Preschool teacher-parent communication during covid-19 pandemic lockdown: relation to the parental engagement at home

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the education system moved to an online format. Parents of pre-schoolers therefore became the primary educators responsible for the sustainability of their children’s education. Communication with teachers was the only available support resource. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between preschool teacher-parent communication (frequency, content of exchange, and satisfaction with the teacher’s support) and parental engagement in home-learning activities. An online questionnaire was sent to 1646 parents of children attending preschools. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the communication frequency between parents and preschool teachers was a significant predictor of parent engagement in home-learning activities, but the effects were small. Unexpectedly, parents more engaged in face-to-face home-learning activities were less satisfied with the teacher support. The study suggests that one-way digital communication with a clear role division between experts and parents has a limited effect on the parents’ engagement and sustainability of preschool education in times of crisis.