Rural South Sulawesi mothers’ emotional capital: supporting primary school children’s remote learning during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting disruptions from the shift to emergency remote learning remains an important concern, particularly for those communities where geographical, economic and social factors exacerbated the challenges. This study explores the experiences of mothers living in a rural area of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, as they encountered new challenges associated with supporting their primary school children’s education through online platforms. The study draws on in-depth interviews with 10 mothers thematically analysed through the concept of emotional capital. The findings reveal how the mothers’ own educational histories impacted on their emotive responses to helping their children with emergency remote schooling. The mothers also encountered difficulties engaging with unfamiliar technology such as smartphones that were the default technology that mediated their children’s learning. We argue that the care, time and support the mothers provided for their children’s schooling during this difficult time reflects the emotional capital they invested in their children’s education. The implication is that the emotional support that these mothers provide for their children’s learning, especially in the context of strained resources during COVID-19’s educational disruptions, should be acknowledged and valued, thus making their work less invisible.

KEYWORDS:

• emergency remote learning
• COVID-19 pandemic
• mothers in South Sulawesi Indonesia
• emotional capital

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:

• SDG 4: Quality education
• SDG 10: Reduced inequalities

Introduction

This study explores the mothering practices within a rural South Sulawesi, Indonesian context during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indonesian government at this time mandated that all educational institutions rapidly implement remote learning, including for primary school students. As a result of this unprecedented move to a remote learning model, teachers and students experienced major disruptions in how schooling took place, with the typical face-to-face learning mode replaced by online communication using a range of platforms and software. Parents, and particularly mothers (for reasons which are expanded on below), were expected to quickly adapt to these new requirements and support their children’s remote learning activities. In this paper, we focus on mothering practices to explore the particularities of the mother as caregiver during this unprecedented time of emergency remote schooling. Much of the everyday work of parenting children during this challenging period was taken on by mothers in the study’s research setting. We argue that it is important to explore the experiences and perspectives of these Sulawesi mothers to better understand and support the work of these primary care givers who are central to school–home partnerships.

In this paper, we begin by providing background and context for the study. Then, we review scholarly literature in the field, focusing firstly on the emotional labour and emotional capital associated with mothering practices and secondly on remote schooling during the pandemic including in middle-income Asian countries. Next, we provide an overview of the methodology and rationale for employing a qualitative case study approach and outline the guiding research questions. We present findings of the study under three key themes of mothers’ educational histories, unfamiliar technology and support for emergency remote schooling. The findings are discussed through the conceptual framework of emotional capital and scholarly literature from the field. The conclusion argues for the recognition and valuing of the South Sulawesi mothers’, who participated in this study, support for their children’s schooling in times of a global crisis.

Study background and context

The Sulawesi district where the research data were gathered is in Gowa Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The district is located in the southern region of South Sulawesi, an autonomous region and the northern border city of Makassar and Maros Regency. In addition to the Gowa Regency, the administration area consists of 18 districts and 167 villages. The district is approximately 85 km from the nearest urban area. In addition, there are 15 primary schools divided into 13 state primary schools and 2 Islamic primary schools in this district. The district is located at the foot of Mount Lompobattang in the Bawakaraeng Mountains, with an altitude between up to 2400 metres above sea level. The time needed to reach the location from the city is about 3 h by car or motorcycle.

In terms of the district’s location, no public transportation can access the village where the research took place. The primary public transport, called Bus and pete-pete (mini-van), only stops on the highway due to the all-weather road access to the location. However, rented cars and motorbikes can serve as the alternative transportation to reach the spot of research.

The district is located at the base of a mountains with fertile soils. As a result, the majority of residents in this region, particularly men, work as farmers to earn a living. They grow vegetables and fruit to sell to the merchants from the city. The women spend most of their time doing home duties. They plant vegetables and fruit to be sold in the city through the vendors. The remote geographical location means that there is minimal contact with the people from the city, and while the number of inhabitants infected was very low, people were still impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic as they could not leave the neighbourhood. As a result, the income of most people in South Sulawesi decreased during the pandemic (Rammohan et al., 2021).

Ethnographic accounts propose the notion of siriq [shame] as an influential cultural value that shapes gender norms in South Sulawesi (Graham, 2001; Idrus, 2016). Local gender norms prescribe the importance of women to embody femininity: become good wives and supportive mothers, marry heterosexually and bear children. Only women who perform these ‘true’ womanly roles can be the honour of the family (Idrus, 2016). Conversely, women who do not meet these expectations are considered as siri or causing shame to the family (Graham, 2001; Idrus, 2016). Rural communities who are usually more traditional tend to adhere to this cultural norm more strictly than more modern communities in South Sulawesi. This is reflected by how most (over 75%) unpaid domestic workers in the rural South Sulawesi are women (Dressler et al., 2021).

In addition to the local norms, the gender norms in South Sulawesi are also shaped by the national ideology of Ibuism [motherism]. Promoted during the New Order era (1965–1998) by President Soeharto, this ideology endorses the vital role of women as wives and mothers to maintain the harmony of nuclear families (Graham, 2001). The government circulated through the media, school curriculum, and health care campaigns one uniform message about women’s greatest attainment: becoming a feminine mother in a family institution (Idrus, 2016). Writing two decades later, Martin-Anatias et al. (2021) maintains that this ideology still profoundly shapes the belief and behaviour of Indonesian mothers.

Lastly, religion also contributes significantly to how rural South Sulawesi mothers view and act their motherhood. Idrus (2016) argues that Islamic values and holy texts are significant sources that shape how rural communities in South Sulawesi perceive gender relations. In explaining the rationale behind the expected characteristics and behaviour of men and women, Idrus (2016) research participants refer to examples from the holy Quran on the role of women as providing the primary nurture for the children. Similar Islamic values are also passed down orally through lontaraq [oral folk teaching in South Sulawesi], which is derived from the holy Quran and hadith [Prophet Muhammad’s sermon] (Idrus, 2016).

COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia: education policy context

Key initiatives issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic were based on the decree issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture in March 2020, to respond to the pandemic crisis in the country. The government started to transition to belajar dari rumah [learning from home] with an emphasis on cultivating students’ life skills, as opposed to academic achievement and curricular goals (Butcher et al., 2021).

Responding to limited opportunity for learning, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture launched several remote learning initiatives, such as the use of TV and radio to facilitate distance learning as well as providing free internet support for schools. The government owned TV and radio stations were involved to broadcast educational content to respond to technological and internet barriers preventing students and teachers from engaging in effective educational processes. The content of these broadcasts was primarily focused on the development of literacy and numeracy skills. Despite a satisfactory initial engagement from students, High Frequency Monitoring of COVID-19 Impacts on Households [HiFy] Survey published by the World Bank (2021) reported that nationally student engagement with these broadcasts plummeted from 56% to only 10% by November 2020.

As online learning using the internet seemed more viable than the more traditional media of TV and radio, the government began to provide free internet support for schools. It was reported that as of November 2020, the government had spent IDR 7.2 trillion to improve internet access for online learning (World Bank, 2021). Despite this, the HiFy survey (World Bank, 2021) revealed that nationally only 41% of schools used online learning platforms for student learning. The figure was significantly lower for regions outside Java including rural South Sulawesi. At primary school level, 51% of schools based in Java were reported to use mobile learning apps/platforms, while only 26.9% of schools outside Java engaged in online schooling (World Bank, 2021). This data implies that students in remote areas outside of Java could possibly be most impacted by learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic – something that we anticipate could apply to Gowa Regency where our research took place.

Review of literature

Scholarly literature to provide context and support for the discussion of the findings of this study is reviewed next. Three fields of literature are reviewed including mothering practices, emotional labour and emotional capital for children’s schooling; remote learning and parenting during the pandemic, and remote schooling during COVID-19 in middle-income Asian countries.

Mothering practices, emotional labour and emotional capital for children’s schooling

The gendered aspect of parental involvement in children’s education is largely overlooked in both policy and academic literature. Jamal Al-Deen (2019) in a study on Muslim Iraqi mothers with school aged children in Australia reviewed research on parental involvement in children’s schooling and home-school relationships and found that sociologically grounded research considered to a far lesser extent the different positioning of mothers and fathers in children’s education. The body of literature on home-school and parental involvement tends to use the term ‘parent’, which eschews the gendered nature and associated responsibility of children’s schooling that is positioned as women’s work and impacts on their lives more generally. As Proctor (2010) suggests, this omission of the role of women in children’s education leaves the mother’s involvement unacknowledged and valueless.

Parental involvement, in the literature, is often associated with socio-economic status and access to economic, social and cultural capital. Socio-economic status being defined according to income, academic qualifications, professional employment and a way of life (Jamal Al-Deen, 2019). Jamal Al-Deen (2019) points out that mothering practices concerning children’s education can take on broader meanings. She writes that ‘perceptions and practices of mothering, in particular in relation to children’s educational matters, are discursively shaped by cultural and religious values’ (pp. 4–5).

We suggest that mothers involved in teaching their children, like professional teachers, are influenced by social and cultural structures which construct them, and in turn are constructed by them. Nias (1996) discusses how early influences, subsequent schooling and broader experiences, influenced by historical, social and cultural contexts shape the perspectives of teachers. She explains that:

The actions which teachers take in response to what they feel affect the micro-political, social and political contexts in which they work. Teachers’ emotions, though individually experienced, are a matter of collective concern: they are occasioned by circumstances which can be identified, understood and so have the potential to be changed, and their consequences affect everyone involved in the educational process. (p. 294)

Teaching requires intense emotional labour as it involves interactions with a range of stakeholders (Cingöz, 2018). Nias (1996) describes this emotional labour in terms of the deeply emotional relationships teachers have to their work, the emotional dimensions experienced; for example, as feelings when interacting with others, emotional reactions to schooling, the intimacy involved in teaching children and the overall emotional commitment to being a teacher.

Emotional labour concerns the specific everyday emotional performances of teachers and has been shown to be central to many tasks primarily undertaken by women (Hochschild, 1979). In contrast, emotional capital as Andrew (2015) writes ‘consists of the skills and dispositions that may become embodied through practice of the performances of emotional labour, under certain conditions’ (p. 653). The notion of emotional capital focuses on emotions as not just felt or performed as with emotional labour but as an embodied resource or in other words a type of emotional capital (Andrew, 2015).

We argue that ‘emotional capital’ is a useful concept to explore socio-economic and gender processes implicated in rural Indonesian mothers’ involvement in their children’s remote schooling. This is supported by Reay’s (2000) discussion of the difference between emotional involvement and emotional capital when referring to mothers’ involvement in their children’s schooling in her own research. She writes that:

… ‘emotional involvement’ refers to the wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, that mothers brought to their interactions with both their children and teachers within the arena of educational learning and schooling. `Emotional capital’, in contrast, is not coterminous with emotional involvement, but occupies a narrower conceptual range. Within the context of this research, it can be understood as the emotional resources passed on from mother to child through processes of parental involvement. (p. 569)

Reay (2000) draws on the work of Bourdieu and capital in her research into the ‘emotional capital’ associated with mothers’ involvement in their children’s schooling. She notes that Bourdieu does not explicitly refer to ‘emotional capital’ in his work but does foreground the affective relationships of mothers. When writing of the practical and symbolic work which “generates devotion, generosity and solidarity’, Bourdieu suggests that ‘this work falls more particularly to women who are responsible for maintaining relationships’ (Bourdieu, 1998, p. 68).

An analysis of mothers’ involvement in their children’s schooling can be strengthened by exploring the emotions that permeate their support for their children’s education. Therefore, in this study, the rural Indonesian mother’s involvement in their children’s education during the COVID-19 pandemic is understood in broader terms than that of socio-economic criteria. We suggest that the emotional capital associated with mothering and schooling of children (Reay, 2005) was prominent in the mothers’ support for their children’s education. This emotional capital includes time, consideration, responsiveness and the responsibility associated with engaging children in remote schooling during very challenging times. Based on this concept of emotional capital, this study focuses on the role of the mothers in supporting their primary school children’s remote learning experiences in the context of rural South Sulawesi.

Remote learning and parenting during the pandemic

The relevant research to date suggests that primary school parents’ perspectives on remote learning activities during the COVID-19 pandemic vary widely. Mahmud et al. (2021) conducted research with Indonesian parents on online learning of English for primary school children during the pandemic. The 40 parent-participants involved in that study consisted of 34 females and 6 males from various regions in Indonesia. Almost half of the parents were in full time employment, and approximately one-third were stay-at-home parents. The findings showed that parents were willing and interested in supporting their children’s English language learning through online platforms. Parents supported their children by helping to set up learning facilities, e.g. internet and devices, and assisted children with navigating the online learning platform. However, many parents were concerned about the lack of interaction during remote learning sessions and believed that remote learning may limit children’s opportunities to practice their English skills, especially speaking and writing (Mahmud et al., 2021). It is important to note that socio-economic profile of participants in that study with approximately 80% holding a bachelor’s degree, 85% with internet at home and only 24% rating their English skills as poor. Therefore, while Mahmud et al.’s study is of use for gaining some insights into the remote learning experiences in diverse regions of Indonesia, there are significant differences in access to socio-economic capital between participants in Mahmud et al.’s study and the ones explored in this current paper centred on a remote village in South Sulawesi.

Turning to contexts with some similarities to Indonesia (i.e. education infrastructure challenges), Hamad (2021) explored the involvement and perceptions of mothers in supporting their primary school-aged children in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in the region of Ramallah in Palestine. Using a combination of online quantitative and qualitative methods, the author generated data from 131 mothers in both city and rural areas in Ramallah. Mothers became the focus of this research because culturally in Palestine mothers hold the main responsibility in educating their children as fathers work outside of the home environment as main income earners of the family. Most mothers in this study reported a lack of preparedness to support their children in emergency remote learning as they could not afford to provide the necessary digital device to support remote learning, with more than 80% saying that they could only provide mobile phones for their children to access online learning. Mothers also reported that the timing of the online lessons that coincided with their working times has made supporting their children in remote learning not feasible. Additionally, another challenge was attributable to the lack of support that schools provided to support these mothers in assisting their children’s learning. Overall, more than 60% of mothers in this study reported their dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of remote learning in their contexts. This dissatisfaction with online learning and the lack of support were also key findings from a larger-scale study on the impact of COVID-19 school closures in urban Malaysia (Asadullah, 2023; Asadullah & Tham, 2023). Of note, from that study, the relatively lower socio-economic status of participants in the present study was identified as an influential factor in the online learning experience.

Looking further afield, Knopik et al. (2021) explored different approaches of parents’ involvement to support their primary school-aged children in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Analysis of data from surveys of 421 parents (393 of whom were mothers) was based on three categories of assistance, motivation and intervention. Findings suggest three dominant approaches of parental support during online learning, namely the committed teacher approach, the motivating coach approach and the committed teacher/intervener approach. Parents who adopted the committed teacher approach helped and motivated their children to study but did not do assignments for them. This was in contrast with parents with the committed teacher/intervener approach who completed tasks for their children. Parents with the motivating coach approach claimed less involvement in their children’s learning by fostering independent learning and emphasizing emotional support, than practical/tasks-related support. Interestingly, this group of parents were able to see a significant development in their children during the online learning period, more than the other parents with the two other approaches. This study also demonstrated that parental involvement was greater for students of younger age groups (Year 1–3).

In addition to these studies that focused on the impacts of remote learning, larger-scale studies indicate that the impact of the pandemic and subsequent government responses were not evenly felt across and within societies. Surveys by the World Bank across a large number of developing countries (Bundervoet et al., 2021; Khamis et al., 2021) examining the impacts on employment, income and learning found that ‘interruptions in learning were most salient for children in lower-income countries, and within countries for children in lower-income households with lower-educated parents and in rural areas’ (Bundervoet et al., 2021, p. 2). Where researchers have looked specifically at the gender-differentiated impacts of the pandemic in developing countries, there is evidence that the negative consequences have fallen disproportionately on women (Asadullah & Bhattacharjee, 2022; Mohapatra, 2021; Nanthini & Nair, 2020). Saito (2023) focused on what he terms the collateral damage in education in Southeast Asian countries, showing how pre-existing limitations in formal school systems in some Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, have been exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic. This may contribute to increased levels of early school leavers.

Remote schooling during COVID-19 in middle-income Asian countries

Four recent scholarly contributions to the field on home schooling during COVID-19 have been published about middle-income Asian contexts (World Bank, 2024), namely, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. From a Bangladeshi perspective, Asadullah and Bhattacharjee (2022) discuss the global shift towards technology-aided home schooling as a result of COVID-19. They investigated learning time at home and the issue of access to technology. They argue that closing the digital divide through universal access to home technologies and internet access is unlikely to narrow socio-economic gaps in student achievement in low-income areas. Rather, it is important to consider other factors such as the quality of educational content, teaching methods and student engagement. In relation to the current paper, they found that parents as home tutors did not significantly affect the learning experience.

Local South Sulawesian gender norms, the national ideology of Ibuism (motherism) and Islamic values uniquely shape discourses surrounding motherhood and mothering practices in rural South Sulawesi. This paper provides valuable insights into rural South Sulawesian mothers’ support of children’ remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the experiences of rural South Sulawesi mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic is important for understanding how diverse cultural and educational contexts influence gendered responses to global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology

This paper emerges from a larger qualitative case study, which was undertaken to explore the mother’s role in remote learning for their primary school children in a rural Indonesian setting.

The aim of case study is to capture the complexity of individual cases and generate in-depth understandings of each case (Creswell, 2011). Yin (2017) describes case study as ‘an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident’ (p. 49). A case study is ‘an investigation of an individual, a family, a group, an institution, a community or even a resources, programme or intervention’ (Greig et al., 2013, p. 187). This case study is ‘the study of the particular’ (Stake, 2003) and focuses on describing and understanding in detail the emotional capital of rural South Sulawesi mothers to understand the support they provide for their children’s remote schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two guiding research questions were as follows: (i) how do mothers in rural of South Sulawesi province perceive emergency remote learning during the pandemic era? (ii) what role did they play in supporting their children’s remote learning experience?

For the larger qualitative case study, participants were informed verbally about the research and informed verbal consent was obtained by the lead researcher. Participants were recruited from three primary schools in a subdistrict of a rural South Sulawesi province. Participants included 30 mothers whose children were studying in the respective schools, 10 teachers and 2 local government officials.

Data were generated through two video-recorded focus groups of 3 h each. The two semi-structured focus group discussions (FGD) centred on understanding the experiences of mothers and how they supported their children’s learning during the COVID-19 remote learning experience. Thirty mothers and two teachers participated in these focus groups, which were conducted by Indonesian researchers (Nasmilah and Sahraeny) in mixed languages – ‘Bahasa Indonesia’ and the local language ‘Bahasa Konjo’. The researchers kept interview field notes to record how participants engaged and interacted during the interviews. The focus groups were transcribed and translated into English for the Australian researchers (see Table 1).

Table 1. Data Collection.

Data collection mode	Number	Average time	Participants	Researchers collecting data
Focus Groups	2	3 hours each	30 mothers + 10 teachers	Nasmilah& Sahraeny
Questionnaire	1	20 minutes	10 x Teachers	Nasmilah& Sahraeny
Video-recordings	10	5 minutes	10 mothers	Nasmilah& Sahraeny
Field Notes	2	N/A	30 mothers + 10 teachers	Nasmilah& Sahraeny

For this paper, we draw on interview data from 10 mothers (see Table 2) and the focus group transcripts to gain a deeper understanding of the mothers’ role in supporting their children’s remote learning. These 10 mothers were chosen on the basis of their willingness to participate in the video recording. The selection process was undertaken immediately following the completion of the focus groups.

Table 2. Participants.

No.	Participants	Occupation	Education	Position in FGD
1	Mother-1	Housewife	Junior High School	Audience-3*
2	Mother-2	Housewife	Junior High School	Audience-2*
3	Mother-3	Vendor	Senior High School	Audience-7*
4	Mother-4	Housewife	Senior High School	Audience-4*
5	Mother-5	Housewife	Junior High School	Audience-8*
6	Mother-6	Tailor	Senior High School	Audience-6*
7	Mother-7	Housewife	Junior High School	Audience-10
8	Mother-8	Vendor	Senior High School	Audience-1
9	Mother-9	Housewife	Senior High School	Audience-5
10	Mother-10	Housewife	Junior High School	Audience-9*

*Mothers who talk in the FGD-1.

Thematic analysis was undertaken by the two leading Indonesian researchers for interview data generated from the larger project. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) process guided the thematic analysis. The researchers familiarized themselves with the data, generated initial codes, searched and then reviewed potential themes, defined themes and the writing up of findings began. The Australian researchers did not participate directly in the data collection phase but were involved in the setting up of the research design. Regular research team meetings were held to discuss the different states of data collection and analysis. This paper focuses on an analysis of the perception of mothers about emergency remote education and its implications in real-life engagement and the mothers’ emotional support for their children during this online educational experience.

The intention of this paper is to ‘optimize understanding’ (Stake, 2003, p. 135) rather than to generalize but rather to present discussion of examples of the mothers’ perspectives on remote learning for their primary school children. Ethics approval to conduct this study was obtained by the Indonesian university of the lead author prior to commencement of the study. Ethics approval number is 6859/UN4.9/PT/01.05/2021.

Findings

The mothers reported in the interviews and focus group discussion that their own limited education as understood in terms of literacy standards and technological capabilities contributed to a challenging situation for supporting their primary school children with remote learning. This was evident in remarks expressing anxiety about supporting their children with remote schooling requirements using technology. The mothers were concerned about being unable to assist their children to engage with school tasks. The key findings centre around three themes, namely (i) the educational histories of the mothers, (ii) mothers adapting to unfamiliar technology and (iii) the mothers’ concerns about keeping their children invested and engaged with remote learning.

Mother’s educational histories

The mothers were uneasy about the educational progress and success of their children during this remote schooling period. One mother was troubled that her children would experience inadequate education. She commented, ‘To be honest, Ma’am. I’m an incompetent person and if schools don’t reopen soon, I’m worried that my children will become like me’ (M-13). This mother’s comment reflects her anxiety over remote schooling her children. She talks poignantly about her own (in)competencies, which reflect her own limited schooling background and her belief that her children need to attend school so they will not ‘become like me’. The mother’s comment suggests that she wants more for her children in terms of education than she had achieved herself. This mother believed that she could not provide adequate and appropriate support for her children’s schooling, which led to negative feelings and ideas. This mother’s distressed emotions were being projected onto her children’s future educational success.

Another mother commented on the increased mental pressure associated with supporting remote schooling, remarking that ‘Because we as parents are only used to dealing with problems such as kitchen problems and other house chores. Now, the burden on our minds increases with this online school’ (M-3). This mother’s involvement in her children’s remote schooling generated immense anxiety, leading to mental fatigue. Engaging with online schooling was not part of the participant-mothers normal routine and outside their realm of her current skills and knowledge. Remote schooling involved immense emotional work with much time and emotional energy being put into attempting to support their children’s online schooling.

Another serious problem that mothers encountered during remote learning was the challenge associated with keeping their children engaged with lessons. Most mothers found it very difficult to leave their children to study alone, not only because the children were not familiar with learning online, but children became distracted by the online environment and other types of activities it offered. Some mothers talked about the need to monitor and regulate the children’s access, so they attended to their schoolwork rather than engaged with games and you tube. One mother remarked, ‘We feel worried that our children will switch to playing games than actually studying online. Usually, they are told to study but instead they do other things, such as playing games’ (M-3). Another mother explained how she restricts the downloading of games and YouTube apps so her children will attend to their learning. She commented, ‘Personally, I don’t download games as well as the YouTube app on their mobile phones so they can focus on their studies’. (M-3) The women’s comments reveal the shifting balance between being a mother and monitoring the remote learning environment. The mothers felt a responsibility towards regulating the online context, expressing their concern and worry about their children’s online study.

Parents were also concerned that children did not fully understand their online schoolwork ‘In my opinion, parents are worried about how their children will be able to understand the lesson if the learning process is done online’ (M-4). This mother described how parents attempted to help children understand their online lessons saying, ‘As parents, we have to try hard to explain the lessons to our children’ (M-4). Yet, at the same time, parents were concerned that misunderstandings occurred and that the mothers and teachers’ expectations were not always the same. Mother 4 remarked, ‘However, we are also worried that it will cause some kind of misunderstanding, because we aren’t sure whether what we teach our children corresponds to what the teacher actually wants to convey to them’. (M-4) The mothers felt that unreasonable educational demands were being placed on them and were concerned about this new role in academically helping their children by engaging in tasks such as explaining the lessons. At times, they expressed ambivalence about the support they provided for their children’s school learning, afraid that it would lead to misunderstandings between the teachers and their own explanations of school tasks. It was evident that the mothers wanted to help but were unsure about the support they provided to their children.

Unfamiliar technology

A major issue that mothers faced in the shift to remote learning for their primary school children was the need to adapt to new and unfamiliar technology so that the children could study from home. Smartphones became the default device during the pandemic as personal computers and laptops devices were not available in the main. The smartphone was the primary technology for conveying messages and tasks between students, teachers and parents. The mothers were required to quickly become familiar with this new technology to assist their children with remote learning activities, and they often found using smartphones challenging and anxiety ridden. One mother commented, ‘ … there are some parents who are illiterate and have difficulty typing or going through their cellphones – even just holding it will make them shake’ (M-3). The smartphone for some mothers led to an emotive physical response. The ‘illiteracy’ of the mothers was reflected in feelings of inadequacy as they were unable to use the smartphone to its full potential.

Limited facilities, knowledge of and access to the internet for mothers and children presented a major challenge. When the mothers were asked about the obstacles, they encountered during the transition from face-to-face to remote learning, they listed the following issues:

Connection! (M-8).

Phone credit (M-all).

Children’s limited knowledge about the internet … . The mothers too. (M-2)

When the researchers asked the mothers if they had used the internet before or used gadgets for the internet, they all responded ‘never’ (M-all). Digital access, usage and knowledge shaped how mothers and children from this rural area related to remote school learning. This type of home-learning presented an uneven digital landscape as not all mothers and children could productively and equally engage with the technology or the pedagogy.

Another major constraint on what the mothers and their primary school children could do was the inadequacy of the internet connection. The mothers received some phone internet credit from the government but needed to purchase additional phone credit, which was not always available in their remote settings. Although the mothers did acknowledge that the government supplied some free internet credit during the COVID-19 period, this was often very limited in terms of availability and duration. As one mother commented, ‘There is free credit from the government. Only once, once a month’ (M-4), while other mothers noted that, ‘The credits can’t be used all of a sudden, Ma’am (M-3) and ’There are also those whose credits have expired’ (M-4). The implication is that internet connection came at a cost to families who struggled financially and had limited resources. The ownership of smartphones and other devices, and payment for internet access placed an extra financial burden on vulnerable families, placing further stress on them economically and emotionally.

When one mother talked in the previous section about her own schooling history, she commented on how she is ‘ … used to dealing with problems such as kitchen problems and other house chores’ (M3). These household responsibilities did not go away during times of remote school learning and the mothers’ own time was a barrier to supporting their children as they needed to continue to undertake their daily tasks in the kitchen and house.

These examples show how despite the willingness of mothers to invest time and energy into supporting their children’s home schooling, they were often thwarted by a combination of insufficient technological knowledge and skills, and limited access to the internet. Online learning was not a platform that they were acquainted and knowledgeable of, but rather it presented them with another compounding factor that fed into the helplessness and feelings of inadequacy they experienced towards supporting their children with their online learning.

Support for emergency remote schooling

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the transformation of mother’s support for their children’s schooling work in the home as the previous boundaries between the home and school environments became distorted. This period of time intensified the overall work of mothers in the home in rural South Sulawesi as they took on responsibility for support for their children’s learning. From the data collected through focus group discussions, it was found that at times the support that children received for online schooling was often from extended family members, with some support from teachers. As one mother reported, she received support from the teachers and family members including older siblings but that she not able to fully support her child. She said,

Support from the teachers … Also, from family members. Usually if there are members of the family such as aunts or older siblings that are smart, they help out. Not completely from their own mother’. (M7)

Further questions on different type of support the mothers received included ‘How about support in the form of counseling? Is there any outreach organized by the Head of the Village’? The mothers responded, ‘None at all during Covid. Only from teachers’ (M-all) and that ‘Support [was] in the form of assisting students at their home’. (M-6) The interview data suggest that mothers, while some received support from teachers, older siblings and the extended family, were still very concerned about their children’s progress during online learning. They were worried that their own understanding of the online schoolwork to be completed did not correspond with the teachers’ expectations.

Turning to any positives that may have come out of this period of emergency remote schooling, Mother 6 noted that online learning from home helped parents to understand the role and work of teachers more fully. She remarked, ‘Yes, Ma’am. Parents finally get to know what it’s like to be a teacher’ (M-6). This mother suggested that children are more in awe of their teachers than parents and she commented light-heartedly that at times she used a threat of contacting the teacher as a means to control her children, ‘Yes, they are more afraid of their teachers than their own parents. Sometimes I threaten them with the words “I will video call your teacher”, and they immediately become scared. It’s usually like that’ (M-6).

In summary, it was evident that these mothers played a major role in their children’s education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A constant concern was centred around their children’s successful completion of their school tasks at home as they did not want them to have as little education as they had received. In all, they favoured a return to the more structured school setting. One mother commented that attendance at school provided a more structured and disciplined environment for the children. She noted, ‘Yes, they lack discipline. When children’s schools were offline, they are more disciplined and punctual; at half past eight in the morning, they would already be at school’. (M-6)

Discussion

Two of the lead researchers in this project engaged in conversations with the mothers and listened to their stories and concerns about providing a home context for online learning. The interview data provided insights into what constrained mothers’ involvement in children’s online schooling under these challenging circumstances. Within the domain of mothers’ involvement in their children’s remote schooling in rural South Sulawesi during COVID-19, an influential combination of the mothers’ educational history, unfamiliarity with technology and poor internet access served to generate powerful emotive responses to supporting their children’s learning. That is to say, these Indonesian mother’s involvement in children’s schoolwork was complex and challenging.

The mothers in this study had limited educational experiences, yet supported to their best ability their children’s schooling in a remote educational online context, which was unfamiliar and alienating for them. The findings revealed the intense emotive attention the participating mothers gave to their children’s remote schooling during COVID-19. Nowotny (1981) views emotional capital as a resource that is developed under adverse circumstances. It is a response to barriers rather than possibilities. Allatt (1993) describes emotional capital as ‘emotionally valued assets and skills, love and affection, expenditure of time, attention, care and concern’ (p. 143). The findings of this study show emotional capital as a resource that mothers offered their children to encourage and support their remote learning.

Mothers in this online rural Sulawesi context took on a new role as a facilitator of children’s learning during the pandemic despite their own limited story of schooling and education more broadly. Being concerned about unfamiliar technology and learning requirements which they were not sure of presented an enormous challenge. Yet even though the interviews with the mothers focused on the challenges of supporting their children’s online schooling, what seemed to underpin their response was the time, energy and commitment they put into helping their children. Reay (2000) refers to this response in terms of emotional capital which ‘encompasses the emotional resources you hand on to those you care about’ (p. 572). Reay goes onto quote Nowotny (1981), who contends that emotional capital is made up of ‘Knowledge, contacts and relations as well as access to emotionally valued skills and assets, which hold within any social network characterised at least by affective ties’ (p. 148). The affective ties between South Sulawesian mothers and their primary school-aged children were reflected in the nurturing support and boundary setting these mothers provided for their children during this time.

Emotional capital was the backdrop for the mothers’ support for their children’s participation in remote schooling. The South Sulawesian mothers mobilized reserves of emotional capital, which Hutchison (2012) refers to as ’the effective activation … of “love’s labour”’ (p. 210). The educational content and the mode of delivery increased the concerns of the mothers in terms of the support they could provide their children. The mothers’ relationship with schooling and the support they could give their children was tenuous, yet they expressed a sense of responsibility towards their newfound role. They were challenged and felt inadequate in this unfamiliar role; nevertheless, they did not appear to question their position as mothers and their duty to support their children’s education in this online environment. It appeared to be their emotional capital that gave them some strength under these difficult educational circumstances.

We argue that meanings given to these mothers’ involvement in their children’s remote schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic were enriched by an analysis of emotions associated with care, time, support and responsibility, which permeated how they mothered and facilitated their children’s learning. We conclude that the intersection between mothers’ emotional capital and feelings of providing inadequate support for children’s remote schooling gives new ways of foregrounding the strength rather than the limitations of the role these mothers played in their children’s remote schooling during these challenging times. The implication is that the support that rural South Sulawesian mothers located in remote regions can give their children’s primary school education, including when it is online, need not be underestimated.

Conclusion

Our main concern in writing this paper is to show the importance of the social and emotional aspects of remote schooling. These aspects were illustrated through the emotional labour and emotional capital exhibited by the mothers in this study towards their children and for their children’s learning. By focusing on this critical affective work, we aim to make visible in the scholarly literature the significance of the support and care rural South Sulawesian mothers, who have limited schooling themselves, provided for their school-aged children in times of global crisis.

It is not possible in these post-pandemic times to advocate for specific policy responses to the issues associated with remote schooling that arise from this case study research. However, we argue that many of these issues are ongoing as digital technology and the advent of Artificial Intelligence technologies shape the way children learn and engage with schooling. We argue that recognition and valuing of complex emotional relationships among children and their families and their teachers could enhance the schooling experience as it moves into uncertain digital educational territory.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nasmilah M. Hum

Nasmilah M. Hum is a teaching staff member of the English department, Faculty of Cultural Sciences Hasanuddin University. She also directs a private school of English in her region. She received her PhD from The University of Newcastle Australia. Her research interest is in Adult EFL learners, second language acquisition, and the Teaching of English as a Second/Foreign language. Nasmilah has presented papers at various national and international conferences. She has also published several articles about English education both in national and international journals.

Anne Keary

Anne Keary research, teaching and engagement work enhances the provision of socially-just education in diverse cultural and linguistic educational settings. She joined Monash University as a Lecturer in 2015. Her teaching interests are in the fields of early childhood education, bi/multilingualism and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages [TESOL]. Her research employs a qualitative intergenerational longitudinal approach. It explores social and cultural understandings of families and communities, and how they shape and are shaped by educational opportunities.

Sitti Sahraeny

Sitti Sahraeny is an English lecturer in the English Literature Department, Faculty of Cultural Sciences. She finished Undergraduate studies in English Language from Universitas Hasanuddin (1993) and her Masters in Applied Linguistics from the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (2002) under the ADS scheme. Her research interests include teacher training, curriculum development and material design and technology in language learning.

Gary Bonar

Gary Bonar is a Senior Lecturer in Languages and TESOL in the Education Faculty of Monash University (Australia). His research interests are in the areas of language teacher education, educator agency and identity in English Medium of Instruction (EMI) contexts. His work has featured in quality journals such as TESOL Quarterly, Current Issues in Language Planning and Teaching in Higher Education.

Wongso Adi Suputra

Wongso Adi Saputra is a student of Intercultural Linguistics PhD study program in Faculty of Humanity, Eötvös Lörand University, Budapest, Hungary. His research focuses on the use of English as Lingua Franca (ELF) in Higher Education Institutions, intercultural pragmatics, the importance of context in language, discourse analysis and multilingualism due to creative multilingualism appears among the learners of English in Indonesia and all ASEAN countries.

Yeni Karlina

Yeni Karlina is a recent PhD graduate from the Faculty of Education Monash University Australia. Her PhD research investigated early-career English teacher professional learning experiences in Indonesia and how these experiences influenced their teaching practices and professional identity development. She is currently working as a Learning Adviser under the Portfolio of Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education) at Monash University Australia.