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Preschoolers’ Perceptions of the COVID-19 Epidemic: An Interview Study with Children in Slovenia

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education and Care

Part of the book series: Educating the Young Child ((EDYC,volume 18))

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Marcela Batistič Zorec & Mojca Peček

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  1. Marcela Batistič Zorec
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  2. Mojca Peček
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Correspondence to Marcela Batistič Zorec .

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  1. Department of Teacher Education, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA

    Jyotsna Pattnaik

  2. Emerita, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, USA

    Mary Renck Jalongo

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Zorec, M.B., Peček, M. (2022). Preschoolers’ Perceptions of the COVID-19 Epidemic: An Interview Study with Children in Slovenia. In: Pattnaik, J., Renck Jalongo, M. (eds) The Impact of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education and Care. Educating the Young Child, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96977-6_6

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