Children Education Military Deployed Parent Perceptions of Involvement

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

Chapter Four: Findings

Overview

This transcendental phenomenological study's objective was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education. Within the broad objective, the central question was: What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education? However, to capture all the necessary details required to give the study's best outcomes, other three sub-questions were used to narrow the study's findings and relevance. These 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 gives an introduction and description of the participants who willingly and after being given exclusive details about the study, accepted to be part of it. It also responds to the research questions listed above by reflecting on the details provided by the participants. Answers have the formulated through analyzing themes using a description that obeys both structural and textural methodologies. The last section of this chapter integrates a summary of the key items covered in the chapter.

Participants

This research study participants were U.S. military parents of school-aged (Pre-K-12) children in the United States and are currently in school. The participants have some hands-on experience in their interaction with deployment procedures and so acts as the ideal representatives of the military deployed in various parts of the world and varying durations of time. The demographic information has been provided in the table labeled "Data Collection 1." To analyze further the different outcomes of the collected data, individual details of the participants have been analyzed.

As in the case with many instances of phenomenological studies, data collected has been recorded as given by the participants. In that regard, there are occurrences that the shared information fails to meet grammatical standards, but the data is clear enough and valid for analysis. For confidentiality, some of the details have been coded as requested by the participants when filling in the consent forms. However, the coding has not compromised the quality of the shared data in any way. The sections below illustrate the data collected for each of the individuals. A detailed analysis has been provided for each of them.

Mike William

Mike is an army officer, male and aged 40 years. He holds the rank of LTC and has attained an M.A. education level. He is Caucasian by race. Mike had not been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those active participants of the deployment process. Mike has two children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Mike explains that deployment would be hard for him due to the complexity of the process involved in helping children in their education. Despite these challenges outlined by Mike, financial stability and family support are crucial during the deployment process.

Mike shares his experience and the challenges that arise when attempting to participate in a child's education during the deployment phase. He says that:

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.

Despite these challenges, Mike explains that the military work has been ideal for him, and he has managed to rise to different ranks. He views parental perception as a scenario that ensures support for everyone, but parents cannot give this support during the deployment, and therefore, everything seems to change. In this view, he gives a comparison between child support when deployed and when not deployed. Availability allows parents to participate in the learning of children by guiding them in their homework. Such opportunities are not available for deployed parents.

On the behavior of children, Mike explains that "they seemed to be more independent and you feel like you're not really part of that movement or process." Parents are left with the options of using different methods to engage children. That is "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 explains that during deployment, the spouse was instrumental in enhancing the participation of children, but this has not been without some challenges. Besides, children "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." At times, during the deployment phase, parents face challenges that stops them from participating in children's education. For example, "being on patrol, it felt like weeks went by without being able to communicate with the family. During those times, I felt I had no idea what was going on back home."

Christopher Barnet

Barnet is an army officer, male and aged 42 years. He holds the rank of SGM and has attained a B.A. education level. He is African American by race. Barnet had not been deployed and hence acted as a reference point for comparing those who have been active participants of the deployment process. Barnet has one child who is within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. During data collection, Barnet explained that it is challenging to participate in children's education after deployment. It is the teachers who take up the role that parents are supposed to be playing. That is:

Teachers were a big factor, especially being in the military. In my personal opinion, I think teachers in military schools tend to be a little more empathic towards students with deployed parents, because they themselves or in military household or have experience other students in the same scenario.

The main challenge of being absent is the lack of the opportunity to have physical interaction with the children considering that, Barnet believes in giving practical guidance. Though some of the things could be instructed through phone, there was a major difference with what face-to-face interaction offers. It gets complicated for divorced parents like Barnet because of the lack of the opportunity to bring the family together. Altogether, Barnet loves the job but misses retirement because he will get ample time to interact with his son, who is only seven years old.

On the perceptions that parents have regarding deployment, Barnet says that:

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, so…I would say parental involvement is exactly what it sounds—being involved.

The initial meaning of deployment does not change whether deployed or not, only that during deployment, involvement becomes more challenging. During the deployment phase, there is more reliance on what spouses or family members offer to the children. Unfortunately, during deployment, children's behavior changes, and many things are treated with uncertainty. "Everything is kind of upside down after a divorce and even before…so 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."

Even when deployed parents get home, they still have some work to do, meaning that they are unable to offer the best to the children. Only minimal time is left to interact with the kids. The deployment also affects the spouse, and for Barnet, it was a form of break from the relationship. The connection and closeness that existed before deployment weakens.

It becomes incredibly challenging when one of the spouses has a different opinion on education. While Barnet was a believer in education, his spouse took the opposite direction, and so the effects of deployment were immense on the kid's education. For Barnet, the perception of deployment was bad, and the child lacked consistent guidance, which led to poor performance. "I think just being deployed is barrier, especially as it relates to staying involve their education. Every day comes with new challenges and obstacles. You just have to flexible and tackle them as they come."

Barnet feels that deployment denied him a chance to participate even more in the child's education life by even engaging with the teachers in a closer manner or using more alternative methods like emails. These are some of the things that could as well been facilitated even during the deployment. This was a failure of his side. However, the general interaction was significantly altered in that "I would probably say my interaction went from one to two times a month to zero. I tried a couple times to touch basis with a few of their teachers, but because of the time zone different, it just wasn't possible." This is regardless of the deployment phase one is in. According to Barnet, the best solution for deployed parents is to ensure that they have family support all the time.

Johnathon Steely

Johnathon is an army officer, male and aged 38 years. He holds the rank of ISG and has attained an H.S. education level. He is Hispanic by race. Johnathon had not been deployed and hence acted as a reference point for comparing those who have been active participants of the deployment process. Johnathon has two children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Steely explains that the kids have been friendly to the mom, and unlike himself, the wife is very educated hence understands the education systems. It implies that she can develop better schedules that meet the needs of the children and equally collaborate with teachers during my time of deployment.

However, communication was a major challenge during weak signals in the areas of deployment, and often the mission did not allow ample time to interact with the children. The bond continued to weaken, and participation in children's education was insignificant. This is despite the love that Steely has for the military job. "I have a wonderful family, love spending time with them, and love my job in the military. I get to serve my country, travel the world, and experience things I would not have been able to in any other profession."

Steely perceives parental engagement as a situation where parents dedicate enough time to their children's education. This changes during deployment and is analogous to the state of virtual learning that took shape after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, Steely explains that he had played his role as a father when he was deployed. He, however, appreciates the differences in the children's behavior when away, and to counter this, he had to always remain on top of the main things that affected the children. The difference is more pronounced because when he is at home, he engages with the children in doing the assignments unlike when away when he has to dedicate a different form of energy and focus on serving the children.

In terms of the effects on the spouse and how they respond to the absence, Steely explains that the wife is dedicated to seeing the children get the best even in his absence, but it is never easy to say goodbye. When away, speaking to the children encourages them by indicating what he expected of them. The talk is mainly supportive. For him, the deployment does not have a significant effect on the performance of the children. The only challenge sets in when traveling across different locations where it becomes challenging to maintain constant communication with the children and also check their assignments. Though distant communication has some rewards, Steely explains that phone communication does not offer enough as face-to-face communication does. Steely explains that the best solution is to keep constant communication with the spouse and children to counter all these challenges.

Zac Caldwell

Zac is an army officer, male and aged 30 years. He holds the rank of SSG and has attained an H.S. education level. He is Caucasian by race. Zac had not been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have been active participants of the deployment process. Zac has two children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. According to Zac, he was able to keep constant communication with the children, at least for the larger part of the deployment period. As far as the educators, family and financial support, and other attributes are concerned in support of children's education, Zac says, "I think it's a combination of all 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 explains multiple challenges that hinder communication with children during the deployment phase. The most conspicuous one is psychological in nature due to anxiety and stressful conditions. While he believed that the children were doing fine, he could not stop himself from thinking about the effects of his absence, especially in regard to their education. He values education, and in this regard, he hopes to get back to school to advance his studies and probably get promoted. He loves his job but hates deployments.

According to Zac, parental involvement in children's education entails ensuring that school work is done. The same definition holds during the deployment period, but the effects are slightly different as the children continue to grow because the degree of involvement reduces. During the deployment period, Zac's role changes, and most of the responsibilities are transferred to the wife, but the children are happier when he is at home. To keep the involvement going even during deployment, Zac keeps contact with the children though with few words of engagement. The wife briefs him about the children's progress. However, it is never easy for her, and Zac tries to minimize the pressure by letting her offer the best she can for children's education.

Deployment makes it hard for the children to cope with their education. The only advantage was the presence of their mother and constant communication that helped in addressing daily challenges. But overall, Zac explains that there were major challenges during the entire deployment period. However, pre-deployment is most challenging, but the trick is always to balance family and work.

Christopher Brown

Brown is an army officer, male and aged 36 years. He holds the rank of a Major and has attained an M.A. education level. He is Caucasian by race. Brown had not been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have been active participants of the deployment process. Brown has three children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Brown explains that the process of deployment has both good and bad effects, but family and church have been instrumental in children's education. However, he quotes one of the primary challenges faced during the deployment period saying that:

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.

Brown has been a Major in the U.S. Army but aspires to become a pastor after retirement. He holds a very strong attachment to family and means everything to him; this is despite serving the military for 18 years. Initially, he focused on the benefits that come with serving the military, but the goals changed to become a servant of the people and different organizations.

According to Brown, parental involvement in children's education refers to doing duties of supporting children in their education. This is to be done to overcome any obstacles that may compromise this involvement. This definition does not change even during the deployment period because the responsibilities remain the same. Brown relies on what faith offers and the protection of Christ in what obstacles that he faces during the deployment. He leaves everything to God, and this makes it easy for him to address multiple challenges. His role in children's education remains the same, whether deployed or not, and he has taught the children to accept this aspect. Even during deployment, the children have learned to step up and become more responsible and have always done what is expected of them.

Brown uses face-to-face engagement with children when not deployed but changes to letters and emails during deployment. This contact is essential in establishing a connection that, in turn, keeps the children motivated. The spouse also plays a supportive role in nurturing the education life of children. Whenever Brown spoke to the children during the deployment period, he insisted on the importance of education and schooling. It was part of our normal conversations. Deployment does not seem to affect the children, and they remained focused and engaging.

During deployment, Brown faced numerous challenges that could have affected how he played his supportive role in children's education. Instead, he used them as a learning point and has trained the children to always view challenges as opportunities. However, Brown feels that during deployment, the time of involvement is significantly reduced and never has a lengthy interaction. Similarly, the interaction with educators has changed because Brown used his wife to reach the teachers, unlike other times when he could easily engage them directly. The central point is to always ensure that the family support system is strong enough to guarantee consistent involvement in children's education.

Billy Mathews

Billy is an army officer, male and aged 44 years. He holds the rank of SGM and has attained a B.A. education level. He is African American by race. Billy had not been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have been active participants of the deployment process. Billy has three children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. According to Billy, deployment is part of the job and should not be an excuse of how we support children in their education. His big family provides enough support for the education of the children. He says, "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." However, Billy finds deployment a challenge when he fails to offer the maximum support that he should give to his wife. She has to handle both household responsibilities and play an active part in the education of children. She serves the mother-father role, which is challenging. Despite Billy's willingness to help her, there was little he could do. He looks forward to a smooth retirement and taking time off the military duties. After all, Billy has served for 20 years. Billy loves his job and does not complain about the assigned duties.

According to Billy, parental involvement in children's education involves establishing rules, attaining consistency, and played the oversight role to ensure that children are accountable. The definition does not change even during deployment, only that it limits what a person can do in meeting their duties. In terms of the perception of children in the absence of the parent, physical interaction is absent, but even so, Billy says that children are aware that he is not in charge of helping them in their school work. The best that a parent can do in such circumstances is to ensure that the children are taught to be accountable. Even in terms of their behavior, Billy says that no difference was visible because they have been taught how to be responsible.

During deployment, Billy explains that the method of involvement 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 is an army officer, male and aged 34 years. He holds the rank of 1LT and has attained a B.S. education level. He is African American by race. Bill had been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have not been active participants of the deployment process. Bill has three children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Bill explains that during deployment, he was scared that children's education was going to be significantly affected. For Bill, the only support was to come from his wife and relatives, especially concerning their studies. Time differences would be a significant challenge for Bill because it would affect the communication process. It meant sacrificing more time to remain awake to match the time zone of the children. Bill only makes night calls during weekends when kids are not expected to rise for school.

Bill views the military job like any other form of task, and what is expected of him in parental involvement in children's education has little effect. To him, parental involvement includes availing himself for children in all needs, including moral upbringing, financially and emotionally. The difference in this definition changes slightly during deployment because Bill does not get the opportunity to offer moral support when in a mission. In this view, there is a change in the roles. Bill says:

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.

However, Bill explains that he is very active in the lives of his kids especially when not deployed. But with distance separation, the face-to-face interactions change and Bill has to use WhatsApp and other social media platforms to enhance interactions. But the spouse played a significant role in children's education. Bill says that:

My first deployment was pretty hard on my wife, it took some time for her to get adjusted to me not being there to help out with the kids and their education. But, my current deployment hasn't been too bad, I think she was definitely better prepared and knew what to expect, in terms of having to take on more responsibility in my absence. We also established a network of family and friends that are willing to help out if she gets overwhelm.

When Bill first engaged with the children during deployment, he realized that they were sad about his absence and his only wish is that the feeling would not affect their education. Bill's perception is that the children at times fail to understand they he had to leave for work and not necessarily leave them. They also fail to understand the consequences of him not going to work and what that would mean in their education life. The deployment also denies Bill the opportunity to play an active role in children's education, and he has to assume some duties in virtual methods. Many phases of the children's education have to go without his involvement.

Often, Bill feels that he is not offering the best to the children. For example, the daughter loves when he reads some stories for her before bedtime. While these have been facilitated through the use of FaceTime, the effect has been different. Deployment has also made interaction with teachers and educators challenging. This effect is common for all the stages, but deployment is the most challenging for Bill. According to Bill, the best advice to parents is to explain to the kids about the challenges that come with deployment and give them only realistic expectations. Doing this and constant communication reduces instances of frustration.

Chris Murphy

Chris is a navy officer, male and aged 34 years. He holds the rank of CPT and has attained a B.S. education level. He is African American by race. Chris had been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have not been active participants of the deployment process. Chris has five children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Chris explains his uncertainty about the effects of deployment to children's education, especially during the time of the pandemic. Most of the support would come from his wife, and she would play the role of keeping the family together. It is this kind of help that assisted Chris in focusing on his assignments. Besides all the other challenges, Chris explains that:

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.

These circumstances were hard for Chris owing to the fact that he had 5 children to take care of. He says that his experience as a member of the military has been amazing but not without some challenges, especially during the deployment stages.

According to Chris, "parental involvement is being available to your children whenever they need you. This includes picking them up from school, supporting their extracurricular activities, and helping them with their school assignments." The definition of involvement has changed because he can no longer have physical interactions. The definition has shifted to mean more support to the wife who is in charge of supporting children's education in multiple ways. The role in the education life during deployment is more passive than active but still plays a part in ensuring that the education process proceeds effectively. Fortunately, children's perceptions have not changed, and Chris thinks that this has been a result of the support that comes from his wife. To complement the efforts by the wife, Chris uses skype and other instant messages, but it becomes challenging due to time differences. He also receives children's assignments and offers guidance where appropriate. Without deployment, some of these functions could be done in-person.

Chris explains that deployment has had effects on his wife. He says, "My deployment is the major reason why my wife became a stay at home mom, we figured it would be much easier and affordable for her to take care of this kids rather than hiring additional help. Nevertheless, she appreciates being able to play a major role in the children's upbringing." Besides, after speaking to the children during deployment, Chris could feel the missing education gap due to his absence. The experience is heartbreaking. However, with time, children continue to adapt and can now proceed with their education with little interruption.

Chris says that deployment causes inconveniences, especially when the network fails making it difficult to connect with his family. It gave a feeling that without deployment, he could offer more to the children. Equally, interaction with teachers and other educators is affected, and he has to reach them through his wife. These challenges, for Chris, are mostly felt during pre-deployment because of high levels of stress and anxiety, and one has to give the family some psychological preparations. For these reasons, Chris advises that parents must enhance communication, especially prior to deployment, and offer all possible help to children's education.

Janice Idris

Janice is an air force officer, female, and aged 32 years. She holds the rank of SSG and has attained an MBA education level. She is African American by race. She is married with three kids, was born and raised in Maryland. Both my parents served in the military, so she grew up in a military family, which means she understands what her children go through when she is deployed. Janice had been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have not been active participants of the deployment process. Janice has three children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Janice explains that the process of deployment was going to be challenging because it would separate her from her children and husband. The support would come from her husband and relatives, who even in the past had played a crucial role in supporting children's education. The biggest challenge for Janice was to keep the communication because she had to align her schedule with that of the children. Time zones create this challenge, and at times, it becomes impossible to engage with children.

Janice loves her job, which comes with many benefits, especially the medical ones. However, the feeling of enjoyment is highly affected when she has to spend time away from her children. That is, her parental involvement is suppressed. According to her, parental involvement includes being present for the children at all times. Though physical presence is not possible for the military parents, emotional, financial, and spiritual support are essential elements of the involvement. This definition does not change for Janice and considers being there for the children as the first priority. She ensures that most of the needs are met even without the physical bond.

Janice explains that it has been difficult to monitor the education of the children, especially when deployed. She cannot take part in school activities and their assignments. However, the husband and in-laws have been instrumental in supporting children's education, and for this reason, their education has not been adversely affected. For Janice, the COVID-19 pandemic has offered her an opportunity to interact with children and even the educators more often compared to the period before the pandemic. The deployment has also affected her husband because he plays all the roles. Fortunately, other family members have stepped in to help in kid's education.

When Janice interacted with the children after deployment, it was more assuring that the kids were progressing on with their education as expected. Besides, she has been emailing the teachers who have assured them that their performance has been impressive. The deployment has made the children work even harder to make their mother proud. These processes have not been without barriers, but Janice reserved some of the information for confidential reasons. But the feeling that you can offer better when not deployed is always there for a military parent. For example, Janice says:

When I'm home, I usually prefer to have face to face interactions with my children teachers; however, given the constraints of the pandemic, most schools have limit face to face interactions unless absolutely necessary. Given these new changes, I would say my interaction with teachers have been altered but more so because of the pandemic and not necessarily because of deployment.

For Janice, the deployment stage is the most challenging because of the lack of physical interactions with the children. She expects the post-deployment stage to be challenging too, because of the process of integrating herself into the routine created during her absence. She advises military parents to be proactive and prepare children in order to reduce anxiety, especially before leaving for the assigned mission.

Tammy Alvarez

Tammy is an army officer, female, and aged 43 years. She holds the rank of CW2 and has attained a B.S. education level. She is Hispanic by race. Tammy had been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have not been active participants of the deployment process. Tammy has four children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. For Tammy, being a single mother makes her hesitant in the process of deployment. She hates leaving the kids, but she has to explain to them that it is part of her work. She says that:

The kids are currently staying with my mother, she has been a huge help and support system for us over the years. Not sure how I would be able to do what I do without her help. I'm extremely greatly for her. I also hire a tutor to help out as well, being that my mother isn't always able to understand their school assignments.

Tammy was born in Mexico. She migrated to the United States in her early teens. She joined the military because of all the opportunities and benefits. She has four kids and is recently divorce.

She considers communication as one of her biggest challenges because at a time, the network becomes weak, and she cannot use the phone or even internet to communicate with the children. Her experience in the military has been mixed. She loves the job, but as a single parent, she has to meet the responsibilities of taking care of the children.

According to Tammy, "Parental involvement is being supportive of your children, particularly as it relates to their education. Parents should play an active role in their children's academics at home by helping with school assignments, but also at school by communicating with educators." To her, this definition does not change, and it is all about giving support to children. Her family members have been doing the same to the children. Tammy finds her roles affected by deployment because she cannot play the active roles as she does when not deployed.

In terms of the effects of deployment on the behavior of children, the children have had mixed reactions, and sometimes she feels that the children are not doing their best because of the absence. She has a limited way of communicating with children and relies on the inputs of her mother and other relatives. Tammy says that her first interaction after deployment indicated that the children were doing well through the guidance of her mother and relatives.

Thomas Allen

Thomas is a marine officer, male and aged 26 years. He holds the rank of CPL and has attained an H.S. education level. He is Caucasian by race. Thomas had been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have not been active participants of the deployment process. Thomas has one child who is within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. According to Allen, being deployed as a young parent scared him that his child's education was going to be significantly affected. For Allen, the only support was to come from her newly wedded wife and relatives, especially in relation to their studies. Time differences would be a major challenge for Allen because it would affect the communication process. It meant sacrificing more time to remain awake in order to match the time zone of the child. Allen only makes night calls during weekends because, on weekdays, the kid has to sleep early.

Allen views the military job like any other form of task, and what is expected of him in parental involvement in a child's education has little effects. To him, parental involvement includes availing himself for children in all needs, including moral upbringing, financially and emotionally. The difference in this definition changes slightly during deployment because Allen does not get the opportunity to offer moral support when on a mission. In this view, there is a change in the roles. Allen says:

The major challenge is that I find it difficult to engage with teachers and educators as I would love to. It is bad for me because I am still new in parenting and now, the pandemic has hit the world. 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.

However, Allen explains that he is very active in the lives of his kid especially when not deployed. But with distance separation, the face-to-face interactions change, and Allen has to use WhatsApp and other social media platforms to enhance interactions. But the spouse played a significant role in the child's education. Allen says that:

This is my first deployment is pretty hard on my wife, it took some time for her to get adjusted to me not being there to help out with the kid and their education. I think she was definitely better prepared and knew what to expect, in terms of having to take on more responsibility in my absence. We also established a network of family and friends that are willing to help out if she gets overwhelm.

When Allen first engaged with his kid during deployment, he realized that the sadness brought about his absence and his only wish is that the feeling would not affect their education. Allen's perception fails to comprehend the journey parent have to go through for them to learn. It was the first experience for Allen's kid, and so, this was extremely challenging. They also fail to understand the consequences of him not going to work and what that would mean in their education life. The deployment also denies Allen the opportunity to play an active role in a child's education, and he has to assume some duties in virtual methods. Many phases of the child's education have to go without his involvement.

Often, Allen feels that he is not offering the best to the children. For example, he would love to bond with his young kid during developmental stages. While these have been facilitated through the use of Skype, the effect has been different. Deployment has also made interaction with teachers and educators challenging. This effect is common for all the stages, but deployment, for Allen, is the most challenging. According to Allen, the best advice to parents is they must prepare both kids and spouses and inform them about the nature of the new mission. They should also assure them of their availability in helping them in time of need.

Terry Stewart

Terry is an air force officer, female, and aged 30 years. She holds the rank of TSgt and has attained an H.S. education level. She is African American by race. Terry had been deployed and hence acted as a reference point of comparing with those who have not been active participants of the deployment process. Terry has two children who are within the K-12 bracket that formed the basis of this study. Terry explains that the process of deployment was going to be challenging because it would separate her from her children and husband. She would rely on support from his husbands and relatives. The biggest challenge for Terry was to keep the communication that would be affected by poor network connection in areas of deployment. Besides, she would need to adjust her schedule to be in harmony with that of the children by working within their time zones.

Terry loves her job. However, the feeling of enjoyment is highly affected when she has to spend time away from her children. That is, her parental involvement is suppressed. According to her, parental involvement includes being present for the children at all times. Though physical presence is not possible for military parents, financial and emotional support are essential elements of the involvement. This definition does not change for Terry, and she ensures that most of the needs are met even without the physical bond.

Terry explains that it has been difficult to monitor the education of the children, especially when deployed. She cannot take part in school activities and their assignments. However, the husband and in-laws have been instrumental in supporting children's education, and for this reason, their education has not been adversely affected. For Terry, the pandemic has offered her an opportunity to interact with children and even the educators more often compared to the period before the pandemic. The deployment has also affected her husband because he plays all the roles. Fortunately, other family members have stepped in to help in kids' education.

When Terry interacted with the children after deployment, it was more assuring that the kids were progressing on with their education as expected. Besides, she has been communicated with the teachers to assure her that their performance has been impressive. The deployment has made the children work even harder to make their mother proud. Terry had made the children acquire self-motivation. These processes have not been without barriers, and the situations in the places of deployment become deplorable, making it hard to engage with the children. But the feeling that you can offer better when not deployed is always there for a military parent. For example, Terry says that:

When not deployed, I usually prefer to have face to face interactions with my kids and also the teachers. I am able to get more from the emotional attachment and this helps me to serve the kids better. However, given the constraints of the pandemic, most schools have limit face to face interactions unless absolutely necessary. Given these new changes, I would say my interaction with teachers have been altered but more so because of the pandemic and not necessarily because of deployment.

For Terry, the pre-deployment stage is the most challenging because of the psychological preparations that have to be made in order to have the children ready for the absence. She expects the post-deployment stage to be challenging, too, because of the process of integrating herself into the routine created during her absence. She advises military parents to take enough time preparing children and their spouses early enough before deployment takes place.

RESULTS

The data described above were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and focus groups. It led to the generation of three themes that are analyzed under: Interactivity in the military environment, education support, and personal and organizational resolutions. Each of these major themes gives some subthemes essential in developing the dissertation and phenomenological questions that aid in answering both the central and sub-questions.

Theme Development

Themes were established by applying Moustakas' (1994) transcendental phenomenological method and coded using NVivo software nodes. Prior to coding, the given data was analyzed to create appropriate codes that would capture questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and focus groups. As I collected the data, I chose to categorize them by themes and proceed to code them. I was keen to list the data in ways that would not create any form of bias for all 12 participants. One way to reduce the risk of bias is to use the bracketing technique by stating upfront the researcher's expectations and then accepting the data that is produced by the research (Smith & McSweeney, 2017, p. 292). To do so, I reflected on the primary sub-questions that formed part of this research. Through those questions, I developed meaningful statements that would later lead to a pattern guided by shared attributes. Common patterns shared similar codes and were reduced to fit into the four themes stated above. All the transcriptions from the 12 participants were subjected to repetitive analysis. The themes with associated coding are tabulated below.

Theme

Theme Codes

Subtheme

Total Subtheme codes

Interactivity in the military environment

Dependency

Shared Experiences

Education support

N/A

N/A

Personal and organizational resolutions

N/A

N/A

Important note: The aspect of deployment takes three stages (Pre-deployment, Deployment and Post-deployment). In this regard, the use of NVivo in the generation of codes utilized three nodes or nodes that obeyed the multiplicity of 3.

Interactivity in the Military Environment. In the data collection phase, it was evident that the participants were satisfied with the nature of the military jobs. All the participants indicated that the nature of the work was not as challenging, but difficulties arise only when deployment takes place. Besides, even in the complex environments during the deployment stage, the participants always looked for alternative methods to seal the gap created through separation. The following responses illustrate the discussed results.

Christopher Brown: I really enjoy my experiences in the military thus far, I don't think there's any other career field with the same amount of opportunities as the military. I initially joined for the benefits, but I continue to serve because of people and the organization.

Billy Mathews: For me, it's like any other job, you can complain about it, or embrace it. So far, I've embrace it, and that seems to work fairly well.

Chris Murphy: Overall, my experience in the military thus far has been good, but sometimes challenging, especially in moments like this, when I'm deployed and away from my family.

Janice Idris: So far it's been good. I enjoy what I do and the benefits are great, especially the medical. The only down fall is having to be away from children for an extended period of time.

It is through the high level of satisfaction that many participants continue to pursue their careers by furthering their education in order to hold higher ranks.

Zac Caldwell: I'm a Staff Sergeant in the Army and I'm looking forward to being promoted soon. My goal is to go back to school in order to continue my education, not sure for what yet. I'm married and I have two amazing children, who I would do anything for.

The participants do not give any negative information about the military environment in terms of how it is structured which implies that the relationship is positive. The interactions that exist among the military officers is also favorable and cannot be the reason why children's education is affected. Separation from families is itself the main challenge that leads to reduced participation on military parents in the education life of their children. Billy Mathews says that he loves the Soldiers that he interacts with during different mission and who have become more of a family.

Within this theme of interactivity, there are multiple subthemes that work toward responding to the sub-questions. On sub-question 3 on the challenges that military parents face when trying to remain active in the education life of their children, the sub-theme of dependency in the interactivity is evident. It is clear that military parents mostly address the challenge by using their spouses on close relatives. It is for this reason that military parents who are single or divorced apply different techniques to ensure that their interaction with their children remains positive. The following responses from participants support the mentioned observations.

Billy Mathews: 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.

Bill Schneider: My wife and relatives have been very supportive in raising and helping the children with their studies.

Tammy Alvarez: The kids are currently staying with my mother, she has been a huge help and support system for us over the years. Not sure how I would be able to do what I do without her help. I'm extremely greatly for her. I also hire a tutor to help out as well, being that my mother isn't always able to understand their school assignments.

Christopher Barnet: I am divorced. Just had some hard times being deployed and keeping the family together. We weren't on the same page.

Military parents also have shared experiences I how they proceed in establishing involvement in their children's education. They adopt technological methods that aid in sealing the gap created by a lack of physical presence and distance. They aspire to deliver the same as they do when not deployed at least up to a satisfactory level. The following participants and their responses show a high degree of correlation.

Participants Quotes about Shared Experiences when Establishing Communication

Bill Schneider: I'm usually pretty active and engaged with my kids' education while not deployed. Unfortunately, due to the distance between us, things have changed slightly. Some methods I've learn so far is communicating through FaceTime, WhatsApp and other social media networks.

Billy Mathews: I can't think of a specific time, but generally, communication, network issues and time zone differences made it hard to communicate.

Chris Murphy: There was a time recently when network connections were down and we could hardly communicate with our families back home.

Johnathon steely: I tried to communicate as much as possible through phone and FaceTime. But that wasn't always enough, so at times I would also send emails or mail letters home.

Christopher Barnet: I'm a very hands on person, so not being able to physically be there to demonstrate certain things is very frustrating. There are certain things I was able teach or instruct over the phone or through face-time, but it wasn't the same as being there in person, so that was definitely a challenge for me.

Christopher Brown: When I'm not deployed, I am talking to them about everything, and when I am deployed I am communicating to them with emails and letters because that contact has to be maintained.

It is important to highlight that the correlation derived from the participants obeys the Epoche approach. That is the phenomenological reduction plus imaginative variation results in the derivation of the essence.

Education Support: On this theme, military parents use all the available methods to ensure that they take part in the education of their children. Despite their deployment, some receive assignments from their children and help in correcting them. Further, they keep constant communication with educators to ensure that they have the correct education progress curve for their children. This was very conspicuous in 5 of the participants as supported in the following quotes.

Janice Idris: The experience was reassuring, I got the impression that they were staying on top of their school work. Plus, I've emailed their teachers a couple of time and their feedback were positive.

Christopher Barnet: I felt I could have done more when it came to communicating with teachers. In retrospect, I probably should have emailed them more often, but at the time it just didn't seem very personal…I would probably say my interaction went from one to two times a month to zero. I tried a couple times to touch basis with a few of their teachers, but because of the time zone different, it just wasn't possible.

Chris Murphy: The biggest way I participate in their education is through skype, instant messages, or sometimes when not able to synchronize our times, I ask them to email me their assignments to review it for errors. When not deployed, this would be done in person.

Tammy Alvarez: The kids are currently staying with my mother, she has been a huge help and support system for us over the years. Not sure how I would be able to do what I do without her help. I'm extremely greatly for her. I also hire a tutor to help out as well, being that my mother isn't always able to understand their school assignments.

Mike William: 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.

Personal and Organizational Resolutions: This theme incorporates attributes that were discovered during the data collection method. Interestingly, participants use different ways to get involved in children's education. For example, the question of the most challenging stage during deployment resulted in various answers despite the fact that these military parents operate a nearly similar environment. The only explanation for such diversity is personal resolutions and how different parents prepare to address possible challenges. The following quotes from 3 participants verify this conclusion.

Bill Schneider: All three stages are pretty hard, but I think deployment is definitely the most challenging because I don't get to be around them as much as I would like.

Chris Murphy: Pre-deployment is definitely the hardest because of all the anxiety and stress of having to mentally prepare to be away from the family. This creates a lot of stress on the family as well, particularly my younger kids.

Janice Idris: I would say deployment phase, because you're not able to physically be there for your children. I would also imagine that the post deployment phase will be as challenging because I will have to integrate myself into a routine that was created in my absence.

A similar assessment on how military parents engage their spouse also illustrate the diversity in preparing spouses. It is clear that some of the parents have more interactions with their spouses concerning their children's education than others. The 4 participants below support the mentioned outcome.

Billy Mathews: The big challenge for me was not being able to support my spouse as she tackled all the household responsibility. It was pretty tough because I hate knowing she had to play both roles (mother and father), and although I wanted to help, there was only so much I could have done from a far.

Christopher Barnet: While deployed, I had to rely more on my spouse and other family members to cover down on things I would normally do.

Zac Caldwell: I think it's hard for my spouse but it all takes time to figure out. I tried not to put a lot of pressure on her, I just told her to do the best she could and let me know how I could help.

Bill Schneider: My first deployment was pretty hard on my wife, it took some time for her to get adjusted to me not being there to help out with the kids and their education. But, my current deployment hasn't been too bad, I think she was definitely better prepared and knew what to expect, in terms of having to take on more responsibility in my absence. We also established a network of family and friends that are willing to help out if she gets overwhelm.

Research Question Responses

Analysis of the themes and subthemes helped respond to the primary question of the research and the sub-questions. The central question was: What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education? Participants explained that they perceive the journey in their involvement in children's education as challenging because of deployment. They play other roles just like a general parent, but they are often separated, and they have to look for alternative methods that would help in strengthening the level of interactions. However, the exact response and descriptions derived from the phenomenological studies can only be presented by responding to the sub-questions.

Sub-question 1: How do military parents describe their involvement in their children's education while deployed? The involvement takes a mixed direction based on the participant, but correlation is common is among most 8 participants who explain that the journey is sometimes challenging and they feel as if they are not giving the best to the children, as quoted below.

Janice Idris: I would say deployment phase, because you're not able to physically be there for your children. I would also imagine that the post deployment phase will be as challenging because I will have to integrate myself into a routine that was created in my absence.

Christopher Barnet: 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, so…I would say parental involvement is exactly what it sounds—being involved.

Chris Murphy: Overall, my experience in the military thus far has been good, but sometimes challenging, especially in moments like this, when I'm deployed and away from my family.

Tammy Alvarez: My experience have been mixed. I generally enjoy the military, but as a single parent, it could be quite challenging. Luckily, my children are a little older now, and a little more self-sufficient.

Bill Schneider: All three stages are pretty hard, but I think deployment is definitely the most challenging because I don't get to be around them as much as I would like…I felt my kids' education would decline due to my absence.

Zac Caldwell: They seem happy when I'm home. We're all happy to be back together obviously. Being apart is hard.

Mike William: It's a challenge. They 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.

Johnathon steely: Occasionally we had to travel to different locations across the battlespace. So during those times it was particularly hard to consistently communicate with the kids, much less checking in with their assignments.

Although some of the participants had the challenging effects significantly reduced, the simplicity was brought by relatives and spouses' involvement in children's education. Using the synthesis approach and borrowing from Moustakas methods, it is viable to conclude that without support from family, military parent involvement is a daunting task (Moustakas, 1994; Rule and John, 2015).

Sub-question 2: How do military parents perceive the impact of their deployment on the family and particularly on their child's academic performance? Many military parents appreciate that deployment has detrimental effects on their children's education, especially when no support is given to families. If the parent fails to make prior preparation, children are likely to face psychological problems that can lead to poor grades. The advice given by the participants on how military parents should address the challenges gives a clear illustration of their perceptions as shown in the following quotes.

Johnathon steely: Communicate with your spouse and children as often as possible. No exceptions.

Christopher Barnet: Make sure you have a family support system that supports you and is on the same page.

Zac Caldwell: Learn how to balance both work and family obligation prior to being deployed

Christopher Brown: Try to find consistencies, develop a schedule for phone calls and video chat.

Billy Mathews: Be flexible, expect things to change often, but keep everyone inform as changes occur.

Bill Schneider: I would advise them to talk to their kids about potential challenges of deployment prior to deploying. Also, set realistic expectations on when and how often you'll be able to communicate.

Chris Murphy: I would advise them to communicate as much as possible, especially prior and during the deployment. Also, continue to show interest in children's education, even though they may not be able to help.

Janice Idris: I would advise parents to be proactive in figuring out ways on how to stay involved with their children prior to being deployed. Have a plan gives predictability and reduce some of the initial anxiety prior to leaving.

Tammy Alvarez: Be involve as much as you can, set realistic expectations and be safe while deployed.

Sub-question 3: What challenges do military parents who are deployed face while trying to stay involved in their children's education? One of the major challenges that all the 12 participants have shared is communication. Military parents are deployed in different regions, and this affects communication. They also fail to offer some forms of support that are available when not deployed.

Christopher Barnet: I'm a very hands on person, so not being able to physically be there to demonstrate certain things is very frustrating. There are certain things I was able teach or instruct over the phone or through face-time, but it wasn't the same as being there in person, so that was a challenge for me.

Summary

The chapter gave biographical descriptions of the participants and the analysis of the collected data. It gave the role of military parents in children's education through results categorized by the nature of the three major themes: interactivity of military parents with their environment, education support, and personal resolutions. It ended by responding to the central and the sub-questions that formed the basis of this phenomenological research.

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

Overview

This transcendental phenomenological research aimed to assess the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education. This chapter gives a summary of the results analyzed earlier in the paper, in chapter 4. It also discusses both practical and empirical implications of the research. Besides, it provides both the limitations and delimitations of the research, recommendations, and lastly, the summary.

Summary of the Results

Data collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and focus groups developed the themes of interactivity in the military environment, education support, and personal and organizational resolutions. Each of these major themes gives some subthemes essential in developing the dissertation and phenomenological questions that aid in answering both the central and sub-questions.

In my response to the central question, which is, "What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education?" I explained that the participants perceive the journey in their children's education as challenging because of deployment. They play other roles just like a general parent, but they are often separated, and they have to look for alternative methods that would help strengthen the level of interactions. All the 12 participants acknowledged that a military parent faces challenges when addressing the education needs of children. Since the main question incorporated many elements, I broke some sections down to lead to the three sub-questions that aided in understanding parental involvement in children's education.

In the first question on "how do military parents describe their involvement in their children's education while deployed," I explained that the involvement takes a mixed direction based on the participant. Still, the correlation is common is among most 8 participants who explain that the journey is sometimes challenging and they feel as if they are not giving the best to the children. I quoted the 8 participants and how they view their involvement when deployed. Although the responses had some variation depending on how the military parents view their education role in their children's lives, it was clear that they acknowledge that they have a role to play in children's lives.

In the second question, on "how do military parents perceive the impact of their deployment on the family and particularly on their child's academic performance," I responded indicating that many military parents appreciate that deployment has detrimental effects on the education of their children, especially when not support is given to families. If the parent fails to make prior preparation, children are likely to face psychological problems that can lead to poor grades. The advice given by the participants on how military parents should address the challenges gives a clear illustration of their perceptions. I proceeded to share some of the advice given by military parents after a long time of involvement. Here, all the participants agreed that deployment has some effects on the academic performance of children. The effect varies based on the measures that parents put into reducing the ripple effects of the deployment. In particular, spouses and relatives are instrumental in determining the performance of children during the deployment period.