Family Dynamics and COVID-19: Homeschooling in Northeastern Ontario Prior to and During a Global Pandemic

Abstract

In March 2020, a global pandemic rocked the planet and caused many established educational systems to come to a halt. Months into the pandemic, many decided to take on homeschooling rather than return their children to the public system at a time when the situation was uncertain and the virus was still a threat. Not only did the pandemic create new homeschoolers, but it impacted the seasoned homeschoolers by removing social networks, resources such as group learning, and also by changing household dynamics with partners now working from home.

Drawing on oral interviews conducted in early 2021, my thesis investigates the impact that homeschooling has had on family dynamics in Northeastern Ontario prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The thesis concludes that many thematic components to homeschooling were experienced by both sub-groups of homeschoolers. The biggest discrepancy in these groups was in regards to hardships they felt were the most impactful. To pre-pandemic homeschoolers, homeschooling was an extension of mothering and therefore aligned well with the ideals they formed of their families. By contrast, pandemic homeschoolers struggled more significantly with the fear of losing themselves in the lives of their families, and the loss of their identities outside the home.