COVID-19 Lessons: Experience in Organization of Distance Pre-school Education

Abstract

The article focuses on the analysis of new experience in the national context, i.e. the organisation of distance education in preschool education and the challenges in application of the innovation, when the implementation as such is not planned and modelled for getting ready for it in advance. In Lithuania, before the COVID-19 pandemic, distance education in preschool education, which is meant to prepare a child for school, was not applied, there were no specific guidelines, tested teaching platforms or pedagogic practices. The study deals with the results of focus groups research performed in June 2020, designated for discussing of experiences of the Lithuanian preschool education institutions in distance education gained during the quarantine (from 16/03/2020 to 29/05/2020). The performed analysis of experiences in the organisation of distant education in preschool education disclosed the essential challenges faced when applying this form of education in the education of six-year-old children. It has been established that the key challenges organizing distance education in preschool education are related to the lack of the IT solutions for distance education; the readiness of the participants of the education process for distance education and engagement in suchprocess of education, as well as the lack of support from national and regional institutions in the organisation of distance education. The results of research open possibilities for further researches, which are necessary for efficient and sustainable distance education integration into preschool education. In this  context, explicit, deep research related to the analysis of appropriateness of distance education platforms in the early stage of age, search for didactic solutions of digital content for them and deep research  into concrete implementation cases  is necessary.