From supporters to navigators: Exploring parental digital involvement in China through the lens of digital capital and technology acceptance

Abstract The rapid digitalization of education has redefined parental roles in children's learning, yet research has largely focused on children as technology users while overlooking parents' own active engagement. This study explores parental digital involvement among Chinese primary school students using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of 20 interviews with 10 parents, supplemented by participants' diaries and visual materials. The findings reveal that parents' roles are shifting from ‘supporters’ to ‘navigators’ within specific parental groups and identify four involvement patterns: integrative, selective, adaptive and minimal, which are shaped by digital capital and technology acceptance. The Integrated Framework of Parental Digital Involvement proposed in the study advances digital capital theory by highlighting child‐to‐parent knowledge transfer and refines the Technology Acceptance Model by incorporating concerns about screen overuse, learning effectiveness and health. The study enriches theoretical understanding and offers practical strategies for equitable and sustainable parental engagement in the digital era.