THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY AND SCHOOL IN THE ERA OF DISTANCE EDUCATION: FROM DISCONNECTION TO ROLE INTEGRATION — A SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL STUDY DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS IN THE ESSAOUIRA PROVINCE

This study aims to examine the impact of distance education on enhancing integration and coordination between families and schools in ensuring the quality of students' academic achievement in rural areas of the Essaouira province.It seeks to uncover the major developments that have occurred in the cultural, social, and educational systems due to the adoption of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering both its material and moral elements that helped shift societal attention toward valuing its services.This was done through selected indicators to assess the level and manifestations of such developments.The importance of the study lies in analyzing the role of distance education in encouraging families to engage with the efforts made by digital schools and in transforming the previously disconnected relationship between families and schools into one of cooperation and complementarity.The researcher adopted an exploratory analytical method and developed research tools to collect data directly by surveying a sample of families who experienced the transition from face-to-face learning to distance education.The study sample consisted of 1,646 families residing in the Essaouira province.The primary data collection tool was a questionnaire, which was filled out and used to address the study's central question: "How did the adoption of distance education during the COVID-19 crisis contribute to building a complementary relationship in roles between the family and the school?" and to verify the proposed hypotheses.The results showed that rural families adapted to the experience of distance education despite it being new to them, and they interacted positively with the various virtual learning platforms used.Delivering academic lessons remotely demonstrated the rural family's capacity to engage with the new roles imposed by the rapid societal changes, such as reviving the educational role of parents and encouraging them to organize their responsibilities, relationships, and interactions to actively contribute to their children's education.