传统学校学习与在线学习相结合的混合式学习很可能成为一种普遍且可接受的学习方式[
11 ],家长可能面临家长学习方式的多重选择。
2. 在 COVID-19 的背景下在线学习和家长的选择意愿
在线学习(e-learning或远程学习)是指利用计算机、网站、视频会议或虚拟教室等多种电子媒体和通信技术来实现教育目的[
12、13 ]。在线学习是一种重要的学习方式。它可以克服教师和课堂资源不足的问题,降低教育成本,并提供更好的可达性。虚拟学习环境可以减少学生的害羞、减少缺勤并促进学生积极参与课堂教学[
14]。调查发现,COVID-19 大流行期间的远程学习在高等教育中取得了成功。它不会导致学习成绩不佳。学生对老师、学习过程和工具感到满意 [
15 ]。然而,现有的在线学习研究更多地关注在线学习过程中的学生、教师、技术和政府政策,而很少关注家长[
16 ]。尽管一些研究还指出了大流行期间父母参与学生学习的重要性,但主要关注的是特殊教育学生父母的动机和作用以及他们对学生在线学习的参与 [
17 ,
18 ,
19 ,
20 ]。现有研究缺乏对小学生家长对在线学习的看法和评价的系统研究[
21 ],尤其是在 COVID-19 大流行期间在线学习之后。因此,有必要进一步研究家长对在线学习的认知、态度和选择意愿。
此前,大量的研究模型和理论框架已被用于研究在线学习的选择、采用和持续使用等行为意图。例如,广泛用于预测对各种信息技术创新的接受程度的技术接受模型(TAM)也经常用于研究学生使用技术和在线学习的意图[
22 ]。学生感知到的技术易用性和实用性被理论化为他们的行为意图和实际技术使用的决定因素 [
23]。其他例子,如技术接受和使用统一理论(UTAUT)、自主决定理论、信息系统连续性模式与 TAM 和 TPB 信息系统成就模型(IS 成功模型)等常见的和相关的研究。然而,这些模型和理论框架主要关注影响在线学习系统采用和使用的因素,而忽略了这些因素或在线学习系统的使用与学习结果之间的关系[
24 ]。此外,这些研究主要是以在线学习系统的直接用户(主要是学生)为主要研究对象,缺乏对小学生家长选择意愿的调查。
基于价值的采用模型(VAM)用于分析用户对技术和服务的使用意愿及其背后的影响因素,这些因素影响消费者对技术和服务的感知价值和接受程度。因此,收养意图受到影响[
25 ]。收益和损失是感知价值的两个关键因素,“收益”分为有用性和享受性,“收益和损失”分为技术性和感知费用[
25 ]。一些研究证实,在研究消费者的采纳意向和行为意向方面,VAM 模型比 TAM 和 IS 具有更好的解释力和更准确的预测力[
24 ,
26 ]。
该模型与有关小学生家长选择在线学习意愿的研究具有一定的一致性。家长选择在线学习的意向是指家长权衡学生参与在线学习的得失,综合评估在线学习的价值,进而决定孩子是否选择在线学习。在本研究中,VAM 模型可以根据实际的技术应用场景进行修改和扩展。首先,模型中的“采用意向”是本研究的选择意向。其次,“感知价值”是对家长在线教育体验的综合评价。在以往关于在线学习和用户认知与观点的文献中,
12、26、27、28、29 ]。_
_ _
_ _
_ _ 因此,模型中使用满意度的概念来表示“感知价值”。影响学习者满意度的因素有很多[
12 ]。本研究将这些因素分为“感知收益”和“感知牺牲”两个方面,
如图1所示。
图 1. COVID-19 大流行背景下小学家长在线学习的分析框架。
三、影响家长选择在线学习意愿的因素
We have sorted out the analysis framework of primary school parents’ intention to choose online learning in the pandemic context. The results show that the key to studying the mechanism of their choice of online learning intention is to clarify the perceived gain and loss factors that influence parents’ satisfaction with online learning. The concept of satisfaction comes from the measurement of customer satisfaction by enterprises and is the result of a comparison between expectation and reality [
30]. Later, the concept of satisfaction was used in many fields. Parental satisfaction refers to the comparison between the quality of education obtained by parents as guardians of students and the expected quality of education in actual school education [
31]. Satisfaction is an important motivation for using an online learning system. In addition, parents are usually not the primary administrators of their children’s formal education, but parents’ satisfaction is of great concern to school administrators and teachers [
21]. Analysis of both the studies found that the factors affect online learning satisfaction very much, including the perception of online learning system performance evaluation (usefulness), ease of use, online learning cost, and risk factors, such as logic. These factors can be divided into performance evaluation, perceived ease of use, perceived cost, and perceived risk of four classes.
3.1. Performance Evaluation
The technical usefulness of perceived online learning systems has a significant impact on parents’ satisfaction [
32,
33]. The usefulness of parents’ perception of technology is judged directly by students’ academic performance. Therefore, parents’ perception of students’ academic performance is positively correlated with parents’ satisfaction [
31]. Online learning during the pandemic is mainly for students not to miss classes, so the performance evaluation of students’ academic performance is one of the important factors affecting parents’ satisfaction with students’ online learning.
Successful online learning requires students to possess self-management skills, including the abilities and characteristics of planning, time management, and appropriate emotional management. Students’ self-management ability has a positive impact on online learning intentions [
34]. Students’ self-management ability is a common concern for parents, especially young pupils who are learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents are concerned that students cannot maintain self-discipline during the online learning process and that students will have difficulty concentrating and learning efficiently due to long online classes [
21,
35]. Therefore, the evaluation of students’ self-discipline is related to their learning performance.
Students’ academic performance is also related to the online learning environment. Studies have shown that environmental adaptation of online learning is a key determinant of users’ self-efficacy, and a good environmental adaptation experience will increase users’ motivation to use [
36,
37]. The online learning environment includes both explicit physical environment factors (such as a computer and network infrastructure, network learning platforms, resources, and equipment tools, etc.) and implicit psychological environment factors (such as interpersonal relationships, cultural atmosphere, etc.), as well as the corresponding learning support and service system. The suitability of the online learning environment for learners during the pandemic affects learners’ learning performance.
In addition, teachers’ support for online learning affects students’ performance [
38,
39,
40]. Teachers, as the main guiders and participants in students’ learning process, play an important role in both an online learning mode and in traditional classroom learning. Parents expect more support and communication from schools or teachers to ensure that their children can learn normally at home. When they do not receive the expected support, parents’ satisfaction decreases [
9].
3.2. Perceived Ease of Use
Ease of use of technology is also an important factor influencing online satisfaction [
27,
41]. The technical problems in online learning make parents less confident in supporting their children [
42]. Some studies show that parents have low media technology ability or heavy tasks dealing with students’ online learning technical problems. As a result, parents are less satisfied with students’ online learning process during the pandemic [
43].
3.3. Health Risks
The impact of the use of digital devices on children’s health has always been a research area for scholars, and it is also the focus of parents’ attention to online learning. Parents worry that their children’s long-term exposure to computers, mobile phones, or TV will lead to poor eyesight [
44], and that their children’s lack of human interaction will lead to increased loneliness due to long hours of online study. It may exacerbate mental health problems in children [
43,
45].
3.4. Perceived Cost
During the outbreak of online learning, parents worried that households’ equipment (computers, pads, or smartphones, etc.) and learning environment could not meet the needs of online learning. Especially for families with multiple children or parents who need to work at home, not having enough equipment means that people must share or buy a new terminal, and parents and children lack independent work and study space. These situations cause stress and distress to parents [
7]. In addition, some studies have concluded that online learning requires parents to pay more time and energy supervising children’s learning and helping with their homework, which brings extra pressure on parents [
46]. Therefore, parents’ perceived cost (mainly including money, time, and effort) is a factor affecting satisfaction.
Based on the above analysis, the influencing factors of elementary school students’ parents’ satisfaction can be divided into cognitive gains and perceived benefits of two kinds. For parents of students, learning performance evaluation and perceived ease of use are perceived as benefits. Teachers’ support, parents’ discipline evaluation of students, and the learning environment adaptation degree affect students’ learning results. Therefore, these three factors are a prerequisite for the performance evaluation of factors; perceived cost and perceived risk are a perceived sacrifice, the benefit of a perceived risk is primarily a health risk, and perceived costs include the cost of learning to learn and parents’ time and effort. There could be more factors affecting parents’ satisfaction, especially in the new pandemic under special circumstances, in such a large, and for a long time centralized, discipline of online learning. The factors influencing the evaluation of primary school parents’ satisfaction with online learning have become more complex and diversified. So, it is necessary to explore further the factors influencing parents’ intention to choose online learning during the pandemic and the influencing mechanism of these factors in their intention to choose.
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su14148269