PANDEMIC AND EDUCATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE 0-6 AGE GROUP: AN ITALIAN STUDY ON CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

The Covid 19 pandemic lockdown has led to the fragmentation of children’s educational trajectories as well as the links between families and the networks with which they engage. To address the interruption of in-person educational services, Italy experimented with LEAD (Legami Educativi a Distanza, Educational Links at a Distance) for 0-6 age children, a service operating parallel to (but not overlapping with) DAD (didattica a distanza, distance learning) addressed to older children. The aim of this study is to analyze the pandemic’s emotional impact on families and 0-6 year old children and their experiences with LEAD on the basis of teachers’ perceptions. A total of 383 teachers participated in the study, completing an online questionnaire. According to professionals’ perceptions, LEAD proved a good tool for maintaining educational relationships with children and families despite the lack of physical contact and enabled the creation of new forms of participation, thus ensuring support for parents in a time of heightened vulnerability; however, LEAD were not inclusive in that it was not possible to maintain ties with all families, especially economically and socially disadvantaged ones. The results offer insights to guide professionals in dealing with both the current “new normal” and possible future emergencies.