The study explores the relationship between the strategies of parental involvement in education and the ability of schoolchildren to proactive behavior (agency), which allows them to adapt more successfully to changing external conditions. The data was obtained through the Internet survey of students engaged in extracurricular activities about the transition to remote formats of education during the pandemic and lockdown. The latent profile analysis was applied to better understand the differences between respondents in terms of changes in interaction with parents. The results showed that the joint activity of children and parents may be associated with the shaping of the so-called ‘cooperative agency’, whereas the strategy (related to giving more freedom to children, along with the facilitation support) is associated with other behavioral characteristics, which might be called ‘autonomous agency.’ We also found that the lack of interaction with parents, as well as strict control by parents, do not contribute to successful adaptation to the crisis conditions, which might be due to the lack of support of a child’s proactive behavior. It is also shown that the practice of discussing with parents the prospects of participation in educational and research projects is crucial both for shaping proactive behavior and also for expanding the perceived opportunities in crisis periods.
Keyword(s) : agency
Transformation of relationships between primary school stakeholders in the context of digitization
The need for research into the transformation of relationships between primary school stakeholders is caused by the acceleration of social and technological processes in which all agents are involved. Digital platforms functioning in unified information systems become cross-functional where they support managerial and pedagogical innovative solutions. The authors regard digitization as a new space for the poly-subjective relationships within information system development. In the transition to digitization it is important to examine the pedagogical aspects and assess the potential advantages but also consider risks. This study considers one of the significant manifestations of digitization as the transformation of the relationship between the teacher and the learner when the learning process is augmented by some active digital practices.
Empirical data was obtained during a large-scale pedagogical experiment within the framework of “Learn to Learn” project focused on primary school learners. The sample included over 2,500 students from 46 schools of different regions of Russia. The experiment started in 2018. The project was based on a digital platform which facilitates the diverse roles of different education process stakeholders. The platform records learners’ step by step actions for further examination. These ‘digital footprints’ are available to the adults – teachers and parents, who accompany the learning process.
The data is presented through the lens of the theory of liminality and Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zones of development’ and is accompanied by a comparison with contemporary international research in the field. The paper also considers the concepts of relationship transformation between the teacher and the learner while using digital technologies and analyses of the database. Drawing on the empirical data the research demonstrates the role of digital platforms to compensate for deficiencies in child’s skills and personal growth moving them into the ‘zone of proximal development’.