Military Deployed Parent Perceptions of Involvement in the Education of their Children

Chapter Four: Findings

Overview

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their childs education. It begins with an examination of the experiences of the 12 participants as revealed through questionnaires, interviews, artifacts and focus groups. It then identifies the three themes that emerged through analysis of the data collected. These themes are developed with references to the participating sources, with the aim being to answer the central question and the three sub-questions of this study. The main question was: What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education? The three sub-questions were:

1. How do military parents describe their involvement in their children's education while deployed?

2. How do military parents perceive the impact of their deployment on the family and particularly on their child's academic performance?

3. What challenges do military parents who are deployed face while trying to stay involved in their children's education?

This chapter provides a brief description of the participants and describes the findings.

Participants

The demographics of the participants were as follows: of the 12 participants, half were currently deployed and half were not deployed at the time data was collected. 9 of the participants were male; 3 were female. The median age of the participants was 35.75. The average number of children per adult participant was 2.5. 4 participants were Caucasian. 6 were African-American. 2 were Hispanic. In terms of education, 4 had attained only a high school diploma. 5 had attained a Bachelors. 3 had attained a Masters. 8 participants came from the Army, 1 from the Navy, 1 from the Marines, and 2 from the Air Force. Ranks ranged from Corporal to Major. The sample of participants thus demonstrated suitable diversity reflective of the overall character of the military in terms of race, gender, rank, and branch. However, with the median age of participants being 35.75, the sample did skew towards older service members.

For confidentiality reasons, the names of the participants have been changed to protect their identity. In the following section, a brief description of each participant, identified by pseudonym, is given based on the data collected. Following this, a description of the themes that emerge from the data is provided.

Mike William

At the time of this study, Mike was an Army officer, male, Caucasian, 40, married, holding the rank of LTC and having obtained an M.A. He had two children, one in high school and one in middle school. His perspective on being involved in his childrens education while deployed was that it is a challenge for logistical reasons:

The biggest challenge I would say is not being able to communicate with my kids at a convenient time. Unfortunately, due to time zone difference, they're normally asleep when I'm up, so in order to communicate I would have to stay up late or ask them stay up late, neither was ideal, but I think we did our best to make it work.

Important to Mike in overcoming the challenge of distance was to have a strong support system in place. Thus, Mike viewed financial and social support systems as helpful for reducing tension and anxiety that might otherwise arise for his family during his deployment.

On the behavior of children, Mike explained that they seemed to be more independent and you feel like youre not really part of that movement or process. By viewing his children as increasingly autonomous, Mike was able to reduce his own sense of anxiety with respect to being there…

Military Deployed Parent Perceptions of Involvement in the Education of their Children

Chapter Four: Findings

Overview

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their childs education. It begins with an examination of the experiences of the 12 participants as revealed through questionnaires, interviews, artifacts and focus groups. It then identifies the three themes that emerged through analysis of the data collected. These themes are developed with references to the participating sources, with the aim being to answer the central question and the three sub-questions of this study. The main question was: What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education? The three sub-questions were:

1. How do military parents describe their involvement in their children's education while deployed?

2. How do military parents perceive the impact of their deployment on the family and particularly on their child's academic performance?

3. What challenges do militry parents who are deployed face while trying to stay involved in their children's education?

This chapter provides a brief description of the participants and describes the findings.

Participants

The demographics of the participants were as follows: of the 12 participants, half were currently deployed and half were not deployed at the time data was collected. 9 of the participants were male; 3 were female. The median age of the participants was 35.75. The average number of children per adult participant was 2.5. 4 participants were Caucasian. 6 were African-American. 2 were Hispanic. In terms of education, 4 had attained only a high school diploma. 5 had attained a Bachelors. 3 had attained a Masters. 8 participants came from the Army, 1 from the Navy, 1 from the Marines, and 2 from the Air Force. Ranks ranged from Corporal to Major.…

Military Deployed Parent Perceptions of Involvement in the Education of their Children

Chapter Four: Findings

Overview

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their childs education. It begins with an examination of the experiences of the 12 participants as revealed through questionnaires, interviews, artifacts and focus groups. It then identifies the three themes that emerged through analysis of the data collected. These themes are developed with references to the participating sources, with the aim being to answer the central question and the three sub-questions of this study. The main question was: What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education? The three sub-questions were:

1. How do military parents describe their involvement in their children's education while deployed?

2. How do military parents perceive the impact of their deployment on the family and particularly on their child's academic performance?

3. What challenges do military parents who are deployed face while trying to stay involved in their children's education?

This chapter provides a brief description of the participants and describes the findings.

Participants

The demographics of the participants were as follows: of the 12 participants, half were currently deployed and half were not deployed at the time data was collected. 9 of the participants were male; 3 were female. The median age of the participants was 35.75. The average number of children per adult participant was 2.5. 4 participants were Caucasian. 6 were African-American. 2 were Hispanic. In terms of education, 4 had attained only a high school diploma. 5 had attained a Bachelors. 3 had attained a Masters. 8 participants came from the Army, 1 from the Navy, 1 from the Marines, and 2 from the Air Force. Ranks ranged from Corporal to Major. The sample of participants thus demonstrated suitable diversity reflective of the overall character of the military in terms of race, gender, rank, and branch. However, with the median age of participants being 35.75, the sample did skew towards older service members.

For confidentiality reasons, the names of the participants have been changed to protect their identity. In the following section, a brief description of each participant, identified by pseudonym, is given based on the data collected. Following this, a description of the themes that emerge from the data is provided.

Mike William

At the time of this study, Mike was an Army officer, male, Caucasian, 40, married, holding the rank of LTC and having obtained an M.A. He had two children, one in high school and one in middle school. His perspective on being involved in his childrens education while deployed was that it is a challenge for logistical reasons:

The biggest challenge I would say is not being able to communicate with my kids at a convenient time. Unfortunately, due to time zone difference, they're normally asleep when I'm up, so in order to communicate I would have to stay up late or ask them stay up late, neither was ideal, but I think we did our best to make it work.

Important to Mike in overcoming the challenge of distance was to have a strong support system in place. Thus, Mike viewed financial and social support systems as helpful for reducing tension and anxiety that might otherwise arise for his family during his deployment.

On the behavior of children, Mike explained that they seemed to be more independent and you feel like youre not really part of that movement or process. By viewing his children as increasingly autonomous, Mike was able to reduce his own sense of anxiety with respect to being there for their educational needs during deployment. He identified means of communication, however, as crucial for keeping in touch and keeping channels of dialogue open: Internet, email, Instagram, social media. Face Time. Phone calls. All that stuff. Sometimes they like to send letters to keep it fun. When I' m home, I'm just with them as much as possible, going to their school for things, helping with math and reading.

Mike explained that during deployment he relied on the support of his wife to help the children with school. At the same time he admitted this was no replacement for him being away because the kids "don't like that I'm away, and I can't be there like I want to be and they feel that I think. It's hard for them and they struggle."

Christopher Barnet

Christopher was an Army officer, male, African-American, 42, divorced, holding the rank of SGM, with a B.A. education level, and one child. Christopher noted that while he likes to be hands-on, he feels that he cannot be there for his child during deployment and that divorce has only made it harder. Christopher explained that he relies a great deal on his childs teachers for guidance and support in the childs education, stating, I think teachers in military schools tend to be a little more empathic towards students with deployed parents. According to Christopher, the two main challenges of deployment were the lack of the opportunity .......ken up. On the perceptions that parents have regarding deployment, Christopher stated:

Just trying to have the time to sit down and be there for the kid. It makes it hard when one person doesn't want to help, and then if you're deployed it's like you don't even have that opportunity, soI would say parental involvement is exactly what it soundsbeing involved.

Christopher also noted that because of the unstable nature of home life when one parent is deployed, the child inadvertently ends up relying on others, which undermines the father-child bond in his eyes. That bond, he felt, only worsened with divorce: Everything is kind of upside down after a divorce and even beforeso everything is always kind of tense and uncertain, whether I'm deployed or not. In some ways it almost feels like being deployed is easier.

Overall, Christopher felt that deployment denied him a chance to participate in his childs eduction in a close manner. He described his effort at communicating with his childs teachers as minimal: My interaction went from one to two times a month to zerobecause of the time zone difference, it just wasn't possible. According to Christopher, the best solution for deployed parents who are concerned about their childs education is to ensure that they have family support all the time.

Johnathon Steely

Jonathon was an Army officer, male, Hispanic, 38, holding the rank of ISG with a H.S. education and two children, ages 6 and 10. For him, the main challenge of deployment was the lack of constant communication. Although he had nearly two decades in the military, he observed that he loved spending time with his family. However, because he had complete faith and trust in his wife, who also had more higher education than he did, he did not feel too overwhelmed or concerned by his childrens education during deployment. He felt blessed to have his wife there at home to support the process.

In terms of the effects on the spouse and how his relationship with his wife is impacted by deployment, Jonathon explained that their relationship was good no matter what because they had been through it all and knew how to handle the ups and downs of deployment. He pointed out that his wife was dedicated to making sure that the children received the best education even in his absence. He noted, too, that when away, speaking to the children via phone or Instant Messaging could encourage them because it let them know he was still involved in their lives, thinking of them, and that he expected great things from them. He emphasized the need for proactive and supportive talk on his part for his children.

Overall, because of his trust in a supportive wife at home, he felt that deployment did not have a significant effect on the academic performance of his children. The only challenge he observed was when traveling across different locations where it becomes a problem of maintaining constant communication with the children and also checking their assignments. Although distant communication has some rewards, Jonathon explained that phone communication is less ideal than face-to-face time. Jonathon explained that the best solution is just to try to keep up as much constant communication with the spouse and children as possible.

Zac Caldwell

Zac was an Army officer, male, Caucasian, 30, married, holding the rank of SSG, with a H.S. education and two children, one 15 and one 12. During deployment, Zac was able to keep constant communication with the children. Overall, he felt satisfied with the role that everyone played in helping in the education of his children during his deployment: I think its a combination of all of the above. Family, educators, and my community all played a major role in assisting my children in their education while I was deployed. I did what I could from a far, but these systems stepped in and filled in where I couldn't, and I'm extremely grateful for that.

Zac relied on his wife for information about his childrens academic progress during his absence. At the same time, he also noted that it was not easy for her to handle parenting responsibilities on her own, and she did feel pressure when it came to overseeing the childrens progress in school. For that reason, Zac stated he was grateful that the teachers and people in the community were there to help give a positive example to the children. He indicated that having a support system of teachers, community and family is really important in making sure that no gaps open up that can cause kids to move backwards. He also knew, however, that his kids understand the challenges. They know that deployment makes it hard for everyone to cope, and that they too have to increase their focus on their education. The main advantage was the presence of their mother and constant communication that helped in addressing daily challenges. But overall, Zac explained that the major challenges during the entire deployment period came mostly in the pre-deployment period when there is a lot of anxiety about what is to comebut once it arrives, everyone finds a way to balance things out.

Christopher Brown

Brown was an Army officer, male, Caucasian, 36, married, holding the rank of Major, with an M.A. and three children. With Brown, faith in God was the most important element when it came to coping with deployment and making sure his children were still focused on education. He explained that the process of deployment has both good and bad aspects to it, but the family and church are instrumental in keeping everyone aligned. For him, communication is the main challenge during deployment:

Not being able to communicate as often and as much as I would like was definitely a challenge, not just for me but for them as well. Our family is pretty tight knit, my wife and I have always encouraged our kids to communicate with us about any and everything. While deployed, I wasn't able to provide my kids that opportunity.

Not having access to physical communication was a challenge, but there were ways to compensate: according to Brown, parental involvement in childrens education does not mean having to be there at all times. A parent can pray for his children and make sure God is being asked for help. Brown noted that he leaves everything to God, and this makes it easy for him to address multiple challenges. Thus, whether deployed or not, he has taught his children to accept every challenge by turning to God for support. For that reason, he noted that even during his deployment, the children have learned to step up and become more responsible and have always done what is expected of them.

During deployment, Brown turned distance into a learning opportunity for him and his children, to see how they could all adjust to a new challenge. One way they adjusted was that Brown went through his wife to reach out to teachers, unlike other times when he could easily engage them directly when not deployed. The central point Brown made was that he always sought to ensure that the faith support system was strong enough to guarantee everyone did his duty by the children.

Billy Mathews

Billy was an Army officer, male, African-American, 44, holding the rank of SGM with a B.A. and three children. Billy had no complaints about deployment, seeing it is part of the job; he did not believe one should view it as an excuse to not be engaged in the education of ones children. At the same time, he noted that he had a large family that he could rely upon for support: I have a pretty big family, and for the most part, we were in a pretty good financial state, so those two factors definitely played a major role. I would say that the strong bond I share with my wife and kids really made things go smoothly. The main challenge, Billy noted, was that more was expeted of his wife while he was away: she had to serve as both mother and father for the children, i.e., act as nurturer and as disciplinarian (a role he typically filled when at home). For Billy, parental involvement in his childrens education involved establishing rules, attaining consistency, and providing oversight so as to hold the kids accountable. Personal accountability was the number one lesson Billy aimed to teach his children so that they would know to manage their own affairs at school without having to be prodded by a parent.

During deployment, Billy explained that the method of parental involvement in a childs education changes. Disciplining them becomes challenging, and it only means that they have to discipline themselves and equally let the mother take up the responsibility. Fortunately, Billy's spouse has all the skills to handle numerous situations relating to children and only asks for my input if really in need of it. Challenges set in due to communication difficulties due to the network, and when deployed in regions that have extremely different time zones, communication is affected. The deployment also affects the frequency of interacting with educators. According to Billy, it is vital for parents to be flexible and be ready for the growing dynamics.

Bill Schneider

Bill was an Army officer, male, African-American, 34, married, holding the rank of 1LT with a B.S. and three children. Bill explained that during deployment, he did worry about his childrens education. He felt stretched and trying to communicate across time zones meant sacrificing more time to remain awake to match the time zone of the children. To be considerate of the childrens needs, Bill only made night calls during weekends when his children were not expected to rise for school to next day.

For Bill, parental involvement in his childrens education did not just focus on academic development but also on moral development. He viewed it as his duty to provide for their moral upbringing, to give them emotional support and financial support. However, deployment limited the connectivity that he had with them and with their teachers:

The biggest difference so far is not being able to check in with teachers as much as I would like. Most schools are now virtual because of the pandemic, so that does help, because I could access my kid's progress online, but if I have any questions, I'm not always able to contact the teachers for a quick response because of the time zone difference.

To compensate, Bill would use WhatsApp and other social media platforms to enhance interactions. By connecting in this way, he stated he could reduce the feeling of distance and prevent depression from setting in for him or his wife and children. Staying in touch was seen by him as very important for everyone, especially when it came to the childrens education. Bill has thus tried to use FaceTime to read