Self-Efficacy in Early Childhood Educators: The Impact of Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several early childhood education programs in the United States and around the world were forced to shift to online instruction. While virtual learning was found to be challenging for all age groups, this mode has been especially challenging for early childhood educators. The present study explored the challenges that teachers faced when adjusting their early childhood education practices to an online format during the COVID-19 health crisis and also explored those activities that teachers found most effective. Furthermore, this study explored the role of online teaching in teachers’ senses of self-efficacy and assessed whether support from families and program administration played a role in teacher self-efficacy. Lessons for the role of online education in early childhood, with implications for practice, are discussed. As online instruction becomes more prominent in all areas of education, the lessons learned during the pandemic should prove informative long after the crisis is overcome.