Preschoolers’ Approaches to Learning and Family-school Connections During COVID-19: An Empirical Study Based on a Wuhan Sample

The concept, approaches to learning (ATL), is an important dimension of children’s school readiness, which reflects children’s enthusiasm and engagement in learning settings. Due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), when preschools were shut down for months and children’s social interactions were greatly limited, preschoolers’ ATL might be negatively affected. However, strengthened family-school connections might have the potential to reduce the adverse effects of the pandemic. Based on a sample of 340 preschoolers from 30 classes of 6 preschools in Wuhan, China, we explored the association between family-preschool connections and preschoolers’ ATL scores. The findings showed that the preschoolers’ ATL were statistically and positively associated with parental attendance at the online parent-teacher meetings initiated by the preschools (standardized coefficient = 0.15). Policy implications regarding the enhancement of family-preschool connections are discussed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-021-01217-x.