מאפייני ההוראה מרחוק ותגובות ילדי הגן בימי הסגר בעקבות מגיפת נגיף הקורונה - עדויות הגננות

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the close-down of schools and
preschools, a new reality emerged in the area of technology integration in preschool. The
new agenda is to accustom the children to e-learning and distance communication with their
teachers. Hence the following research questions were derived: What are the characteristics
of the distance teaching preschool teachers applied with respect to children’s age and sector?
From the teachers' point of view, how did the preschoolers react during the remote meetings?
To what extent did the teachers feel capable of distance teaching? The study involved 404
teachers, from the secular and religious sectors. Mixed-method methodology was applied
while analyzing online questionnaire that included closed and open-ended questions. Data
analysis revealed that the main means of communication in both sectors were the WhatsApp
and Zoom apps. Most teachers communicated 3-4 times a week or more. Teachers from the
secular sector communicated with their preschoolers more than teachers from the religious
sector. Teachers who teach in multi-age preschool, communicated less with their children.
The respondents indicated that there were children who had difficulty communicating
remotely, mainly due to the parents' unavailability for support, embarrassment/fear of the
children themselves, lack of a computer/internet at home or unavailability of devices. Young
children had difficulty communicating compared to older children. Teachers described a
variety of the preschoolers’ reactions from joy to difficulty in keeping attention,
embarrassment, fear. About half of the teachers in both sectors reported that they got along
technologically and emotionally, and yet they prefer to teach face-to-face.
Empirical studies in the field of preschool distance teaching, are scarce. In the State of
Israel, the objectives of the research presented here, its findings and recommendations are
important not only due to life-threatening events of an epidemic, but also due to security
events that require long stay at home.