New Normal Education: Impact to Parents in Southern Palawan, Philippines

: This study aimed to identify the impact of new normal education to parents in Southern Palawan. There were 144 parent-respondents in this study. This study investigated the advantage/s of new normal education to parents, the challenges they encountered, and the solutions they employed to surpass it. Most of the parents were females, with an average of 3 to 4 children, minimum wage earners, and graduates of high school. Frequency distribution, mean, percentage were the statistical tools used. Most of the parents stated that because of the new normal education, students learned independently. Most of the parents were challenged by the absence or poor internet connection. In order for them to cope up with the challenges, most of them disciplined the students at home.


I. INTRODUCTION
The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted all sectors of the society including education.Many schools were forced to shut down in order to safeguard the health of the learners and to prevent the fast spread of the virus.Closures of schools has affected students, teachers, and parents all over the world.In response to this, remote learning has been employed by the Department of Education in the Philippines.The delivery of education has been changed as schools need to adapt to the new methods of educating learners in order to continue the learning process.The new normal education was implemented in order to protect the health of the learners and educators. [1]United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2020) stated that disruptions to instructional time in the classroom can have a severe impact on a child's ability to learn.The longer marginalized children are out of school, the less likely they are to return.Children from the poorest households are already almost five times more likely to be out of primary school than those from the richest. [2]UNICEF (2020) narrated that monitoring is important to determine and improve the reach and effectiveness of distance learning modalities.Prolonged school closures have long-term implications and affect some population groups more than others, especially those without access to technology. [3]Further, Tibon (2020) mentioned that in the Philippines, Adoption of the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) in light of the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency was implemented.Streaming of the K-12 Curriculum into the most essential learning competencies, and allowing of multiple learning delivery modalities such as distance learning and blended learning have been the key elements of the new normal education in the country.However, it is confronted with different challenges.First, in the implementation of the various learning delivery modalities, the challenge will be in dealing with learners under any of the modes of distance learning or blended learning who are not capable of learning independently, or who are not periodically supported by their parents or guardians.Also critical for the implementation will be the mass production of the needed teachers and learners' learning materials, as well as the support of media institutions like TV and radio stations.Second, DepEd will need substantial and additional financial resources in order to meet the objectives of the BE-LCP.This is where the support of the respective local government units, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders become indispensable.Third, the holistic development of students will

II. METHODOLOGY
This utilized the exploratory-descriptive research design as it carefully investigated the impact of new normal education to parents in Southern, Palawan, Philippines.This study involved 144 parents of students from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strand in Southern Palawan.Survey questionnaires were used in gathering the data on this study.The researchers constructed a four-part questionnaire to gather the necessary information such as number of children, family income, and educational attainment; and gathered information such as the advantages and challenges of the new normal education; as well as the solutions they employed to overcome the challenges.The study employed several statistical tools which include frequency tables, percentage, weighted mean, and ranking to analyze the data.Table 1a shows the profile of the parents of STEM students in Southern Palawan in terms of the number of children.60 (41.67%) had number of children ranging from 3-4; 40 (27.78%) from 5-6; 23 (15.97%) from 1-2; 13 (9.03%)from 7-8; 4 (2.78%) from 9-10; and 2 (1.39%) from 11-12 and 12-13.This implies that majority of the parents of the STEM students' parents had an average number of children.Table 1b shows the profile of the parents of STEM students in Southern Palawan in terms of family monthly income.64 (44.44%) of the respondents earned ₱4,001-₱9,000; 41 (28.47%) earned 0-₱4,000; 20 (13.89%) earned ₱9,001-₱14,000; 9 (6.25%) earned ₱19,001-₱24,000; 4 (2.78%) earned ₱24,001-₱29,000; 3 (2.08%)earned ₱14,001-₱19,000; 2 (1.39%) earned ₱44,001-₱49,000; and 1 (0.69%) earned ₱39,001-₱44,000.This implies that majority of the parents were minimum wage earners because according to National Wages and Productivity Commission of the Philippines (2022), the minimum wage daily in the MIMAROPA Region as of June 10, 2022 is ₱329.00 to ₱355.00 or from ₱6,580.00 t0 ₱7,100.00monthly.Table 1c shows the profile of the parents of STEM students in Southern Palawan in terms of educational attainment.50 (34.72%) of the parents were secondary graduates; 38 (26.39%) were bachelor's degree holders; 20 (13.89%) were secondary undergraduates; 18 (12.50%)were elementary graduates; 10 (6.94%) were elementary undergraduates; 3 (2.08%) with PhD units; 2 (1.39%) were MS/MA graduates and had MS/MA Units; and 1 (0.69%) completed all the requirements for his/her master's degree (CARMA).This means that majority of the parents were graduates of high school.) of the parents stated that students learn independently; 17 (11.81%)mentioned that new normal education is less expensive; 15 (10.42%) mentioned that students were safe; 14 (9.72%) agreed that students are able to continue their education despite pandemic; 9 (6.52%) said that students manage their own time; 8 (5.56%) emphasized that students need not go to school, and students and can help with household chores; 9 (6.25%) said that students can work while studying, they can monitor/guide their children well, and have quality time with the family; 4 (2.78%) stressed that students become independent; 3 (2.08%)stated that they develop a better relationship with their child; and 1 (0.69%) stated that creativity is developed within the learner, students strive hard to learn and pass, and students discover new things about themselves.Results imply that the advantage of new normal education to majority of the parents was seeing their children become more independent learners.Table 3 presents the challenges encountered by the parents in the implementation of the new normal education.It can be gleaned from the table that 47 (32.64%) of the parents were challenged by the absence or poor internet connection; 19 (13.19%) by the lack of resources; 11 (7.64%) because the lessons in the modules are difficult for the students to comprehend alone; 10 (6.94%) by the financial problem; 9 (6.25%) with the difficulty of the students to learn on their own, and difficulty facilitating the child's learning; 6 (4.17%) by the health risks due to radiation exposures, students cannot focus on answering the modules because of household chores, and reduced time for family bonding, 5 (3.47%) because students were uninterested to learn; 4 (2.78%) with the time management; 3 (2.08%) by the noisy environment; and 1 (0.69%) by the stress and depression among students, stress and depression they experienced themselves because they cannot explain the lesson to their children, no validation of learning, students' lack of sleep, and late submission of modules.Results imply that the predominant challenges and problems of parents relative to the implementation of the new normal education were attributed to having no or poor internet connection. [6]Agaton and Cueto (2021) affirmed the findings by mentioning that parents face various challenges from distance learning in terms of the virtual setting which include the delivery of instruction; unsatisfactory learning outcomes; struggle with the use and availability of technology; personal problems with health, stress, and learning style of their child as well as financial difficulties.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In addition, having no or poor internet connection entails that there could be no means to connect to any virtual or online classes or activities which the parents may find disturbing and stressing on their part as the ones who look after and ensure the quality learning of their children in the new normal education.Table 4 presents the solutions employed by the parents to overcome the challenges they encountered in the implementation of the new normal education.The data revealed that in order for the parents to cope up with the challenges, 20 (13.89%) of them disciplined the students at home; 15 (10.42%) trusted God; 14 (9.72%) managed their time; 13 (9.03%)provided student with moral support; 9 (6.25%) went to a place with signal; 8 (5.56%) acquired an internet booster; 6 (4.17%) did wise budgeting, and helped the student with his/her lessons; 5 (3.47%) advised the student to search online for difficult lessons; 4 (2.78%) became responsible, and looked for an additional source of income; 3 (2.08%)encouraged continuously the child to finish his/ her study, and employed persistence; 2 (1.39%) monitored the student well, asked help from family members and other people, and advised the student to get vaccinated; and 1 (0.69%) gave time for the student to finish his/ her learning task.Results imply that most parents tend to discipline their children as a solution to the challenges they encountered in the implementation of the new normal education.Another great number of parents entrusted their worries and problems about the engagement of their children in the new normal education to God.Other parents inculcated time management among themselves and their children to overcome the challenges they encountered in the new normal education.

IV. CONCLUSION
The advantage of new normal education to parents was seeing their children became more independent learners.The struggles faced by parents relative to the implementation of the new normal education were attributed to having no or poor internet connection.They disciplined their children at home to cope up with the challenges they encountered in the implementation of the new normal education.

Table 1a .
The Demographic Profile of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students' Parents in Southern Palawan in terms of Number of Children

Table 1b .
The Demographic Profile of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students' Parents in Southern Palawan in terms of Family Income

Table 1c .
The Demographic Profile of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students' Parents in Southern Palawan in terms of Educational Attainment

Table 2 .
Advantage/s of New Normal Education to Parents

Table 2
presents the advantage/s of the new normal education to parents.It can be noticed from the table that 42 (29.17%

Table 3 .
The Challenges Encountered by the Parents in the New Normal Education ISSN:

Table 4 .
Solutions Employed by the Parents to the Challenges They Encountered in the New Normal Education ISSN: