Distance education

Research question(s) / challenge

To what extent do parents and guardians who have children in school prefer to study in person or from a distance?

What are the reasons for the preference of parents and guardians who have children in the public education system to study in person or from a distance?

What are the effects of some of the variables? Like the education level, the type of school, and the family’s exposure to Corona, according to the parents’ opinion on the preference for the type of study?

Methodology

This survey was conducted using a random sample of 570 Saudis aged 18 years and over. The sample was a simple random sample of mobile phone users from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The mobile phone numbers were generated using the Random Digit Dialing (RDD) methodology. According to the General Authority for Statistics, the coverage of mobile phones was about 96%.  The response rate was calculated according to the standards of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).

Key finding(s)

56% of parents and guardians who have children in public schools prefer distance learning, and the fear of infection with the COVID-19 virus was the main reason for preferring distance learning.

44% of parents and guardians who have children in general education prefer in-person learning, especially in primary school, because they believe that distance learning is ineffective.

Most of the sample members with different demographic characteristics prefer distance learning with a higher percentage than attendance.