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Darmody, Kate and Mihalka, Ramona (2023) Parents’ voices through the pandemic: How a community action research project shaped a parent-child engagement programme. In: CARN Bulletin 25. CARN (Collaborative Action Research Network), Dublin, Ireland, pp. 14-18. ISBN 978-1-910029-96-1
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Abstract
The Early Learning Initiative (ELI), National College of Ireland, was developed to address the problem of educational underachievement in marginalized communities. Since 2008 it has been working in partnership with families, schools, and services in local communities in an area of socio-economic disadvantage. Community Action Research is the primary methodology employed in the development and implementation of programmes in ELI. Central to this approach is creating a learning community that works together to ‘nurture and sustain a knowledge-creating system’, based on valuing each other equally (Senge & Scharmer, 2001, 240). Involving all ELI stakeholders in the Action Research process supports the successful management of change, creating and sustaining the learning community (Bleach, 2013). This process has been in place since the outset, with the voice of the community stakeholders influencing ELI’s initial development through a community needs assessment, undertaken by the Dartington Social Research Unit (Axford & Whear, 2006). The voice of community stakeholders continues to influence the development and evolution of ELI’s programmes through ongoing use of the Action Research cycle of observe, reflect, act, evaluate and modify (McNiff & Whitehead, 2006).
From January 2020, Ireland was faced with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12th the country went into lockdown, and it was no longer possible to continue to deliver the range of supports offered by ELI to the local community. The team were required to quickly adapt to working from home, while developing novel provisions for their programme delivery. Barnardos, in their 2020 Back to School Survey, highlighted the challenges faced by parents nationally with their children home from school, the variations in levels of supports received from their child’s school, the discrepancy in access to required technology and parents’ anxiety about the return to school in September (Kelly, Fleming, Demirel and O’Hara, 2020). Research has also shown that this time had adverse implications for children and adolescents with higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety being reported (O'Sullivan, McGrane, Clark & Marshall, 2020). ELI recognised from the outset the difficult situation many families were facing. The organisation responded in a myriad of ways with each programme making individual adaptions to continue to reach children and families (ELI, 2021). One challenge ELI acknowledged was ensuring the families’ voices influenced our development and evolution through this time. ELI sought to understand the many challenges that families were facing and plan accordingly for future supports.
Thus, ELI began the process of reaching out to previous graduates of the ELI’s ParentChild+ home visiting programme, participants of which were families living in an area of socioeconomic disadvantage. Through texts, phone calls and letters where necessary ELI checked in to see how the parents and their families were doing and determining what supports they would need going forward. The study aimed to explore parents’ perspectives of their family’s wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and their experiences of home-schooling. The study also sought to obtain information on how ELI could support the families throughout the pandemic.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform > Community Development R Medicine > Diseases > Outbreaks of disease > Epidemics > COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- L Education > LC Special aspects / Types of education > E-Learning |
| Divisions: | Early Learning Initiative Publications |
| Depositing User: | Tamara Malone |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Oct 2024 08:39 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Oct 2024 08:39 |
| URI: | https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/7080 |
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