ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to find out how preschool children felt after returning to preschool after 13- to 15-week- lockdown and whether their teachers made any amends in their work to accommodate children's needs and anxieties arising from the epidemic. The method used was triangulation: in addition to interviews with children (40), interviews were also conducted with their teachers (19) and parents (31). Our study shows that for most children, return to preschool was not stressful. Most children were happy that the preschool reopened which confirms that children of this age need the company of their peers and that preschool is an important part of their life. In regards to any changes in the methods of work, our research found that just under half of teachers amended their teaching methods and thus demonstrated awareness that children needed some time to readjust to preschool and its routines. Those teachers also seemed to understand that children had to be provided a safe environment in which they could broaden their understanding of the situation and process any potential epidemic-related traumatic experiences. Situations like the epidemic can help teachers reassess their relationship with and approach to children, especially in regards to listening to them and seeing them as competent beings.
ABSTRACT
Although the COVID-19 crisis has generated research on its impact on children, few investigations have interviewed children. The purpose of this research was to gain the perspectives of young children directly rather than ask adults to interpret for them. Between October 2020 and February 2021, most activities in Slovenia were in lockdown, including preschool that remained open only for those children whose parents carried out essential jobs. In March 2021, after the face-to-face pedagogical process resumed, we designed an interview focusing on the major issues surrounding COVID-19 and interviewed 40 preschool children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Twenty-one of these children spent the entire period at home, 15 attended preschool, and the rest divided their time between home and attending preschool classes in person. Their parents (33) and preschool teachers (11) were interviewed as well. For the children who spent the entire lockdown at home, the biggest problem was being separated from friends and/or teachers, even though many preschoolers also mentioned that they enjoyed spending more time with their parents and relatives. Most of the children who attended classes were satisfied to be there, but some missed their best friends who were at home. Thus, regardless of their location, during the lockdown most children missed their absent peers, what was noticed also by their teachers and parents. The teachers also mentioned the differently organized classes as a problem for some children. Another key finding of the study was that preschool children who participated in our interviews were exceptionally well informed about COVID-19 and the measures to fight it. Some children had very innovative suggestions about the concerns and actions to be taken during the COVID-19 epidemic. Contrary to the prevailing view of adults that real-life situations need to be explained using childish metaphors, the preschoolers in our sample demonstrated an understanding of the crisis as well as a willingness to behave responsibly. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.