Exploring Greek Parents’ beliefs about Distance Learning for their Pre-school Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Distance Learning (DL) has become the basic form of education at all levels of schooling during the global Covid-19 pandemic.In this qualitative research, the beliefs of 56 families (109 parents) of preschool children who had Distance Learning during school closure in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Greece are examined.This topic is important due to the unprecedented case of the massive use of DL in Early Childhood Education in which the contribution of children's parents was imperative.Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and then analysed using thematic analysis.The study's major findings showed that although parents tended to regard their involvement in DL as a useful experience, both for themselves and their children, as it provided educational continuity during class suspension.Nevertheless, they regarded it only as a temporary measure, preferring face-to-face education for their children because they stated that they had neither the required knowledge nor the time to support DL at home.They also stated that DL could have potential negative effects to their children.Further research could explore the experience of parents in the subsequent waves of the pandemic or compare parental views by students of other educational levels.