Poster #34 - Educational resilience: How a nature preschool supported family engagement at the onset of COVID-19

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

Background: Family involvement in early childhood education plays a vital role in children’s learning and development (Harvard Family Research Project, 2006). Research shows how caregiver participation can aid in promoting child interest and competence in literacy, science, or engineering (Ata‑Aktürk & Demircan, 2021; Le Roux, 2021; Silander et al., 2018). The shift from in-person school-based programming to learning at home facilitated by technology during the COVID-19 pandemic required teachers and families to work collaboratively in new ways to support young children’s growth and development. While an abundance of the literature highlights the challenges educators and families faced during the lockdown moving from in-person programming to an online mode (e.g., Kostelecká et al., 2021; Soltero-González & Gillanders, 2021), little research reports on positive results of transition to home-based learning. Young children require help navigating technology and new rules of online communication and need in-person modeling and instruction that occurs away from screens (NAEYC, 2020). For a nature preschool that has a substantial outdoor component, inviting caregivers to be essential partners in the educational process became especially salient to maintaining its mission. This study sought to answer the following question: How did a nature preschool program support family engagement in nature-based activities during the Spring 2020 lockdown?
Methods: The qualitative case study was conducted in a nature preschool located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The analyzed data include teacher emails to families (N = 209), social media communications (N = 295), and staff meeting notes and transcripts. Data were initially coded for a larger study by two researchers utilizing a consensus process for coding (Richards & Hemphill, 2018). For this study, we coded data pertaining to nature-based learning a second time to distinguish home-school activities. We used grounded theory to identify the types of home-school activities that had been implemented as part of the curriculum (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Data excerpts will be presented to illustrate the codes.
Findings: Six codes that emerged from the analysis were subsequently divided into two themes. The first theme reflects instructional facilitation of the educational process and the ways well-being and a sense of community were supported. The second theme encompasses the types of curricular activities provided to children and their families. Specifically, we identified four activities: encouraging play and inquiry, connections to place, nature-based science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) curriculum, and environmental awareness and recycling.
Conclusion: The presented findings provide practices that teachers can implement in their curriculum in order to maintain home-based family engagement in the child’s learning. As schools move back to on-site programming, the results of the study that pertain to communication and instruction could be used to inform family engagement in early childhood education. Fostering alignment between teacher and parent practices can ultimately help to better support children’s outcomes.

Authors

• Ekaterina Novikova, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Gallo-Fox, University of Delaware