Pre-schoolers’ development during the COVID-19 shutdowns – a mixed-methods secondary analysis
Final Report Abstract
The analyses presented show four things in particular: First, the Corona Shutdown had an effect on children. This can be seen in their development (quantitative data) and also in their own perception (qualitative data). They explain and describe how they feel and with what concerns they look at their further educational path and the upcoming transition to school. In this context, it will be exciting for further qualitative research to develop more participatory, creative and childoriented methods to conduct research with children and make them actors in the research. In contrast to the children's data, the adults involved in the process have less concerns related to the daycare shutdown in the context of Corona. On the one hand, this perception can be interpreted as confidence in children's abilities to recover. On the other hand, children's concerns are apparently not taken entirely seriously. When adults express concerns, they do so stereotypically and superficially and with little reference to the concrete Corona situation. For example, there are statements that have now degenerated into platitudes, such as children use too much media, children don't play properly anymore. They thus ignore the fact that children can also perceive social changes and, in this case, quite specifically pandemic conditions. Only one educator from the sample seems to sense these concerns of the children. Particularly surprising were the strong differences in children's perceptions and adults' perceptions (in the qualitative data) and that the quantitative data tended to underline the children's perspective. For these clearly showed that the children initially deteriorated in the areas of their academic skills, motor and social-emotional development. This deterioration persists over many weeks. 18 weeks after the first survey (and also after their transition to primary school), the children have recovered somewhat, but have not yet returned to their old pre-shutdown levels.
Publications
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Sozial-emotional kompetent in die Schule?!. Frühe Bildung, 13(3), 133-141.
Mays, Daniel; Quenzer-Alfred, Carolin; Scheicht, Terell & Tölle, Lisa
