Redefining interaction and participation in digital times: early childhood teachers’ understandings in Greece

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adopting a sociocultural standpoint, the present study investigated Greek early years professionals’ experience of the compulsive distance learning that took place in Greece due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, we explored: a. the pedagogical priorities, challenges, and opportunities teachers recognised, b. their understanding of children’s participation and interaction in digital classrooms, and c. the role they attributed to the family context in which online education took place. Using a qualitative research perspective, we conducted 40 semi-structured interviews that were thematically analysed. Data analysis revealed that although teachers strived to make distance learning possible and joyful, they seem uncertain of how to create a meaningful, interactive, and play-based environment in their virtual classrooms. Our findings provide constructive insights into ECE teachers’ experience, allowing us to discuss the arising opportunities of reconsidering participatory learning in conjunction with key interactions among teachers, children, and parents in a post-COVID world.