The Effects of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education: Research and Implications

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the field of early childhood education with several challenges, including the need to shift early childhood instruction online. The effect of COVID-19 and social distancing regulations were experienced differently by families, teachers, teacher educators, early interventionists, and program administrators. These differences were exacerbated by socio-economic status, cultural backgrounds, and diversity in children's developmental trajectories and disabilities. Theoretical assumptions guiding the early childhood education field propose that learning is an active process fostered by an environment that supports exploration, manipulation, social interactions, and play. These foundations lay at the core of the early childhood education field. These past years, covering education in the time of COVID-19, have represented a time for readjustment and learning for those attempting to meet the needs of young children in several capacities. This book integrates perspectives of early childhood educators, higher education early childhood preparation programs, families, administrators, and early interventionists while taking into account the district roles of socioeconomic status, differences in developmental trajectories, disabilities, and cultural backgrounds. This book synthesizes the many lessons learned during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic and puts forward recommendations for the future of early childhood education in times of rapid and continuous change in the world and the field. This book should prove especially helpful for practitioners, educators, families, and policymakers looking for a source that integrates the knowledge gathered in past unprecedented years. The field of early childhood will never be the same, and this book attempts to capitalize on the experiences lived during these challenging times.