Initial teaching of reading and writing during the covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of pupils' mothers

Abstract

The research study is devoted to the course of distance learning of reading and writing in the first years of primary schools during the closure of schools in the Czech Republic in the 2020/2021 school year from the perspective of the mothers of pupils. The aim of the survey was to describe the experiences and opinions of mothers related to the teaching of early reading and writing. As part of the investigation, interviews were conducted with the mothers of six pupils in the first years of primary schools. The results showed that distance education did not affect the quality of learning the reading and writing technique, it only slowed it down. However, there was a decline in pupils’ interest in reading and a disruption in their relationship to education. Mothers found it difficult to motivate children to learn, help them in case of difficulties with reading and writing techniques and evaluate their learning results. Distance education, on the other hand, enabled individualization with regard to children‘s needs and deepened the cooperation between school and family. It placed increased demands especially on mothers, who had to be intensively involved in the teaching process. In the end, the contribution provides general recommendations that can be used for distance and face-to-face teaching of reading and writing.