Parents as teachers: tension field in rural and urban scenarios of Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

Since the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the stop of our so-called essential activities, including activities, remote emergent education was the alternative for attending students, having their own parents as guardians, those responsible for carrying out the educational companionship of their children. In this scenario, the present study analyzes the conditions in which remote education is carried out by families of elementary school students in Chiapas, México. A qualitative hermeneutic approach is used, through interviews with parents. The results include different thematic groups, the online education modality, the socio-school inequality, the relationships between parents and teachers, the evaluation, and the exceptionality of school life at home. It is concluded that the role of parents as assistants in schooling their children constitutes as a palliative to the learning process of their children, in a context of socio–educational inequality that deepens in rural communities, but also contributes to the hope that a school reconfiguration is possible, one that encourages future changes in their actions and the democratic life of schools.