Parental Self-Efficacy During COVID-19: Parents’ Experiences Supporting the Learning of their Child(ren) with Special Educational Needs

Abstract

Schools closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with the expectation that learning continue from home. This presented a unique challenge for parents of children with special educational needs as during this time levels of stress were high and access to supports were low. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore and describe the experiences of Canadian parents of children with SEN with at-home learning as it related to their learning-specific parental self-efficacy (L-PSE), perceived stress and perceived support from their child’s school. Quantitative analysis revealed that L-PSE was significantly and negatively related to perceived stress. Parents did not differ in their perception of school supports. While qualitative analysis identified many similarities across groups, it also highlighted negative experiences being described more often by parents with low L-PSE. Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence that parents with high and low parental self-efficacy differ in their experiences of supporting the learning of their children with SEN and that efficacy was related to the overall experience that parents had during COVID-19. This study serves to add to the limited body of literature on L- PSE, as well as inform the efforts of schools and other professionals in supporting the parents of children with SEN and their families.