Continuity of primary general and preschool education during the pandemic: survey results

Abstract

The modern development of pedagogical science requires constant improvement of high-quality continuous education, one of the aspects of which is the unity and provision of its continuity at various levels. The purpose of this research is to study the opinions of students, parents of first graders and practicing teachers on the continuity of primary and preschool education. The study was carried out on the basis of the Faculty of Primary Education of the State Humanitarian and Technological University in the period from February to May 2021. It was attended by 512 students of 1 to 5 course years, 342 parents of first-graders from schools in the Moscow region, and 211 practicing teachers (teachers of preparatory groups and primary school teachers), a total of 1065 respondents. The analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature on the topic of research, questioning, semantic analysis were used as research methods. The results obtained in the course of the study showed that the need for the continuity of primary and preschool education is fully or not fully supported by 84% of the respondents. 63% noted the difficulty of transition to other forms of education. In the areas of succession, the knowledge of standards and readiness to use remote forms were the most important for 78% of respondents. The need for special training for teachers was noted by 98% of the respondents. The data obtained made it possible to identify problem areas in the implementation of the continuity of preschool and primary education, including during pandemics and post-pandemic periods as well as the need for special training for teachers. A semantic analysis made it possible to identify the most common phrases related to the definition of the continuity of preschool and primary general education and the transition to distance forms. The conclusion was made about the need for increased attention to the issues of continuity of primary general and preschool education, special training of future teachers for diverse work.