Experiences of parents of first graders in the Czech Republic in teaching reading and writing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract
The contribution is dedicated to the course of teaching reading and writing in the first years of elementary schools during distance learning during the closing of schools in the 2020/2021 school year from the perspective of the parents of pupils. The aim of the survey was to describe the experiences and opinions of parents related to the teaching of early reading and writing.
As part of the investigation, interviews were conducted with the mothers of six pupils in the first years of primary schools. The results showed that, from the parents' point of view, distance education did not affect the quality of the acquisition of reading and writing techniques, it only slowed it down.
However, there was a decline in pupils' interest in reading and a disruption in their relationship to education. It was difficult for parents to motivate children to learn, help them in case of difficulties with reading and writing techniques and evaluate their learning results.
According to the parents, distance education, on the other hand, enabled individualization with regard to the needs of the children and deepened the cooperation between the school and the family. It placed increased demands especially on mothers, who had to be intensively involved in the teaching process.
In the end, the contribution provides general recommendations that can be used for distance and face-to-face teaching of reading and writing.