Parents as partners in education during COVID-19-related school closures in England: challenges and opportunities identified by parents with Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage

ABSTRACT Educational disruptions during COVID-19 in periods of lockdown have redirected attention to homes and parents as key partners in schooling. Educational literature explores multidimensional disadvantages faced by communities in England. COVID-associated school closures changed the relationship between school and home. Parents and family played an important role to provide support for their children’s education. There is little reflection on the experiences of parenting during this time of uncertainty. The paper focuses on the parenting experiences of Bangladeshi and Pakistani families with GCSE years children (years 7-11) in supporting their children’s education during periods of abrupt school closures. Qualitative data were collected during the third national lockdown from 19-families in England using semi-structured narrative interviews. We find that most of the parents were largely satisfied with the support provided through schools. However, resources were unevenly distributed, and the learning experience was non-interactive for many children. Parental anxiety for their children’s futures and education was high. Nevertheless, families adopted diverse strategies to support their children by taking a more active role in providing educational as well as socio-emotional support. Notable in these accounts were significant reflections from parents, who regardless of the adversities, experienced a strengthening of the family as a unit.