Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 203 Research Paper Perceived Parental Involvement in Digital Learning of Higher Secondary Adolescent Students in Kerala Ajith R Pillai1 & P. Sethurajakumar. T2 1Ph. D. Research Scholar, Department of Sociology Periyar University Salem, Tamil Nadu Email: ajithrpilla@gmail.com 2Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology Periyar University Salem, Tamil Nadu Abstract Many nations executed emergency strategies, such as lockdown and temporary school closings due to the new-fangled situation of COVID-19. It has pointedly affected families as of the involvement essential in backing children’s online learning at home. The current inquiry aims to examine adolescents’ participation and their home-based parental involvement along their online learning provided by ‘KITE VICTERS’ Educational channel under the General Education Department, Government of Kerala throughout the lockdown and school closure period in 2020- 2021 academic year. The online survey, using closed-ended questionnaire, was administered. Variables included parent’s and their children’s socio-demographic characteristics; students’ participation in online learning through ‘First bell’; and their perceived parental involvement. Data were collected from a sample of adolescent children from higher secondary adolescent students, and statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS. The researcher used univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis to investigate the association between parents’ involvement in students’ online learning. Findings exposed that, according to the adolescent students’, their parents reinforced them throughout the pandemic mainly through the monitoring of participation in online classes and task realization. However, several socio-demographic variables appear to have no significant relation to the participation of students in online/ digital learning. Implications for policies, schools, families are discussed to promote children’s online learning and academic accomplishments. Keywords: Digital learning, adolescents’ participation, parental involvement, higher secondary adolescent students, KITE Victers Introduction The family that functions in a knowledge society influences the adolescent child and plays an important role in the process of development. The influence of the family is supplementary in this twenty-first century, distinguished as a digital century. Digital technologies have become increasingly integrated into educational institutions, serving not only as means to facilitate learning, but also as platforms that link home and school. Parents’ preferences and beliefs towards technology have a major role in adolescents’ use of technology as they directly affect the quality and the quantity of digital media available to them, especially at home. It is, therefore, crucial to understand how parents perceive the changes imposed by online education upon their children’s development, their diverse beliefs, and practices. Digital learning/online education is a type of learning that is reinforced by digital technology or by Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 204 instructional exercise that makes actual usage of technology. Masrom (2007) explains e-learning/ online education as the learning enabled and reinforced through the employment of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) which can be used in different learning situations to progress learning routine (AL-Adwan & Smedley, 2012). The online education tossed owing to the COVID-19 epidemic has enhanced the “digitization” procedure in teaching- learning. Going digital is not a modest process; it consumes multifaceted ingredients, such as perseverance, a computer-generated administration structure, willingness to pact with on- line teaching-learning tools, digital eloquence, and handling the moods of fear and societal loneliness (Angoletto & Queiroz,  2020). It is, consequently, essential to distinguish that distance education through online education includes numerous problems and restraints rather than discerning that it is “simply home-based education”. Conferring to Mulenga and Marbán (2020), COVID-19 has amused an arbitrating role in helping people use digital strategies, online capitals, societal media technologies, and e-learning actions more efficiently. Ribeiro et al. (2021) had their conclusions giving eminence to the necessity for a noteworthy outlay of spell as of parentages, predominantly of school adolescents, producing difficulty to stick effort or telework with scholastic actions, in demand to encourage teenagers’ education and accomplishment. Difficulties recognized as far as the adolescents and parents were concerned included a dearth of contact to technologies and the internet, alternative approaches for academic activities provisions, such as supplementary responsibilities and disproportionate assignments, and inadequate occasions for added in- depth clarifications from educators once essential (Wajdi et al., 2020). The investigation by Çevik, M., and Bakioğlu, B (2021) intended to assess whether the fear of constricting COVID-19 (CoVFC) had a controlling outcome on the forecast of pre-service educators’ academic motivations through their computer self-efficacy observations (CSE). The upsurge was realized to consume a negative controlling consequence on the forecast of academic motivations with the computer self-efficacy observations of pre-service teachers. Research led by Griffith and Arnold  (2019)  by thirty-six families in the US propose that parents perform significant part in supporting the child’s perspective progress when engaging online apps with their kids. As observed by further research, the non- technical proficiency and working out required to effectively steer the gadgets may also impact the child parent relationships as the emphasis swings away as of learning how the usage of technology is to utilize the technology to study  (ViDunn,  J et al., 2018). Kour, Sunmeet (2017) conducted a study in ‘Exploring adolescent students’ attitude towards the effectiveness of e-learning in their academic life’. The outcome pointed out that the adolescents have a favourable attitude towards e-learning and no significant differences among male and female students. The public education system in Kerala has been changing slowly to include digital education in its daily conventional classroom practices for the last few years. But as the Covid 19 pandemic has changed the system very quickly and rapidly, many of the parents and adolescents were taken swiftly into a new situation of learning experiences at home. The schools were not functioning for the last few months; there were no regular classes and face to face interactions between the teachers and peers. At this juncture, the government has begun virtual classes for the school children coming Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 205 under the department of general education through the ‘KITE VICTERS’ channel. The programme named ‘First bell classes’ was transmitted for the higher secondary adolescent students in different subjects. Online education, consequently, gives rise to advanced stages of stress for adolescent school children and parents (Carvalho et al., 2020). This study investigates the parental involvement in the participation of students in First Bell Classes, an alternative digital learning system, during the Covid-19 situation. Through this programme Govt. of Kerala provides digital classes from pre-primary up to the higher secondary students through, Television, YouTube channels and other private channels. The parents had to change their role to be their child’s ‘educator’ as the adolescent students needed their support. Some students were using the devices or gadgets of parents to watch the first bell classes. While most of the higher secondary students had their gadgets (mobile phones, tablets, iPod, etc.). It is in this scenario that the study investigated parental involvement along with the adolescent student’s participation in ‘First bell’ classes during the academic year 2020-2021. In this study, the parents were identified as those who are biological fathers and mothers and, in their absence, the ones who took up the responsibilities of adolescent child- rearing. Parental involvement was defined as the parental efforts to plan, engage in, support, monitor and/or assess the learning experiences of their children at home predominantly using technological devices and media, increasing technology literacy; enabling easy and quick access to information sources; enhancing learner autonomy and academic achievement. Symbolic interactionist theory establishing the base of this work reflects micro-level societal relations to make us realize how persons in a family particularly the parents socialize and mature individualities besides the way of communication in their normal existence. Research question What is the relationship between the participation of parents and their adolescent child’s participation in digital online education in Kerala during the Covid-19 period? Objectives of the study 1. To identify the extent of participation of mothers in the digital learning process of Higher Secondary School adolescents in Kerala. 2. To identify the extent of participation of fathers in digital learning of Higher Secondary School adolescents in Kerala. 3. To find out the participation of adolescent students in the digital learning process. 4. To identify the relationship between socio-demographic variables and adolescent student participation towards digital learning. 5. To identify the relationship between the participation levels of parents in the digital learning process of school adolescents and the adolescent students ‘participation level. Method of the study As the inquiry was about the involvement of parents and the participation of students in digital learning, the investigation was designed as a quantitative study. The population selected was the second year higher secondary school adolescents of Kerala during the academic year of 2020-2021. A stratified random sampling technique was used. A total of 321 higher Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 206 secondary school adolescents from the identified four districts of Kerala have been selected to be included in the sample. Two districts each from south and north of the State were identified. The districts were Kasaragod, the northernmost district of the State, Malappuram, the district which is the one which has the largest number of higher secondary adolescent students, lying towards the central part of Kerala, Ernakulam, a metropolitan district from central Kerala and Kollam which is one among the southernmost part of Kerala. A rating scale consisting of 26 Statements for the parents and five Statements for the adolescent students were used. These Statements were piloted among a small group (7 no.) of adolescent school students as a trial and modifications were made appropriately. Then, the tool was administered online using a Google Form, the data collected were scrutinized and classified and statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics. Analysis and Interpretation of Data The results based on a statistical analysis of the data collected for the study are presented in tables and figures, following the sequence of the specific research problem regarding student participation in digital education. The data were collected by online mode from the districts of Kasaragod and Malappuram as the representation from the North region while Kollam and Ernakulum represented the South region of Kerala. Among the sample, 32.71 percent of respondents belong to Ernakulam district and 34.58 percent are from Malappuram district. The respondents from Kollam and Kasaragod districts consisted of 19.63 percent and 13.08 percent respectively. Distribution of Sample by Demographic Characteristics The unit of study is the higher secondary school going student. According to the age distribution, most of the respondents of the sample were of the age of eighteen (204). Among the sample, 54 percent of respondents were males and 46 percent were females. Distribution of Sample by Subject under Study Among the sample, 53 percent of students were from the science stream. Those from the Humanities and Commerce stream were 32.4 percent and 14.33 percent respectively. Distribution of Samples by Place of Residence and Socio-Economic Status Among the sample 63 percent respondents were from rural areas and the remaining 37 percent from Profile of the Respondents Table-1: Distribution of Sample Taken for the Study by District District Number Of Respondents Percent Ernakulam 105 32.71 Kasaragod 42 13.08 Kollam 63 19.63 Malappuram 111 34.58 Total 321 100.00 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 207 urban areas. The socio-economic status described was based on their category of ration cards used for purchasing from the public distribution system. As per the ration cards, 67 percent of respondents belong to Above Poverty Line (APL) and 33 percent were of the Below Poverty Line (BPL). Student’s participation in Digital Classes The different types of gadgets used by the students Among the sample majority of the students (80 percent) were depending on mobile/Smartphones for attending digital classes. Twelve percent of the sample students attended the classes telecasted through television and two percent used computers for attending the online classes. Six percent of the students were occasionally using all the above-mentioned gadgets for participating in digital learning. The Ownership of gadgets used by the students Among the sample 47 percent of the students were using their parent’s gadget for attending digital classes while 41 percent of students were having their own gadgets, whereas eight percent of the respondents were using their sibling’s gadgets. Student’s preference about attending mode of learning Among the sample, 70 percent of the adolescent students preferred offline classes while 17 percent of them were interested in online classes. There was 13 percent of students who preferred the combination of online and offline classes. Figure-1: Students Preferred Mode of learning Students Participation in Online/ Digital Classes Various indicators used for measuring the student’s participation level in online/digital classes are described in table 2. There were 5 indicators with five categories of response, such as Never, Sometimes, Often, Almost and Always. Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 208 Table-2: Various Indicators Used for Measuring the Students Participation Level in Online/Digital Classes Indicators Response (%) Never Sometimes Often Almost Always I am interested to be in digital/online classes 25.9 22.2 12.5 18.8 20.6 I can comprehend the content discussed in online classes without further help 25.3 21.8 18.8 19.1 15.0 I have full-time participation in the digital/online classes 15.6 20.0 16.6 24.1 23.7 I regularly participate in the digital /online classes related to my subject aired by KITE VICTERS Kerala First Bell 22.5 16.8 19.1 19.7 21.9 I was able to properly finish the homework and extended works given in the first bell classes 23.1 16.3 18.4 15.6 26.6 Among the sample, 26 percent of respondents were never interested in being in the digital/ online classes, while 20 percent were always interested. Nineteen percent of adolescent students could almost, and 15 percent could always comprehend the content discussed in online classes without further help, but 25 percent of the respondents were never able to comprehend without further help. Around 48 percent of respondents reported that they had full-time participation in the digital classes. Twenty-two percent of the respondents reported to have regularly participated in online classes related to their subject aired by KITE VICTERS, while 22 percent never participated in digital classes. Twenty-three percent of respondents Stated that they were not able to properly finish the homework and extended works given. Only 26 Percent of the respondents disclosed that they were able to properly finish the homework and extended works given during the first bell classes Level of participation of online/ digital classes among the students Figure-2: Students Participation Level in Digital/ Online Classes Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 209 From among the sample, 47 percent of students were identified as having low and 53 percent of high-level participation in digital/ online class. Parents Participation towards Online/Digital Classes Father’s and mother’s participation in digital classes were measured separately by using 13 indicators. These indicators were the experiences of the respondents in relation to their parents’ involvement in digital classes. Mothers’ participation towards online classes of their adolescents Among the sample seven percent of the respondents do not have a friendly talk with their mother while 53 percent of them had. Twenty percent of respondents reported that their mother never helps them in the activities of digital learning; while 21 percent of respondents pointed out that their mother always helps them. Ten percent respondents of the sample said that their mother never asks about their daily online classes. 12 percent of respondents’ mothers never help them to do their homework. In this sample around 55 percent of mothers always praise their child as they do something satisfactory, while 9 percent do not care about this. Table-3: Various Indicators Used for measuring the mother’s participation towards Online/Digital Classes Indicator Response (%) Never Sometimes Often Almost Always I have friendly talk with my mother 7.5 10.6 9.7 19.4 52.8 My Mother helps me with my activities in the digital learning 20.3 30.3 11.9 16.6 20.9 My Mother asks about my daily digital/online class 10.3 11.9 12.8 15.9 49.1 My Mother doesn’t help me with my homework 50.6 23.8 5.6 8.1 11.9 My Mother praises me as I do something satisfactory 9.4 11.6 7.8 16.6 54.7 My Mother talks to me about my friends 10.3 12.8 15.6 20.9 40.3 My Mother is often busy that she forgets what I am doing online 52.5 23.1 10.0 6.9 7.5 Mother provide information on how to assist and improve skills on digital/online classes 19.4 20.6 15.3 18.8 25.9 Mother gives me the responsibility for discussing important things I learn 14.7 15.6 11.3 17.8 40.6 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 210 Mother know how to support, encourage, and help me at home in the digital learning 12.8 11.3 8.1 20.9 46.9 Mother know that my study needs are personal and different for another individual child 10.9 8.8 11.3 19.7 49.4 Mother helps maintain acceptable noise levels, break times, and lighting during my digital / online classes 10.6 5.9 10.9 14.1 58.4 Mother discuss with my teacher about how they can support and encourage me for my achievement 15.3 17.8 16.3 17.2 33.4 In our society where online media is so popular, parents need to be aware of their children’s online and offline friends. Around 40 percent respondents in the sample reported that their mother always talks about their friends, but 10 percent of mothers neglect this. Seven percent of the respondents pointed out that their mother fails to recall what the respondents are doing online because of her busy work. Twenty-six percent of the respondent’s mother always helps and information on how to improve skills in online classes, while 19 percent of the respondent’s mother never gives attention to it. Among the sample, 41 percent of mothers always give their child the responsibility for discussing important things that they learn. Around 13 percent of respondents’ mothers don’t know how to support, encourage, and help their children at home in digital learning. Also, around 49 percent of mothers know that their children’s study needs are personal and different from others. 58 percent of respondents’ mothers help to maintain acceptable noise levels, break times and lighting during the online classes at home. Around 33 percent of respondent’s mothers always discuss with teachers how they can support and encourage their children. Combining the 13 indicators mentioned in table 3 produces the participation level of mothers in their children’s digital classes, which is described in figure 3. Around 44 percent of respondents’ mothers have identified low level participation towards their child’s digital learning and 56 percent as high-level participation. Figure-3: Participation level of Mother’s in Digital Learning of the Child Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 211 Father’s Participation towards Online Classes of their child Various indicators used for measuring fathers’ participation in their child’s online learning are presented in table 4. Table-4: Various Indicators for measuring the father’s participation in Online Classes Indicator Response (%) Never Sometime Often Almost Always I have friendly talk with my father 13.1 17.8 13.4 14.1 41.6 My Father helps me with my activities in the digital learning 25.9 22.8 14.4 13.1 23.8 My Father asks about my daily digital/online class 16.3 20.9 12.8 12.5 37.5 My Father doesn’t help me with my homework 49.7 21.3 5.9 10.6 12.5 My Father praises me as I do something satisfactory 14.4 12.5 10.3 16.6 46.3 My Father talks to me about my friends 22.2 18.1 13.8 17.8 28.1 My Father is often busy that he forgets what I am doing online 43.8 22.5 12.2 6.6 15.0 Father provide information on how to assist and improve skills on digital/online classes 20.0 23.1 9.7 15.6 31.6 Father gives me the responsibility for discussing important things I learn 19.7 17.2 12.2 15.0 35.9 Father know how to support, encourage, and help me at home in the digital learning 18.1 15.9 10.6 16.3 39.1 Father know that my study needs are personal and different for another individual child 17.2 12.2 8.4 16.3 45.9 Father helps to maintain acceptable noise levels, break times, and lighting during my digital / online classes 20.0 15.0 11.3 10.6 43.1 Father discuss with my teacher about how they can support and encourage me for my achievement 27.8 19.1 11.6 12.8 28.8 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 212 Among the sample 13 percent of respondents don’t have a friendly talk with their father while 42 percent do have. Twenty-six percent respondents’ fathers never help them with their activities in digital learning. Twelve percent of respondents’ fathers never help the children to do their homework. 46 percent of respondents’ fathers in samples praised their children as doing something satisfactory. 28 percent respondents’ fathers inquired about the friends of the respondents, but 22 percent didn’t pay attention to this. Fifteen percent respondent’s fathers forget what their children are doing online because of their work pressure. Among the sample 32 percent of respondents’ fathers are giving assistance and information to their child on how to improve skills in online classes. Thirty-six percent respondent’s fathers give the responsibility to their children for discussing important things that they learn. Eighteen percent of respondents’ fathers don’t know how to support, encourage, and help their child at home in digital learning. About 46 percent of the respondent’s father in the sample knows that the study needs of their children are personal and different from each other. Forty-three percent (43 percent) of the respondent’s fathers always help their children by maintaining acceptable noise levels, break times and lighting during the online classes. Among the sample, 29 percent of the respondent’s fathers always discuss with their children’s class teacher how they can support and encourage them for achievements. By combining all the indicators presented in table 4, the participation level of fathers towards their adolescent’s digital learning is presented in figure 3. Among the sample, 44 percent of respondents’ fathers have identified low-level attitudes towards their child’s digital learning, whereas 56 percent have high-level attitudes. Figure-4: Participation levels of Father in the Digital Learning of the Child Factors Influencing Students Participation in Digital/ Online Classes There may be a lot of factors influencing the student’s participation in digital learning. One of the important factors of student participation in online classes is the participation level of parents in it. The relation between parents’ participation in digital learning and students’ participation in digital learning is presented in table 10. When the parent’s participation level towards digital learning increases, the participation level of students in digital learning also increases and it can be proved scientifically with the significant level of the probability value. Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 213 Table-5: Relation between the participation of parents and children in digital learning Participation level of Parents Students’ participa- tion in digital class P value Low (%) High (%) Father** Low 64.5 35.5 0.000 High 33.5 66.5 Mother** Low 67.6 32.4 0.000 High 30.9 69.1 P value is < 0.05 In the case of fathers’, the P value 0.000 is less than 0.05. Hence, there is a significant relationship in the case of the participation level of the father with the student’s participation level in the digital classes. This implies that when the participation level of the father becomes low, the participation of students in digital learning also becomes low and when the participation level of the father becomes high, the participation level of the child in digital learning also becomes high. In the case of mother’s, the P-value of 0.000 is less than 0.05. Hence, there is a significant relationship in the case of the participation level of mothers with the student’s participation level in the digital classes. This implies that when the participation level of a mother becomes low, the participation level of a child in digital learning also becomes low. When the participation level of mothers becomes high, the participation level of students in digital learning also increases. The Relation between Socio- economic and Demographic Factors in the Participation of Students in Online Learning It was found that the students who were studying in the commerce and science stream had higher participation levels in online learning than the students who were studying in Humanities. Table-6: Relation between Socio-economic and Demographic Factors and Children Participation in online Learning Socio demographic variables Low Participation level P-value High Age 17 47.2 52.8 0.223 18 47.1 52.9 19 56.5 43.5 20 0 100.00 Gender Male 46.8 53.2 0.488 Female 47.6 52.4 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 214 Subject** Humanities 55.3 44.7 0.006Commerce 43.5 56.5 Science 35.6 64.4 Residence Rural 48.3 51.7 0.351 Urban 45.4 54.6 Economic status APL 48.4 51.6 0.313 BPL 44.8 55.2 **P value is < 0.05 The age level of students under study is 17, 18, 19 and 20. The p-value related to age is 0.223, implying that there is no significant relationship with the various age groups. There is not much variation in the participation level in the digital learning process about various age groups. In case of the selection of optional subjects, P-value is 0.006, which is less than 0.05. Hence, there is a significant relationship in the digital learning of various streams of subjects. The students who are studying commerce and science stream have higher participation levels in digital learning when compared with the participation level of humanities. When we consider the gender difference of students on online learning the p-value is 0.0488. This shows that there is no significant difference between male and female participation in online/ digital learning. When we study the place of residence of students the p-value is 0.351. This shows that there is no significant difference in the rural urban level in the participation of students in online learning. As we reflect upon the economic status of students as APL and BPL, the p-value is 0.313, which shows that there is no significant difference in the participation in online learning with regard to the economic status of the students. Multivariate Analysis on the Factors Influencing the Participation Level on Digital Learning of Students More specifically the relation between the dependent variable and the independent variables is described in table 7 based on multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. The students who studied in Commerce and Science stream have two times higher chance to participate in digital classes as compared with the students who studied in Humanistic. If the parents’ participation level towards digital learning is high their child has a higher chance of effectively participating in online classes as compared with the reference category. Table-7: Multivariate Analysis on the Factors Influencing the Participation Level Variables Sig. Exp(B) Stream of Study Humanities ® Commerce .013 2.002 Science .048 2.066 Mother participation through Digital Class Low ® High .000 1.324 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 215 Father participation through Digital Class Low ® High .010 2.098 ®= Reference Category In the case of a stream of study, the reference category is Humanities. When compared with the Humanities stream, Commerce and Science students have two times higher chances to participate in digital classes. As for mothers’ participation in their child’s digital classes, the reference category is ‘low’. When the mother’s participation level is higher, their children have a higher chance of participation in online classes. In the cases of fathers’ participation in digital classes, the reference category is low. Hence, the father’s participation level is higher, their child has a higher chance of participation. Limitations The researchers identified some limitations in this study. The responses were collected using online self- reports and the respondents were not personally contacted. The time and willingness of the respondents was a major factor; hence the study was not that perfect in the sense of universal representation. But within these limitations three hundred and twenty- one responses were derived to be included in the sample. Notable findings Among the sample, 70 percent of the adolescent students preferred offline classes. 25 percent of the respondents were not able to comprehend without further help, while 22 percent reported that they never participated in digital classes aired by KITE VICTERS. Only 26 Percent of the respondents disclosed that they were able to properly finish the homework and extended works given during the first bell classes. Twenty percent of respondents reported that their mother never helps them in the activities of digital learning, around 40 percent of respondents in the sample reported that their mother always talks about their friends. Twenty-six percent respondents’ mothers always aided and information on how to improve skills in online classes. Around 33 percent of respondent’s mothers always discuss matters with teachers. Friendly talk with their father was enjoyed by 42 percent of the respondents, while twenty-six percent respondent’s father never helps them with their activities in digital learning. Twenty-eight percent respondent’s fathers inquire about their friends. Thirty-two percent of respondents’ fathers are giving assistance and information to their children on how to improve skills on online classes. Twenty- nine percent of the respondent’s fathers always discuss with their children’s class teacher. About 46 percent of the respondent’s fathers know that the study needs of their children are personal and different, while 49 percent of mothers know about that. Discussions and conclusion Around 56 percent of respondents’ mothers have high-level participation and 44 percent were identified as having low level participation towards their children’s digital learning. 44 percent of respondents’ fathers have identified low level participation in their child’s digital learning, whereas 56 percent have high-level of participation. 47 percent of students have identified as of low participation and 53 percent of high level in digital/ online class. It is inferred that only half of the parents, both the Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2022 216 mother and father, participated in the learning process of their adolescent. There is not much variation in the participation level in the digital learning process concerning various age-groups. No significant difference between males and females regarding the participation in online/digital learning was found. Absence of significant difference in adolescents’ students’ rural-urban differences and concerning economic status in participation of online learning was identified. When compared with the Humanities stream, Commerce and Science students have two times higher chances to participate in digital classes. This study aimed at identifying the relationship between the perceived participation of parents and their adolescent participation in digital/ online education. It was recognized from this study that as the mother’s participation level is higher; their adolescent child has a higher chance of participation in online classes. Similarly, as in the case of the father, participation level higher, higher becomes the adolescent child’s chance of participation in online classes. Thus, from the results, the theory of symbolic interaction is substantiated Educational implications The governmental authorities, educators, NGOs, and the community should take initiatives in helping the parents about the awareness of their participation. Activities and scaffolding should be given to the parents about effective parenting of adolescents, digital education, and its training. It is noteworthy that the findings point out that there are no differences in participation of the adolescents in online learning regarding age, gender, rural/urban differences, and APL/ BPL categorization. Parents of the Humanities students should be given more awareness towards the need for proper participation and support to their adolescents to help them effectively utilize their online classes. As of this investigation, it was derived that only around half of the adolescent students in the sample had properly participated in this online learning process, which is an alarming rate. Officials and educators must come up with new strategies towards improving their participation and restructure the online learning situations by also considering the Socio- psycho needs of the adolescents along with their academic accomplishments. The combination of online and offline learning will be the State-of-art and it is going to prevail even after the pandemic situation. It is high time that we, as educators, ponder over it. References AL-Adwan, A., & Smedley, J K. (2012). Implementing e- learning in the Jordanian Higher Education Systems: Factors affecting impact. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 8 (1). Pp 121-135. Angoletto, R., & Queiroz, V. C. (2020). COVID-19 and the challenges in education. The Centro De EstudosSociedade e Tecnologia (CEST), 5, 2. Carvalho, M., Azevedo, H., Cruz, J., & Fonseca, H. (2020). Inclusive education on pandemic times: From challenges to changes according to teachers’ perceptions. 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