Mothers' Experience of Home Education with Their Children during COVID-19: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Purpose: One of the areas most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has been education. The pandemic has significantly affected teaching-learning processes and caused various challenges. This process has brought a significant burden of care, especially for families with children. According to the studies, although the responsibilities and roles of parents have increased in the process, it has been observed that mothers have undertaken this more than fathers. This study aims to understand mothers' experiences of being a teacher-mother and the development of their children's educational processes according to the findings of the studies based on how mothers experienced their children's educational processes at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: In this study, which is carried out according to the qualitative systematic review design, 13 studies meeting the preset criteria are analysed. While analysing the data, thematic analysis recommended for systematic reviews is utilised/used. Findings: In this study, even though the process offered some limited opportunities, it is concluded that the mothers felt many responsibilities, experienced feelings that arose from the uncertainty such as fear, anxiety, and guilt, and undertook the responsibility of being a pedagogical and working mother and faced a lot of difficulties/hardships. Implications: When distance education is needed for various reasons in the future, it is among the recommendations of the study to make planning by considering the experiences of mothers.