The first reactions of early childhood education schools during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece

Abstract

In this paper, we report the first findings of a study that sheds light upon the way early childhood education schools in Greece responded to the COVID-19 lockdown conditions. Specifically, we explore through content analysis and semi-structured interviews: (a) the way 16 early childhood education schools in Athens (8 public and 8 private) first contacted students and their families to inform them about the suspension (b) the way they adapted their programmes to continue to provide education during the first lockdown (Spring 2020) using different models of home-schooling and (c) teachers’ views on the teaching practices they followed at their schools and the challenges they faced. We argue that schools’ first reactions reveal what they advocate, their real beliefs, their deep pedagogical goal, as well as the Greek Government’s attitude towards early childhood education. In this attempt, we use analytical tools developed by Michel Foucault and refined by Mitchell Dean. © 2022 ASPE.