The MOSAIC recruitment survey was conducted via the SSRS Opinion Panel and invited U.S. adults aged 18 and older who use the internet to participate.

MOSAIC (Measuring Online Social Attitudes and Information Collaborative) is a collaboration between SSRS, Georgetown University, and the University of Michigan. This collaboration will focus on understanding how to leverage survey data and social media data to better capture public opinion in reliable, valid, and scientifically rigorous ways. This data brief series is intended to share public opinion results to inform researchers and decision-makers with information about attitudes in the United States related to different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data briefs will utilize open-ended survey responses, social media posts, and/or both in order to gain different perspectives on public attitudes.

In August, schools began reopening and welcoming parents and children back into the classroom after over a year of remote schooling. Based on our previous survey (spring 2021) on the issues that parents noted as being most problematic –learning loss and social interaction – we wanted to learn if these parental fears had subsided as schooling moved back to primarily in-person and children were able to interact with peers and teachers again. These two areas were still on the minds of our parents with over 30% of parents noting that social interaction was important to the return to schooling. However, new concerns also emerged.