Caring for children in daycare centers and childminders during a pandemic - a research project develops guidelines for professionals.
Since November 2020, researchers from the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Dresden and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences have been investigating the needs and conditions of childcare in Saxony during the Covid-19 pandemic in a collaborative project. Based on their findings, they are developing a guideline for pedagogical work in pandemic situations for Saxon daycare centers. Professor Andrea Eckhardt from the Faculty of Social Sciences is responsible for the project at the HSZG.
"The pandemic is particularly challenging for families. This makes it all the more important to support parents and their children. Our project is investigating how we can succeed in fulfilling the educational and childcare mandate. We want to show how good educational work can be achieved under the conditions of a pandemic," explains Andrea Eckhardt, Professor of Childhood Education.
”Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the framework conditions for childcare facilities are constantly changing. Due to the transition from normal operation under special hygiene measures to restricted regular operation and even closure, parents' right to care is restricted. This means that the facilities can only fulfill their educational and care mandate to a limited extent. They are faced with the challenge of maintaining a high level of educational quality even under the conditions of the pandemic. After all, not only the parents' right to care, but also the children's right to a good education and upbringing must be implemented.
The project team is therefore investigating how everyday life in childcare facilities has changed, what effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on educational work and what solutions have been found in practice. To this end, the processes in Saxon daycare centers are analyzed and discussed with educational professionals in expert workshops. One big plus point: "Our childhood education students are actively involved in the workshops and the exchange with practitioners," says Andrea Eckhardt.
With their project, the researchers want to contribute to the assessment of the pandemic and its consequences for educational work in childcare facilities.
The project will run until the end of June 2021 and is funded by the Saxon State Ministry of Culture and the Municipal Social Association as part of the Saxon State Ministry of Culture's guidelines for ensuring and developing quality in child daycare facilities and child day care.
