Parents or Teachers? Parents’ Experiences in Austria with Supporting Their Children in Homeschooling During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of schools and the resulting requirement to support children in homeschooling placed heavy demands on parents, who had to provide this support in addition to performing their work and care duties. Theoretically based on the concept of doing family, we analyze how parents perceived the homeschooling situation over time, how they responded to the experienced challenges, and which practices they developed over the course of the pandemic. We draw on an Austrian qualitative longitudinal study with a subsample of 60 parents with a total of 98 school-aged children (aged 6–14). Methodologically, the study employed problem-centered interviews and diary entries. Data was collected repeatedly (12 waves) between March 2020 and June 2022, and the data analysis was based on the grounded theory coding scheme. The results show that the parents’ experiences and related challenges varied substantially over time, and were strongly connected to their available resources. We identified three types of parental involvement in homeschooling: promoters, externalizers, and contributors. The responding parents’ main objective was to avoid educational disadvantages for their children. We conclude that homeschooling during the pandemic may lead to a re-evaluation of education and schools, and of parents’ contributions to the educational system.