EXPERIENCE IN PRESCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHING IN SERBIA AND GERMANY DURING PANDEMIC

Abstract

During the pandemic of COVID-19, preschool teachers had to adapt to the novel teaching challenges of online communication with children and parents. In this study, the effect of pandemic to the preschool science teaching was evaluated from the perspective of preschool teachers in Serbia and Germany. The research was conducted from May to August 2021 and included 90 examinees. For the purpose of this survey, a questionnaire with 19 open- and closed-ended questions was constructed. The results showed that in the organization of educational practice in distant science activities there was no significant difference in kindergartens in Serbia and Germany. German preschool teachers had more postitive perception of their digital competencies compared to their colleagues from Serbia. The comparative analysis of parent engagement, as intermediaries in the realization of educational tasks, showed that in both countries the parents were equally willing to cooperate, but the tasks were more regularly completed with German parents. It was concluded that, although there were certain differences, preschool teachers in both countries shared similar experiences from the times of pandemic.