TY - JOUR
T1 - A Window of Change: How COVID-19 Disrupted Pedagogical Approaches in Danish Kindergartens
AU - Wistoft, Karen
AU - Clark, Aske
AU - Qvortrup, Lars
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 EECERA.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - COVID-19 disrupted almost all pedagogical activities in Danish kindergartens. Basic principles were challenged because of new demands for hygiene and social and physical distance. More activities were moved outdoors, group sizes were minimized, parents had to stay outside the grounds and kindergarten teachers had to deal with a lot of insecurity. However, after a challenging period, new potentials emerged, and new, promising pedagogical principles were identified. In this article, we present examples of COVID-19 disruption in Danish kindergartens with children aged 2-5, based on a mixed-methods study using survey data as background material for qualitative field observations and interviews. The research questions are: What characterizes the learning environments and pedagogical approaches in kindergartens, and how are they redefined over time in response to the two-phase disruption during COVID-19? The article provides four answers concerning: rethinking play activities; rethinking food and meals; rethinking handover and parent relations; and handling insecurity. In addition, two short sections deal with the consequences for management and the kindergarten teachers’ professional identity.
AB - COVID-19 disrupted almost all pedagogical activities in Danish kindergartens. Basic principles were challenged because of new demands for hygiene and social and physical distance. More activities were moved outdoors, group sizes were minimized, parents had to stay outside the grounds and kindergarten teachers had to deal with a lot of insecurity. However, after a challenging period, new potentials emerged, and new, promising pedagogical principles were identified. In this article, we present examples of COVID-19 disruption in Danish kindergartens with children aged 2-5, based on a mixed-methods study using survey data as background material for qualitative field observations and interviews. The research questions are: What characterizes the learning environments and pedagogical approaches in kindergartens, and how are they redefined over time in response to the two-phase disruption during COVID-19? The article provides four answers concerning: rethinking play activities; rethinking food and meals; rethinking handover and parent relations; and handling insecurity. In addition, two short sections deal with the consequences for management and the kindergarten teachers’ professional identity.
KW - Kindergarten
KW - COVID-19
KW - Learning environment
KW - Rethinking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119660974&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1350293X.2021.2005111
DO - 10.1080/1350293X.2021.2005111
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1350-293X
VL - 30
SP - 658
EP - 671
JO - European Early Childhood Education Research Journal
JF - European Early Childhood Education Research Journal
IS - 5
ER -