Levickis Penny, Murray Lisa, Lee-Pang Lynn, Eadie Patricia, Page Jane, Lee Wan Yi, Hill Georgie
Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, 3010 Ground Floor Kwong Lee Dow Building, 234 Queensberry St, Melbourne, VIC Australia.
Genetics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Early Child Educ J. 2022 Aug 5:1-11. doi: 10.1007/s10643-022-01376-5.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services and families, impacting family access to services and their communication and engagement with educators. This study aimed to examine parents' perspectives of family engagement with ECEC services during the pandemic. Primary caregivers in Victoria at the time of recruitment (September-November 2020) were invited to participate. Of the 66 participants who completed an online survey, 25 also took part in semi-structured video call or phone interviews; qualitative findings from these interviews are reported in this paper. Four key themes were conceptualised using a reflexive thematic approach: (1) disruptions to ECEC access and attendance impacting on family routines and relationships, and child development; (2) barriers to family engagement; (3) ECEC educators' support of families and children during the pandemic; and (4) increased parental appreciation of the ECEC profession. Findings revealed that disruptions to ECEC access and routines during the pandemic adversely impacted family engagement, and child learning and social-emotional wellbeing for some families. These were aggravated by other stressors, including increased parental responsibilities in the home, financial and health concerns, and changed work conditions. Findings also demonstrated successful methods used by educators to maintain communication and connections with families. Importantly, parents expressed increasing appreciation of the profession and an increased awareness of the value of family involvement in children's learning. Learnings regarding strategies for effective and alternative ways of engaging families are discussed.
新冠疫情给幼儿教育与保育（ECEC）服务机构及家庭带来了巨大挑战，影响了家庭获得服务的机会以及他们与教育工作者的沟通和互动。本研究旨在探讨疫情期间家长对家庭与ECEC服务机构互动的看法。邀请了招募时（2020年9月至11月）维多利亚州的主要照料者参与。在完成在线调查的66名参与者中，有25人还参加了半结构化视频通话或电话访谈；本文报告了这些访谈的定性研究结果。采用反思性主题分析法归纳出四个关键主题：（1）ECEC服务获得和出勤的中断对家庭日常生活、关系及儿童发展的影响；（2）家庭参与的障碍；（3）疫情期间ECEC教育工作者对家庭和儿童的支持；（4）家长对ECEC职业的感激之情增加。研究结果显示，疫情期间ECEC服务获得和日常安排的中断对一些家庭的家庭参与、儿童学习以及社会情感健康产生了不利影响。其他压力因素加剧了这些影响，包括家庭中家长责任的增加、经济和健康方面的担忧以及工作条件的变化。研究结果还展示了教育工作者用于与家庭保持沟通和联系的成功方法。重要的是，家长对该职业的感激之情不断增加，并且对家庭参与儿童学习的价值有了更高的认识。本文讨论了有关有效及替代方式来促使家庭参与的策略的经验教训。
