Peer-reviewed article
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Maria Gayatri ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined how early childhood education was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic by searching five electronic databases through November 2020. The review found that school closures led most children to experience online learning, with parents and teachers playing crucial roles in supporting cognitive and social development. However, home-based online learning created challenges including difficulties with young children's self-regulation, limited access to digital technology, varying parental attitudes, and the time demands on families. The review emphasizes that good communication between parents and teachers is essential for supporting early childhood education during such disruptions.
Key points
- School closures during COVID-19 forced most early childhood education to shift to online learning
- Parents and teachers have significant roles in supporting children's cognitive and social development during home learning
- Implementation challenges include young children's difficulty with self-regulation in online settings
- Barriers include limited readiness to use digital technology, varying parental beliefs about online versus traditional learning, and time demands on families
- Parent-teacher communication is identified as important for supporting early childhood online learning during outbreaks
Limitations
This systematic review covers literature only through November 2020, early in the pandemic, so it does not capture longer-term impacts or adaptations that developed later. The document does not specify which countries or contexts were included in the reviewed studies, limiting clarity on geographic applicability.
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The study examined the implementation of early childhood education during the pandemic of COVID-19. Methodology: A systematic review identified the implementation in early childhood education settings. Electronic databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and manual search on Google Scholar were explored with specific keywords from the inception of the pandemic COVID-19 to November 30, 2020. Main Findings: Early childhood education has been influenced due to school closure. Most of the children experience online learning, to reduce the spread of the outbreak, especially when face-to-face learning cannot be conducted. Parents and teachers have significant roles in supporting the children to improve their cognitive and social development. However, the implementation of home learning causes some difficulties in relation to the self-regulation of very young children, the readiness to utilize digital technology and learning materials, parent’s beliefs and attitudes on online learning compared with traditional learning, and requirements of demanding time and knowledge to accompany the children. Therefore, it is important to have good communication between parents and teachers to support early childhood online learning during the outbreak. Applications of this study: This article will provide evidence from some countries about the matter of early childhood education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will be useful for improving the quality of early childhood education. Novelty/Originality of this study: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the early childhood education has changed from the traditional system to online education system to reduce the spread of the diseases. This article will show the various implementations of learning system during the outbreak and the lesson learned.