Parent and Educator Perspectives on the Benefits of an Online Space to Promote Offline Program Collaborative Learning

Abstract

This multiple perspective, qualitative investigation with parents and teachers/teaching assistants provided insight on values of a virtual platform to aid parent collaborative learning in a dual focus early childhood program. Benefits were viewed as complementary or supplementary to face-to-face program components and context. Parent access to information about their children not available to them during program participation may deepen understanding and strengthen feelings of connectedness, particularly important to parent-teacher relationships. While there was synergy on most platform benefits, teachers did not observe parents' value in maintaining the program climate of trust and safety, and extending feelings of community. These may be essential for the platform to represent the learning supports aligned with the offline program experience. Study findings lead to hypotheses on the role of an online environment in parents' mental models of programs for collaborative learning, and in social presence that strengthen collaborative learning.