Impacts of COVID-19 on Teaching Practice in Early Childhood Education

• In Event: Educational Change at a Time of Crisis

Abstract

COVID-19 greatly impacted South Korea starting in early January 2020, and it has continuously impacted teaching practice, especially in early childhood education, as conditions have required drastic changes and the adoption of new safety and health regulations such as keeping social distance, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, and so forth. In this study, we analyzed three preschool teachers’ narratives on COVID-19’s impacts on teaching practice and found various changes, including moving toward directive instruction, planning for solitary/parallel play, reducing collaborative play or work, no touching policy, etc. We also found that teachers experienced distress that affected their teaching practice.

Authors

• Joohi Lee, The University of Texas - Arlington

• Joo Ok Lee, Pusan National University of Education

• So Hyang Kim, Pusan National University of Education

• Sham`ah Md-Yunus, Eastern Illinois University