Parent Chats in Education System: During and after the Pandemic Outbreak

Abstract

Digital technology has significantly changed the face of education by, among other things, creating many communication channels between the participants in the process. This study reveals the role of parent chat rooms in supporting the learning process. The pandemic experience has shown that parent chat rooms can serve a controlling and regulatory function, noting problems and inconsistencies in the learning system. The chats contain background routine messages related to informing and “events”, that is, messages of bewilderment, resistance, elation, and other emotional reactions. A total of 143 chats were analyzed, and 326 communication events were identified. During the regular period, the basic topics, including chat rules and regulations (22%), homework (20%), school activities and holidays (24%), and behavioral problems (24%), were evenly distributed, while during the distance learning period, the assignment problems (36%) and technical problems (28%) came to the fore. In the traditional offline period, parents are not direct participants in the educational process, so the information in the chats sometimes comes in a one-sided or distorted form; however, parental activity can serve to improve the educational system and monitor the processes taking place.