Parental experiences of educational supports offered during their child's cancer treatment

Abstract

Background To explore how parents of children with cancer offer educational supports during the treatment process. Methods Based on a descriptive qualitative method design, 29 mothers and 19 fathers of children with cancer were interviewed on their experiences of supporting their child's education during their child's treatment through semi‐structured interviews. Result Six themes were summarized from the parents' experiences in supporting their child's education during treatment: initial emphasis on survival over education; educational strategies important when returning to everyday life post‐treatment; parents and educators have different expectations; child's extracurricular activities provided a sense of accomplishment; preparing for transition to school; and long‐term concern was for the child's health and happiness. Conclusion Education is part of children's normal development, but education is often placed on hold for a child receiving cancer treatment. Parents of children with cancer are unable to focus on the child's education because of the threat to their child's life. When their child's illness stabilizes, they will begin to utilize their resources to arrange lessons to facilitate returning to school. Through understanding parents' learning expectations, medical professionals can support adjustments to parents' attitudes.