A recent study has been carried out into what the parents of college and university students want for their children. This comes after colleges and universities around the country were forced to close down several months ago in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, which also forced the closure of many other facilities and businesses in a bid to control infection levels.
The survey was carried out by educational online facility OneClass, with the results showing that the vast majority of parents are eager to see their kids go back to college or university in the fall. Many parents are concerned that their children are missing out on a vital chunk of their education, and many are concerned that learning solely online for the remainder of the year could have a serious negative impact on their kids’ education.
Most Want Socially Distanced Classes
As part of the survey, 6050 parents were polled, all of whom had kids at college or university in the United States. More than 80 percent of parents said that they wanted to see their kids return to college or university classes in the fall, but also that they want to ensure that the classes had proper social distancing measures in place to protect everyone in the classroom environment.
The survey also showed that 6.7 percent of parents thought that kids should be allowed back to college and university in the fall, but that this should be on a voluntary basis rather than making it mandatory to return to the classroom environment. Just over 5 percent of parents that were polled thought that the fall was too early for their kids to return to college and university, preferring instead to hold off until the 2021 academic year.
Nearly 8 percent of parents did not think social distancing in the classroom would be an issue in the fall, as they believed that there would be no social distancing measures necessary by this time. The vast majority of parents are clearly happy for their kids to go back to the classroom as long as there is protection in places and the necessary social distancing measures are implemented.
Falling Behind with Education
With so many kids having missed out on a large chunk of their education, it is little wonder that so many parents are concerned. While kids are able to study online to keep on top of their education, it is often difficult for them to stay motivated in the home environment. In addition, some people have limited access to the tools necessary for studying fulltime at home, so they risk falling even further behind with their education.
While returning to school is something that most parents want, the ability to do this will depend on what infection levels are like over the coming weeks. If there is a second spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths, this will lead to colleges and universities remaining closed even when the new academic year begins in the fall.
