Abstract:

The movement to distance learning changed the division of roles between parents and educational staff and forced parents to be more involved in the learning process. From an age perspective, it was found that preschool children were the population most affected during the distance learning period because they are completely dependent on their parents’ support. The need for increase parental involvement in the learning process raised both logistic and educational challenges (OECD, 2020). Parents from a low socio-economic status (SES) found it particularly difficult to provide support for distance learning (Andrew et al., 2020).

The first year of the teaching internship is a unique intermediary stage between the training stage and the service stage. Pre-service teachers experience the complexity of the relationship with parents of young children for the first time, and report feeling stress and anxiety surrounding interactions with parents and difficulty solving conflicts (Levy et al., 2019; Peleg et al., 2019).

The current study is an interpretive qualitative study, which examined the perceptions of pre-service early childhood education (ECE) teachers regarding their relationships with parents during the Covid-19 crisis. The study was conducted in May, 2020. Participants included 49 pre-service preschool teachers. The study measures included a questionnaire containing four multiple choice questions and eight open, short-answer questions. In addition, participants were asked to describe their relationship with parents using a picture and a verbal explanation. Results were analyzed using categorical content analysis in line with theory anchoring the field (Charmaz, 2012; Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

The analysis of the results revealed that distance learning was exposed to the home environment of the pre-service teachers and the families of the preschoolers for the first time, and the teaching process was revealed to parents. The pre-service teachers were forced to immediately adapt their teaching approaches to the needs of the children and the families in a changing reality. Similarly, general education preschool teachers and part-time teachers in special education reported improvements in their relations with parents compared to teachers in special education preschools and part-time teachers in general education. A lack of technological means, low digital literacy, and lack of parents’ availability were found as inhibitory factors in the relations with parents. In contrast, the integration of the completing pre-service teachers in the day to day communication channels with parents by the preschool teachers served to promote their communication with parents.

This study demonstrates that breaking through the barrier of the preschool door, differential working with the children, and appropriate communication with the needs of parents influenced the quality of the relations and reduced the level of anxiety among the pre-service teachers in their interactions with parents. As such, it is important that teacher-training institutions will train the students to work according to the needs of the children and their families in routine times, and how to cope in emergency situations.

Keywords:

Inclusive, perceptions, ECE inters, parents-teachers, Covid-19.