Supporting Online Learning in an Unfamiliar Language: Immigrant Parents and Remote Schooling during COVID-19

Abstract

The sudden burst of COVID-19 and the shift to remote schooling have posed a special challenge for families whose first language is not English. Engaging in a narrative inquiry, I tell stories of parents from three Chinese immigrant families and how they coped with young children’s remote schooling during COVID. I present the challenges immigrant parents face and the strategies they adopt to support their children. This inquiry offers useful insights into remote schooling during the pandemic by adding perspectives from immigrant parents, who can provide opportunities for educators to learn how to better support minoritized students.