A Content Analysis of Parent and Family Resources on School District Websites during COVID-19

Background and Purpose: School social workers (SSWs) provide direct and indirect services to students, families, schools, and larger communities. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelly et al. (2020) found SSWs held instrumental roles in assisting families in meeting basic needs. School district websites also served as vital sources of information for families during this time of widespread school closures (Reich et al., 2020). This study sought to understand what types of informational resources were provided to families on school district websites during COVID-19 in one southeastern state with implications for school social work leadership during times of crisis. Specific research questions included: 1) How many school district websites have a COVID-19 page? 2) Do school district websites and any COVID-19 pages provide information on COVID-19 and nine other different categories of resources including mental health, Wi-Fi, technology, meal/nutrition programs, housing, academic instruction and grading, along with resources to support specific student and family subgroup needs (i.e. English Language Learners, students with disabilities))?

Methods: All webpages from 80 school district websites in one state were imported and analyzed in MaxQDA during Summer 2020. A codebook was developed, and two coders deductively reviewed each website for the presence of information on the nine resource categories. Through this process, several additional categories emerged including e-learning, worksheet packets, and telehealth. Where there were discrepancies, discussions occurred between coders to reach consensus. Websites were then classified as providing information on COVID-19 only, COVID-19 plus additional resources, or no information at all on COVID-19 or additional resources.

Results: Of the 80 school district websites, 53% (n=42) had COVID-19 information and additional resources, 31% (n=24) provided resources only, and 15% (n=12) provided no COVID information nor other family resources. Of the 54 school district websites that provided both COVID-19 information and additional resources, most resources were for English Language Learners, and about meals/nutrition, e-learning, and Wi-Fi. Few websites had resources related to mental health (n=18), telehealth (n=18), or to support students with disabilities (n=16). No website had information on housing.

Conclusions and Implications: Despite study limitations, study findings identify an important leadership role for SSWs, especially in helping enhance access to information about resources that can support families during this time of crisis. Because school district websites are a central information access point, school social work leadership in helping add information, particularly resources related to mental health, housing, and for particular vulnerable subgroups, can help support families in addition to the other important direct and indirect services SSWs provide.

References

Kelly, M. S., Astor, R. A., Benbenishty, R., Capp, G., & Watson, K. R. (2020). Opening Schools Safely in the COVID-19 Era: School Social Workers’ Experiences and Recommendations Technical Report. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Social Work.

Reich, J., Buttimer, C.J., Fang, A., Hillaire, G., Hirsch, K., Larke, L., Littenberg-Tobias, J., Moussapour, R., Napier, A., Thompson, M., & Slama, R. (2020). Remote learning guidance from state education agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic: A first look. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Teaching Systems Lab.