Calvin News

In early 2020, the William + Flora Hewlett Foundation commissioned a two-part study, the first was to look at how parents are staying informed about schools and education.

Jesse Holcomb, a journalism and communication professor at Calvin University, has been doing public opinion research about news and media for more than a decade. So, it made sense that he was tapped to lead the study.

A pivot, an opportunity

But, just as Holcomb was ready to deploy an initial survey to parents, there was a major shakeup: “COVID hit our education system like a meteor,” said Holcomb.

“That required me to really rethink and reframe how I was going to do this study. We had to pivot, and it turned out to be an incredible opportunity, because when any kind of structure or system is under a great deal of stress, it’s a great time to examine how it performs under that stress.”

So, Holcomb, and a team, including undergraduate researchers at Calvin, got to work.

“I absolutely couldn’t have done this work without any of them. I can’t tell you what a delight it’s been in my years at Calvin to work with these bright undergraduates, a group that hails from a wide range of backgrounds and each bringing something unique to this project,” said Holcomb. “The students helped me with the work every step of the way, from thinking through the research design, to helping me with the data once we got it back, and the Center for Social Research was essential in helping manage the production of the study.”

The first survey of parents was fielded just after schools had universally shut down in spring 2020, and then many of those same parents were re-interviewed in August 2021. All told, the research is based on more than 4,300 survey interviews. The findings from these studies, though many, really honed in on a few key areas: parents are desperate for high quality information about schools and education; not all parents are using information sources in the same way (and this varies based on race/ethnicity); and parents want more solution-based news coverage rather than just stories that emphasize the problems.

Inform us

In the initial survey, parents were asked which news topics were most important to stay informed about. Two topics—public health and schools, rose to the top of the list, being viewed as “very important” by 57% of parents surveyed. These twinned topics were viewed with nearly twice the urgency of government and politics.

By the time the second survey rolled around more than 15 months later, schools and education clearly emerged as the leading issue for parents when it came to staying informed, with 69% saying education was “very important.”

“This is a topic that clearly hits close to home,” said Holcomb.

Know us

While across the board American parents are desperate for high quality information, this study found that how these sources were used and viewed varied depending on the racial and ethnicity group with whom one associates.

“In all of my years studying news and media access among American publics, it’s clear that there are pretty consistent information gaps and inequities, and parents of color are often underserved in terms of high-quality news and information,” said Holcomb.

One of the key findings in this area is that parents of color, especially Black parents, are using a variety of news sources at higher rates than White parents. But Holcomb also found it interesting that White parents reported at a higher rate that a variety of non-media sources are especially useful to them.

“As I reflect on that finding, it suggests to me that white parents for a variety of reasons have access to powerful information networks that parents of color don’t always have,” said Holcomb. “And so Black and Hispanic parents are particularly reliant on TV, newspapers and ethnic media to meet their information needs.”

Guide us

Another key finding of the surveys was parents wanting what Holcomb describes as service or solutions journalism. He points to the fact that news coverage is often focused on reporting out what just happened. In fact, Holcomb will release a second report at the end of February 2022 that clearly confirms this to be true. But he says what parents have really wanted, and to a greater extent at this time in history, is help.

“Parents are telling us in this research that they need an advocate and a guide, not just a broadcaster,” said Holcomb. “Parents want practical information that is going to help them navigate things like online education, student mental health, and child preparedness as we enter the endemic stage of COVID. They need information tools to help them navigate their educational systems which can be confusing, and in some cases, hard to access.”

Take Action

The findings of the study are interesting, but more importantly actionable.

For parents, “survey research at its best holds up a mirror to us all, it can help us see ways we are not alone,” said Holcomb. “My hope is parents can see that they are in good company, that other parents are just as eager for tools to help them navigate this challenging time.”

For schools and administrators, Holcomb hopes the findings provide an opportunity to make sure the ways in which they are sharing information is not a one-size fits all approach, because some communication pathways aren’t as accessible to all. “Schools are vital sources of information for parents, and they need to think hard about the diversity of experiences and information needs that their parents and their families have.”

And Holcomb says the media are key players in all of this. “I hope that they will be inspired to see their role not just as a news provider, but also as a parent advocate. School systems, especially during COVID, are difficult to navigate and parents have lots of questions and journalists have great opportunity to play an important role here.”

The second part of this study commissioned by the Hewlett Foundation focuses on news coverage of education itself and will be published later this month. That study, also led by Holcomb, includes questions of how frequently news organizations provide solutions-based coverage of schools and identifies the kinds of themes emphasized in local news coverage in 20 markets across the United States.