Pre-School Teachers’ Experiences and Challenges of Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study investigated how preschool teachers carry out the teaching and learning process during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also explored pre-school teachers’ experiences and challenges of online teaching during the pandemic. A qualitative research method specifically case study was employed to describe how the pre-school teachers comprehend their experiences with a phenomenon. Eleven pre-school teachers were selected using snowball sampling method. All the eleven teachers had more than ten years of teaching experience. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with all of them. An interview protocol was developed and all the items were open-ended questions. Interview data were transcribed and re-read many times to generate the codes. Emergent themes and categories were then checked and confirmed based on reliable sources from the literature. Data were then analysed using thematic analysis. Findings showed that the Covid-19 pandemic had negative effects on pre-school education and that implementing educational games after lessons could sustain pre-school education but the teachers still faced great challenges to keep the learners staying focused online. This study suggests that modification and redesigning of different teaching methods are required in online pre-school education.