What children need

The “Guidance Document: Implementing the Mandate for Education, Care, and Upbringing During a Pandemic” was presented to the public on as part of the “What Children Need” conference organized by the Saxon State Ministry of Culture, together with State Minister Piwarz. The guide is a resource and tool designed to support educational practice under pandemic conditions for child care centers and family day care homes.

This guide presents the results of the action research project “Challenges in Implementing the Mandate for Education, Care, and Upbringing During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (project duration: November 15, 2020 – November 30, 2021), funded by the Free State of Saxony as part of the SächsKitaQualiRL initiative.

The project was carried out at the Institute for Education, Information, and Communication (BIK) at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with the Center for Research, Continuing Education, and Consulting at ehs Dresden gGmbH. The authors of the guide are Andrea G. Eckhardt, Anna-Maria Herrmann, Andrea Joanne Holland, Carl Justus Kröning, Ivonne Zill-Sahm, and Maria Zimmer.

The guide features contributions from early childhood educators, child care providers, directors, and specialized consultants. Together with parents and children, they all rose to the challenge of fulfilling the mission of education, care, and upbringing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they have devised viable solutions and developed strategies for new and entirely unfamiliar problems. It was—and remains—a joint effort by all those involved. This guide reflects these extraordinary efforts and the successful work accomplished. It documents practical experiences, contextualizes them within a theoretical framework, and derives recommendations for similar scenarios.

The guide aims to provide inspiration for a reflective examination of one’s own educational practice and allows those in leadership roles the flexibility to make decisions and adapt their approaches according to local circumstances. In this sense, the guide is not a finished product but rather invites experimentation and discussion, thereby contributing to the ongoing improvement of the quality of educational practice.