When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Nordic countries in spring 2020, restrictions were quickly introduced, many of which directly affected the everyday lives of the youngest children.
Ole Henrik Hansen is Professor of Education at the School of Education and Communication at Jönköping University. He leads the project “Exploring Practices in Early Childhood of Tomorrow Develop resilience in socially sustainable childhoods after COVID-19 (EXPECT)”. They focus on the youngest children from 0-6 years.
“Preparing preschools for future pandemics should be an important goal for the Nordic preschool system. The Nordic model plays a crucial role in ensuring that all children have equal opportunities to learn, develop and thrive,” says Ole Henrik Hansen.
The researchers will therefore make recommendations on how daycare centres in the Nordic countries can best prepare for the next pandemic.
The project involves researchers from seven different universities in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark.
“The most significant thing in the preliminary results was the lack of preparation for the possibility of a pandemic. It came as a shock to all five countries, so when restrictions were introduced, it became a major challenge for the practices of daycare centres. Among other things, the restrictions affected children with special educational needs, and some educators felt that they became an instrument in a violent crisis situation,” says Ole Henrik Hansen.
Pedagogues experienced both advantages and disadvantages
In the study, the researchers interviewed pedagogues to investigate how they experienced the pandemic. The preliminary results revolve around three areas: structural conditions in daycare centres, relational and pedagogical factors.
- When it came to structural conditions in daycare centres, educators experienced a lack of support from managers and municipalities and an increased workload and stress. On the positive side, they emphasised the benefits of dividing children into smaller groups because it created a closer relationship between the children and the adults. Some also felt that the management was more competent.
- In terms of the relationship with the children and parents, the pedagogues perceived less quality in the teacher-parent relationship, that the children missed their friends and that there were some drawbacks to the use of digital communication. Among the positives, they emphasised that they developed closer relationships with the children and that they developed new, innovative ways of using digital tools.
- The last thing the researchers looked at was how pedagogical factors were affected during the pandemic. Here, the educators answered that pedagogy was weakened and that they worried about children with special needs and children who were cared for at home. On the positive side, they again emphasised the benefits of dividing children into smaller groups, more outdoor activities, more time for play, and the development of remote pedagogy.
“The preliminary results indicate that it is mainly the perspectives of educators and parents that have been studied, while children's own experiences are largely absent from the Nordic research. Although the pandemic in many ways challenged daily practice in daycare centres, the research also shows that educators and leaders were forced to create new pedagogical solutions, for example in relation to outdoor pedagogy and the use of digital technologies,” says Ole Henrik Hansen.
Later, the researchers will also investigate how parents of children in daycare centres experienced the pandemic.
Read more about the project here: Förskolan förbereds för framtida pandemier - Forskning - Jönköping University
