Educational contributions of digital platforms to students’ distance learning during COVID-19 Pandemic from the perspective of their parents in some schools in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The current study purported to investigate the educational contributions of digital platforms to students’ distance learning during the Corona Virus Pandemic (COVID-19) from the point of view of their parents in some schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To accomplish the study’s objectives, the researcher used the analytical descriptive methodology. For the purpose of data collection, the investigator utilized an electronic questionnaire that consisted of fifty-two items, distributed among three main themes: the educational contributions of digital platforms to students’ distance learning during Corona Virus Pandemic, their attitudes toward them, and the learning difficulties they encountered from the viewpoint of their parents. The population of the study included parents of a number of students from various stages and levels of public and private schools in the UAE. Only a deliberate sample, consisting of eighty parents of students from Ajman, Sharjah and Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi participated in the actual study due to their availability and the utilized communication channels. However, only fifty-six parents out of the total number responded to the questionnaire. The results were analysed using the statistical package, SPSS. The results of the study revealed that the educational contributions of the remote digital platforms to the students were exceedingly high from the point of view of their parents, and their attitudes towards them were also high. Other results showed that there were some difficulties faced by students when learning remotely through digital platforms, especially at the beginning of the Corona Virus, COVID 19 Pandemic. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommended that it is particularly important to help students at both schools and universities acquire the essential skills needed for digital transformation in education.