Early Learning Distance Education in Aotearoa New Zealand: Including Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic 2020

Early learning distance education was a relatively unknown area within education systems worldwide prior to 2020. This has changed rapidly with the impact of COVID-19 both internationally and within Aotearoa/New Zealand. This thesis investigates early learning distance education as a tool to reduce barriers, support families/whānau and children, and reduce educational inequities experienced by rural and vulnerable communities.

This research drew on methods deriving from narrative case study methodologies and followed a mixed method approach utilising a combination of questionnaires and qualitative interviews. The study illustrates early learning pedagogy practised during the COVID years within a distance education context both within Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura), the only distance education provider for early learning in Aotearoa, and within regular early learning centres that were forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to switch from their face-to-face in-person mode of operation to an online mode. Te Kura was the initial and key focus area within this research, and source of the first data collected for this study. Data initially focused on the experiences of kaiako (teachers) and whānau (families) enrolled with Te Kura. With the onset of COVID-19, a second data set was collected to gather the experiences of kaiako and whānau in regular early learning centres that had not engaged in online education before the pandemic. Data was collected from communities across Aotearoa including rural, urban, Māori, Pākehā and tauiwi (non-Māori/foreigner).

The study findings reinforce those of existing research regarding inequities in the provision of early learning education for rural and lower socioeconomic communities. Questionnaire and interview data findings identify inequities in access to technological resources, time and priorities, with early learning services in wealthier communities providing education and support to their tamariki and, in some cases, predominantly Māori communities, no early learning services could function during the pandemic. Furthermore, data identifies the importance placed on reciprocal relationships between whānau and kaiako in responding to both academic and wellbeing needs of children and whānau. The importance of teacher presence is highlighted in kaiako ability to support learning through the provision of feedback and scaffolding learning. This study also contributes to the increasing body of knowledge regarding online learning within the early learning sector, as a tool to provide choice and flexibility for whānau, encourage collaboration and build connections between home and early learning services. Finally, the ability for Te Kura kaiako to provide the responsiveness and flexibility required in future emergencies, such as another pandemic, climate or societal emergency is emphasised. Overall, the outcomes of this study have important implications for the future of early learning distance education to challenge mainstream schooling experiences for children and address inequities in the education system for teachers and whānau.