Difference in learning attention between career and non-career parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in elementary school children

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Indonesian students to transition from traditional to online
learning. The role of parents, both career and non-career, in focusing on paying attention to their
children's learning has also changed. The study aimed to compare learning attention between
parents with careers and parents without careers before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This
study was a comparative design with a questionnaire as the instrument. The variable measured is
elementary school children's learning attention. A total sampling technique was employed,
involving 64 respondents. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Mann-Whitney U Test were used in
data analysis. The findings indicated a significant difference in the learning attention of parents with
careers before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (p-value = 0.000). Similarly, parents without
careers also exhibited a significant difference in learning attention before and after the pandemic (p
value = 0.000). Notably, within both the career and non-career parent groups, there was a
substantial difference in the learning attention provided to their children before and after the
COVID-19 pandemic. These results highlight the significant impact of the pandemic on parental
involvement in their children's education. The findings emphasize the need for parents to be
conscious of their responsibilities in the face of the unique demands posed by the pandemic,
underlining the crucial role they play in supporting their children's education.