Meta-Teaching for Engaging Parents during Remote Learning Crises: A Mixed Methods Study

The global pandemic compelled educational institutions worldwide to transition to emergency remote teaching as an immediate response to unprecedented challenges. More recently, climate-induced disruptions, such as extreme heat indices experienced in some Asian countries, have prompted a shift back to emergency remote teaching, highlighting the need for innovative pedagogical approaches. These situations called for extensive pedagogical expertise from teachers through meta-teaching practices that integrate instructional interventions with parental involvement. To bridge the gap, this study sought investigate the strategies used by teachers to involve parents during the COVID-19 pandemic and establish the nuances of the quantitative findings through interviews. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the research first gathered quantitative data from 793 in-service teachers, followed by interviews with selected participants to collect qualitative data. The quantitative data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. First and second cycle coding were done to refine the qualitative data. Findings revealed that teachers most frequently involved parents as facilitators of learning, followed by involving them as collaborators and sources of information. No significant differences in strategy use were observed across teacher profiles such as age, sex, educational background, and school affiliation. Insights from the qualitative data further revealed the barriers teachers face—including parents limited educational background and competing household responsibilities—as well as the innovative strategies teachers employed to navigate these challenges. The study underscores meta-teaching as a critical framework for equipping teachers with adaptive and reflective strategies to sustain home-school collaboration during crises.