ERIC Number: EJ1457835
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1082-3301
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1707
Family Child Care Providers' Experiences of Implementing the COVID-19 Guidelines: Implications for Future Emergencies
Jyotsna Pattnaik; Mary Lopez
Early Childhood Education Journal, v53 n1 p131-149 2025
The world has faced challenges from a variety of viral respiratory illnesses over the past few decades, including the 2002 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the 2009 swine-origin pandemic (H1N1) influenza. However, the disaster management guidelines for Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs in California were limited to earthquake and fire drills before the pandemic. COVID-19 exposed the world's vulnerability to a pandemic and the frailty of early learning programs. The pandemic showed how unprepared the field was for such a disaster and the need for a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan for early education programs. This qualitative study with 20 family child care providers in a large urban county in California explored participants' preparedness and implementational challenges of emergency guidelines before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and their suggestions for future emergencies. The results demonstrated participants' lack of respiratory illness training. Despite their best efforts, they encountered numerous obstacles to executing the COVID-19 guidelines routinely and fully. Regular cleaning of surfaces and materials and maintaining social distance were the two hardest rules to observe. The results point to the necessity of post-pandemic adoption of provisions that will be beneficial for providers in both general emergencies and specific disaster circumstances.
Descriptors: Child Caregivers, Early Childhood Education, COVID-19, Pandemics, Communicable Diseases, Program Implementation, Guidelines, Crisis Management, Emergency Programs, Early Childhood Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Barriers, Urban Areas, Caregiver Training, Long Range Planning
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A