Parents' digital skills and their development in the context of the Corona pandemic

We investigate parents' and guardians' digital skills and their development during the spread of the Corona epidemic. We also examine differences in digital skills by parents’ employment status, age, and responsibility in teaching children. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, we constructed an eight-dimension theoretical scale and surveyed 250 Saudi parents via an online form. Findings showed a discrepancy in performance that was very high in operational skills, instrumental skills, and cognitive constructivism skills. There were differences related to computer use affecting instrumental and cognitive constructivism skills. Parents’ reliance on alternative digital sources for information seeking, knowledge formulation, manipulation, and critique appears to facilitate learners’ progression to higher cognitive levels more flexibly, supporting attainment of learning objectives. Knowledge navigation may develop through diverse online activities and software familiarity, requiring self-organization to find appropriate knowledge for renewing cognitive structures.

Badr A. Alharbi, Usama M. Ibrahem, Mahmoud A. Moussa, Mona A. Alrashidy, Sameh F. Saleh