A Comparison of the Functions and Conditions of Preschool Education in State and Forest Kindergartens During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic and Denmark

Abstract

This paper presents a part of a research study carried out under the project ‘The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on selected functions and conditions of preschool education in the context of children’s preparation for starting compulsory education in selected European countries’, conducted at the Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc. The paper focuses on a comparison of the Czech Republic and Denmark in order to analyse and compare the impact of the anti-epidemic measures on the conditions and functions of preschool education in mainstream and forest kindergartens. The research method was a qualitative analysis of text content, semi-structured interviews with kindergartens teachers followed by open coding and formulation of analytical categories and their comparison according to the principles of comparative pedagogy. The results suggest that the impact of the anti-epidemic measures on preschool education and the development of preschool children, in both mainstream and forest kindergartens, varied in terms of achieving the functions of preschool education and the conditions under which forest kindergartens delivered education during the COVID 19 pandemic.