Summary
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the methods used to explain the impact of online learning on early childhood education during the pandemic. The choice of appropriate research methodology is critical as it defines the path according to which researchers conduct their projects and achieve the established goals (Sileyew, 2019). The evaluation of research design choice and construction will be offered to prove the appropriateness of the primary and secondary sources offered. It is necessary to discuss the sampling frame and procedures to share information about participants and the environment in which the study was conducted. The next task is to examine ethical considerations and demonstrate research clearance and consent of participants. Finally, data analysis will be described to inform how and why primary and secondary data were used. The current project aims to analyze the COVID-19 impact on early childhood education, and the combination of primary and secondary mixed data through questionnaires will help answer the main research question.
Choice of Research Design
The decision to use mixed qualitative and quantitative data was made to obtain enough descriptive and analytical material. Four major phases of the research process, known as conceptual, philosophical, implementation, and evaluation, were followed (Mukherjee, 2020). During the conceptual phase, the main aspects of the study were identified. The research touched upon a single phenomenon of online learning through the prism of COVID-19 and its relation to early childhood education, and the discipline was education. The researcher applied the knowledge and skills to develop a working hypothesis and implement the interpretivist approach (Mukherjee, 2020). The philosophical stage was taken to identify the position in the study. The ontology was based on anti-realism to prove that social reality was constructed by people, not outside human perceptions. The interpretivism research epistemology allowed the researcher to explore the subjective opinions of people who were directly or indirectly involved in online learning and experienced particular changes. Students’, parents’, and teachers’ perceptions about online learning were considered.
Quantitative and qualitative information was necessary to understand how online learning could affect early childhood education during the pandemic. Quantitative research methodology focused on gathering numerical data to define the reliability and standardisation of the phenomenon. Qualitative research methodology defined the interests and abilities of the participants who had to study within a particular context and follow specific obligations. The chosen mixed methods study combined qualitative and quantitative data to provide more in-depth findings, answer the question about the effect of online learning, and show how the results could be interpreted (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 2020). Primary and secondary data contributed to a better formulation of the ideas and covering the gaps in the study.
A mixed design frame was used, namely a longitudinal survey (primary data) and a literature review (secondary data). The decision to use a longitudinal survey was determined by the necessity to gather several replies from the same people at different periods to identify and measure change over time (Thomas, 2017). It was impossible to clarify the impact of online learning on children if a single moment was taken. Identifying the difference between the initial and final stages of education promoted the comparison of the results. A survey was done with a questionnaire consisting of closed and open questions to gather qualitative and quantitative data for analysis.
Survey advantages included obtaining lots of data from the required number of participants in a short period, maintaining anonymity, and following the principle of standardization. Its disadvantages were taken into account to predict possible limitations in the study. First, it was hard to check if participants understood all questions properly. Second, the presence of biases was inevitable because the researcher could not control the level of honesty in the participants’ answers (Thomas, 2017). Finally, not all participants treated the offered questionnaires seriously, even after being properly instructed and informed about the research purposes.
The second part of the chosen mixed research design was based on literature review findings. According to Snyder (2019), a systematic literature review could be a solid research methodology to answer specific questions using information from quantitative and qualitative articles. The major advantage of that method was reduced bias by using systematic methods for analysis. The researcher understood that this process was time-consuming and that much work should be done to exclude inappropriate information and choose credible articles.
Construction of Research Design
The questionnaire aimed to collect qualitative and quantitative data from participants and examine their awareness of online learning methods, the impact of COVID-19, and the outcomes in early childhood education. The results of the questionnaires were compared to the literature review to identify opinion similarities and differences. Open-ended and close-ended questions were combined and delivered to the participants online. Desai and Reimers (2019) admitted that open-ended questions allowed participants to give detailed answers and rely on their interests and awareness, but their quality remained poorly explored. Close-ended questions were more effective in measuring attitudes and comparing differences (Baburajan et al., 2022). In general, two open-ended questions and three close-ended questions with a Likert scale were posed to three groups of participants. The main idea was to understand how children treated the importance of online learning, what parents thought about early childhood education quality, and how teachers comprehended their duties. Following Thomas’s (2017) recommendations, the questions were short and simple to ensure all participants could understand their task. All questionnaires were delivered online (via e-mail), with clearly identified deadlines and explanations.
Sample
The sampling framework included the population and the number of participants who gave answers within the chosen context. It was decided to apply a non-probability snowball sampling method where several purposefully chosen participants invited other units following the major inclusive criteria (current involvement in early childhood education and being a parent/student/teacher). Thomas (2017) defined this method as reliable because people interested in the topic were eager to participate and give more or less honest answers. It was possible to invite five teachers from a local school, ten parents, and ten children (no older than eight years) living in London and studying online. The small sample size could be identified as a limitation of the study. However, according to Vasileiou et al. (2018), small samples effectively supported the depth of analysis and richly-textured information. The literature reviewed helped to extend the boundaries of the questionnaires and consider the answers of other participants. The articles for analysis were chosen as per the year of publication (within the last three years), language (English), and context (only full-text articles with keywords “online learning,” “early childhood education,” “COVID-19,” and “questionnaire”).
Procedure
The first three participants (a teacher, a student, and a parent) were purposefully chosen from the local UK school. They got direct instructions and guarantees about the study and agreed to invite more people to participate. The results were as follows: five teachers and ten families (one parent and one child). The rest of the communication (questionnaires with questions and directions and informed consent forms) was organized online via e-mail. A cover letter contained brief background of the study and the contact information of the researcher to remove unnecessary questions from participants (Rathi & Ronald, 2022). Two weeks were given to formulating a final list of participants, and the first group of questions was sent for completion during the next week. The second group of questions was delivered in six months to check if the participants changed their attitudes toward online learning. All questionnaires were sent in written form and then printed for analysis. The systematic literature review was conducted through the UK databases to focus on British experiences with online learning. Research projects from non-UK countries and sources older than three years were excluded.
Ethical Considerations
The project was based on following specific ethical guidelines and considerations to ensure all participants received guarantees. All UK researchers have to understand and apply a number of ethical obligations when they cooperate with real people, including confidentiality, deception, withdrawal, protection, and privacy (UK Data Service, 2022). Informed consent was sent to all participants after their approval and inclusion in the project. People were properly informed about their duties and deadlines, the purposes of the study, and the conditions under which they had to participate or withdraw from the project. All results were safely stored and protected, and the researcher was the only one who had the contact information. If a person did not want to continue participation, he/she had the right to leave without giving an explanation. The researcher assured confidentiality of all responses, and anonymity was applied not to name people but to use numbers (Thomas, 2017). The study was approved for cooperating with people by the British Educational Research Association.
Data Analysis
The approach to data analysis depended on the chosen research design and method. There were two ways to gather primary and secondary information, and the decision was made to analyse data through tables and highlight the patterns of online learning during COVID-19. A thematic approach was used to identify the main characteristics of early childhood education and the expectations of teachers, parents, and students. The purpose was to get a better understanding of how online learning was organized and how it affected the quality of children’s knowledge. Thomas (2017) identified two ways to acquire knowledge: directly (perception through senses) and indirectly (inference or reason). In this study, indirect deductive and inductive reasoning were applied to use the findings and understand how online learning affected early childhood education. Content analysis of questions, answers, and literature was organized in several tables to identify the attitudes of participants to the chosen phenomenon.
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