The Effect of Parental Deployment on Children

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

Chapter Four: Findings

Overview

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

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

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

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

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

Participants

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

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

Mike William

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

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

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

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

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

Christopher Barnet

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

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

Christopher also noted that because of the unstable nature of home life when one parent is deployed, the child inadvertently ends up relying on others, which undermines the father-child bond in his eyes. That bond, he felt, only worsened with divorce: “Everything is kind of upside down after a divorce and even 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.”

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

Johnathon Steely

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

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

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

Zac Caldwell

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

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

Christopher Brown

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

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

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

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

Billy Mathews

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

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

Bill Schneider

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

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

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

To compensate, Bill would use WhatsApp and other social media platforms to enhance interactions. By connecting in this way, he stated he could reduce the feeling of distance and prevent depression from setting in for him or his wife and children. Staying in touch was seen by him as very important for everyone, especially when it came to the children’s education. Bill has thus tried to use FaceTime to read to his daughter at night, which helps her to develop comprehension skills and it also helps him to maintain an important bond with her. The only other point Bill emphasized was that a deployed parent must maintain realistic expectations for his children’s education.

Chris Murphy

Chris was a Navy officer, male, African-American, 34, married, holding the rank of CPT with a B.S. and five children. Chris felt uncertain about the effects of deployment on his children’s education, especially during the time of the pandemic. He pointed out that most of the support would come from his wife, and she would play the role of keeping the family together. For him communication was the main barrier:

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.

Additionally, Chris noted that he missed out on the basics of parental involvement, such as “picking them up from school, supporting their extracurricular activities, and helping them with their school assignments.” While deployed, he found that he had to support them in different ways, mainly by using Skype and Instant Messaging to connect to them and check in with them on their school work. He noted that he would take a little bit of time with his children to review their homework with them to make sure they are staying engaged.

Chris stated that deployment causes inconveniences, especially when one’s communication network fails, making it difficult to connect with his family. He often had the feeling that without deployment, he could offer more to the children. However, for him, maintaining an open dialogue with his children and knowing that his wife was there to help gave him the sense that the children were going to fulfill their academic obligations. The most important aspect of support was simply showing that willingness to maintain an open line of communication with the children.

Janice Idris

Janice was an Air Force officer, female, African-American, 32, married, holding the rank of SSG with an MBA and three children. Coming herself from a military family, she had a great deal of understanding of what it is like for a child to have a parent who is deployed. For that reason, she did not try to do too much on her own: instead, she relied upon her husband and relatives, who played a crucial role in supporting her children’s education. The biggest challenge for Janice was to maintain communication because it required her to align her schedule with that of the children. This was important to her because in her view parental involvement includes being present for the children at all times. Though physical presence was not possible during deployment, she recognized that children still need emotional, financial, and spiritual support. Thus, she focused on ensuring that these needs were met even in times of physical separation.

Janice explained that it was difficult to monitor the education of the children when deployed but that her husband and in-laws were there to pick up the slack. She could trust them to do so because she found that, when returning from deployment, her children had adjusted and progressed well with school work in her absence. She noted that the deployment had a positive effect on her children because it made them work even harder to make their mother proud.

For Janice, the deployment stage was the most challenging because of the lack of physical interactions with the children. She viewed the post-deployment stage to be challenging too, because of the process of integrating herself into the new routine of things that was created during her absence. She advised military parents to be proactive and to prepare children for what things will be like during deployment in order to reduce anxiety.

Tammy Alvarez

Tammy was an Army officer, female, Hispanic, single mother, 43, holding the rank of CW2 with a B.S. and four children. For Tammy, being a single mother made deployment difficult because she had to go outside the normal support system for help. Tammy was deployed during the time of this study and stated:

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.

For Tammy, the major obstacle to her involvement in her children’s education was distance and the barriers it put up to communication. In her view, she would like to be more actively involved in her children’s education, but deployment makes this impossible. In terms of the effects of deployment on the behavior of children, the children demonstrated mixed reactions, and sometimes Tammy felt that the children were not doing their best because of her absence. She had a limited way of communicating with children and relied on the inputs of her mother and other relatives.

Without a full support system in place, Tammy had no choice but to take the children outside of their normal approach to life and school. This disruption was one that prevented them from focusing on school the way she would prefer them to be focusing. However, as a single mother she saw no help for it. She was mainly grateful that her mother was there to help as much as she did.

Thomas Allen

Thomas was a Marine officer, male, Caucasian, married, 26, holding the rank of CPL with a H.S. degree and one child. According to Thomas, being deployed as a young parent scared him: he worried that his child’s education would be significantly affected. For Thomas, the only support in his absence came from his newly wedded wife and relatives, especially in relation to their studies. This made it difficult for him to know what to do, as he lacked experience in helping his child with education while being deployed. Deployed at the time of this study, he noted:

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 also explained that he wanted to trust that the process would go on as best as possible. He did not want to be negative about any of it because that might make it harder for his family at home. He believed that so long as everyone was accepting of the situation, it would work out in the end. He stated: “I just wish we had more understanding of how to do this—but we are both new to this, so we are kind of learning on the go.” Having the help and understanding of teachers from his point of view was very crucial: without their help, he did not think it would go well for his child in terms of making academic progress. For that, he was grateful.

Terry Stewart

Terry was an Air Force officer, female, married, African-American, 30, holding the rank of TSgt with a H.S. degree and two children. At the time of this study, Terry was anticipating deployment. Her main concerns were that she would need to rely on support from her husband and relatives to help make certain the children were staying focused on school work. She also anticipated the communication and distance barriers as being a problem but she hoped that she could maintain an open line of communication with her children via social media. One of the main reasons she was hopeful, too, was that she had taught the children to be self-motivated and she knew that they could be trusted to stay the course. However, with one parent away for a sustained period of time, anything can happen—that was her fear. With changes in schooling due to pandemic constraints, Terry pointed out that “given these new changes, I would say my interaction with teachers has been altered but more so because of the pandemic and not necessarily because of deployment.” She noted that she trusted the system and the process, and stated that in her absence the school, her husband, the children themselves, and relatives in the community would all have to be accommodating. She did not like that she had to put this on them, but as a military service woman, it was out of her hands, and she knew that one reason she could do her job effectively without worrying too much about her children’s education was that the support from the school and from home and from the community was sufficient to ensure that help would come as needed.

RESULTS

The data described above were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and focus groups. Analysis of the dataIt led to the generation of three themes that could consistently explain the experiences of deployed parents with respect to their children’s education: job satisfaction, the importance of communication with one’s family/social support system, and the need for trustworthy teacher/school support. s that are analyzed under:Interactivity in the military environment , education support, and personal and organizational resolutions. Each of these major themes gives somealso contained subthemes essential in developing understanding the dissertation and phenomenological questions that aid in answering both the central and sub-questionsthe experiences of the participants.

Theme Development Comment by Bennett, Eder MAJ USARMY USSOCOM SOCOM (USA): From here on throughout the remainder of the paper, please make necessary adjustments as it relates to grammar, spelling structure, sentence/paragraph transition and context. Also, I agree with the three themes listed, however, please use another synonym for theme 1 and 3…Interactivity in the military environment and Personal and organizational resolutions seems a little confusingPlease track all changes made.

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 main themes and subthemes with associated coding are tabulated below.

Theme

Theme Codes

Subtheme

Total Subtheme codes

Interactivity in the military environment

Job satisfaction

Dependency

Shared Experiences

Education support

N/A

N/A

Personal and organizational resolutions

Communication with one’s family/social support system

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 EnvironmentJob Satisfaction. In the data collection phase, it was evident that the participants were satisfied with the nature of their military jobs. All the participants indicated that the nature of their work was not as challenging, but but that difficulties aroise only when deployment takes took place. However, when deployment occurred, the parents looked for ways to address issues. This became difficult only when support systems were not in place. Those participants who were divorced or single parents expressed the most anxiety about deployment. Those with support systems expressed less anxiety and maintained an overall positive view of their work. 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 some of their perspectivesdiscussed 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. By furthering their own education they felt better situated to tend to the needs of their children even if they did not have a clear plan in mind.

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.

Despite Zac’s lack of certainty about his own educational plans, he made a clear association between getting back to school and his own children’s happiness. Like Zac, the overwhelming majority of Tthe participants dido not give any negative information about their military environment in terms of how it isthey were structured which implies that the relationship is positive. The interactions that exist among the military officers is also favorableNegative views of the military were thus not an apparent and cannot be the reason for why children's education is might be negatively affected. Participants instead observed that Sseparation from families is was itself the main challenge that leads to reduced participation on military parents in the education life of their children. Billy Mathews, for instance, maintained says that he loves the sSoldiers that he interacts with during different missions and that they who have become more of alike family to him. His positive regard for his work gave him an upbeat view of the challenges that resulted from parenting and guiding his children through school from a distance. Christopher Barnet on the other hand was dealing with divorce and felt that his relationship at home impacted everything else around him in a negative way.. He felt generally unhappy no matter what the situation or environment was. In this respect, Barnet’s situation stands out as an outlier among the rest of the participants and suggests that family bond may be the most significant factor.

Within theis theme of interactivityjob satisfaction, there are multiple subthemes that work toward responding to the sub-questionshelp to answer the research questions. For instance, Oon 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 interactivitybecame is evident. It wais clear that military parents mostly addressed the challenge by using relying upon their spouses onr close relatives. It was also clear thatis for this reason that military parents who weare single or divorced appliedy different techniques to ensure that their interaction with their children remained spositive—even if this was easier said than done. The following responses from participants support these 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 in terms of I how they proceeded in establishing involvement in their children's education. They adopted technological methods that aided in sealing the gap created by a lack of physical presence and distance (often turning to social media). They aspired to deliver affection and support in the same amount as they dido when not deployed at least up to a satisfactory levelregardless of how that affection and supported was channeled. The following participants and their responses show a high degree of correlation in terms of shared experience:.

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 theThe correlation derived from the participants obeys was consistent the Epoche approach, i.e., the method by which. That is thephenomenological reduction plus imaginative variation results in the derivation of the essence.

Education Support.: On this theme, military parents used all the available methods to ensure that they take could take part in the education of their children. Despite In spite of their deployment, some parents receive reviewed assignments from with their children and helped in correcting them. Further, they keepSome maintained constant communication with educators to ensure that their children were demonstrating the appropriate y 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 was 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 ResolutionsCommunication with One’s Family/Social Support System.: This theme incorporateds attributes that were discovered during the data collection method. Interestingly, revealed how participants use different ways to get stay involved in their 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 operated a nearly similar environment. The only explanation for such diversity is the notion of 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 engaged their spouses also illustrated the diversity in preparing spouseshow parents approached family/social support systems. It is clear that some of the parents have had more interactions with their spouses concerning their children's education than others. The statements from 4 participants below support this interpretation of the data.e 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:In answer to the central research question— What are the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education?—participants’ data revealed that Participants explained that they perceive the journey in their involvement in 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 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 took a mixed direction based on the participant, but correlation is was common is among most 8 participants who explained that the journey is was sometimes challenging and that they feelt as if they are were 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 experiences 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 simplicityassistance was brought by relatives and spouses' involvement in their children's education. Without this assistance, the challenges likely would not have been overcome to the extent that they were. Using the synthesis approach and borrowing from Moustakas’ methods, it is viable to conclude that without support from family, military parent involvement is would be and is an extremely 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 appreciated that deployment has can have 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—and participants generally seemed aware of this.. The advice given by the participants on how military parents should address the challenges givesa provides a clear illustration of their perceptions as shown in the following quotes.

Johnathon Ssteely: 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. Having e a plan gives predictability and reduces some of the initial anxiety prior to leaving.

Tammy Alvarez: Be involved 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 wais communication. Military parents weare deployed in different regions, across many time zones, and this affecteds communication. They also failed to offer some forms of support that weare available when not deployed, such as physical contact and face-to-face engagement.. The words of the following participant best illustrate the nature of this difficulty that all participants recognized:

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 provided brief biographical descriptions of the participants and the findings obtained through analysis of the collected data. It gave described the role of military parents in their children's education through results as categorized by the nature of the three major themes: interactivity of military parents with their environmentjob satisfaction, education support, and personal resolutionscommunication with family/social suport. 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 discusses the findings described in the previous chapter and summarizes what has been understooda summary of the results analyzed earlier in the paper, in chapter 4. It also discusses both practical and empirical implications of the research. BesidesIn addition, it provides identifies both the limitations and delimitations of the research, provides recommendations, and lastly, the summary concludes with a final summation.

Summary Summary of the Findingsof the Results

Data collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and focus groups provided the basis for the identification and developmented of the themes of interactivity in the military environmentjob satisfaction, education support, and personal and organizational resolutionsthe need for communication with one’s family/social support system. Each of these major themes gives contained 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 perceived the journey in their children's education as challenging because of deployment. This was primarily because thhey played other roles just like a general parent, but they are were often separated, and they have had to look for alternative methods that would help strengthen the level of interactions. At the same time, participants did not view the challenge as stemming from the nature of the work, which caused them to be separated from their children. They had generally had favorable views of their job. Job satisfaction was not a factor in their perception of deployment as a challenge. Yet Aall 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. To better understand these challenges, therefore, the sub-questions of this study provide the best starting place for discussion.

In response to the first question on "Hhow 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 wais common is among most 8 participants who explained that the journey is was sometimes challenging and they feel felt as if they are were 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 viewed their education role in their children's lives, it was clear that they acknowledged that they have had a role to play in children's lives. This role was as important to them as their job for which they were deployed. Thus, the main challenge was not the fact that they were deployed but rather that they had to do two jobs at once, one of which was made more difficult because of distance.

ToIn the second question,, on "Hhow do military parents perceive the impact of their deployment on the family and particularly on their child's academic performance?," I responded indicateding 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, aAll the participants agreed that deployment has some effects on the academic performance of children. However, tThe effect varies based on the measures that parents put into reducing the ripple effects of the deployment. In particular, spouses and relatives are were found to be instrumental in determining the performance of children during the deployment period.

To In the third sub-question on of "what What challenges do military parents who are deployed face while trying to stay involved in their children's education," I responded by indicating that one of the major challenges that all the 12 participants have shared wais communication. Military parents are were deployed in to different regionsparts of the world, and this affected the viability of normals communication channels. They also fail to offer some forms of support that are available when not deployed. To illustrate the challenges, I quoted some of the participants and how they attempt to address those challenges. In these challengesIn response to this challenge, parents soughteek all otherthe possible alternative methods to reach their families and assist them in their education. Unfortunately, this is was never an easy task for them, and they are were forced to use spouses, teachers, or educators to learn more about their children's performance.

Discussion

This discussion section aimeds to examine the findings by reflecting on the theoretical concepts in chapter 2. First, the study's basis is was inspired by theoretical concepts in the literature review that offered insights into the existing research and possible bridges to close research gaps. The Overall, the research was found to helps in supporting the discussion on the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child's education

Theoretical Literature

The theoretical literature that formed this study's basis is was informed by the theory of parental involvement supplied by Epstein (2011) regarding the relationship between parents, school, and community. According to the theory, parents play a crucial role in providing the guidance and support children need to achieve their academic goals. The six kinds of involvement identified by Epstein (2011) are parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community. These six kinds of involvement formed the basis of designing the research questions to ensure that all the aspects were incorporated in the research.

In all six types of involvement, the parent plays a pivotal role:. The stronger the parent's involvement—including setting high expectations for school achievement—the more likely the child is to pursue identified goals (Castro et al., 2015). This relationship between parental support and student academic achievement has beenwas validated by numerous research studies and is recognized as a universal phenomenon in various cultures (Benner, Boyle & Sadler, 2016; Mahuro & Hungi, 2016; Nunez et al., 2015). In light of this revelation, the study analyzed how parental supports play a role in determining children's academic performance.

My study came at an interesting time where when military parents' challenges harmonized activities have some harmony with the education sector's issues challenges as a result of theduring the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication challenges brought about by distance were a similar theme for each. However, as with teachers during COVID closures, deployed parents sought to use technology to close the distance gaps between themselves and their children.

Other literature also showeds that military deployment affects the academic performance of children. For example, a study by Alfano, Lau, Balderas, Bunnell, and Beidel (2016) showed identified the negative impact of military deployment on children, particularly as it relates to their education. This impact could create a need for these children to require mental health treatment because they lack the consistency and stability that most children have in a typical nuclear family. In this view, the study revealed some psychological reasons that affect children's performance during the deployment phase. This is evident in the experiences of Mike, Zac, Bill, and Billy. It is a clear illustration that at times of challenges, the education of children is highly affected.