• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.1-27
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• 2021

Objective: Covid-19 is changing many aspects of child care programs. The objective of this study was to explore how the pandemic and mitigation efforts affected the experiences and practices at child care centers in the summer of 2020. Methods: Focus group interviews and mobile surveys were conducted with principals and teachers of child care centers in August and September 2020. Descriptive statistics including frequency distributions, means and standard deviations and mean differences were used to analyze the survey data with SPSS 22.0. Results: It was found that each sector of child care settings experienced different difficulties and had various needs. Young children's lack of energy, child care teachers' workload and stress, and principles' efforts to interrupt transmission of the infectious disease based on insufficient government guideline and supports were revealed as the main experiences. Conclusion/Implications: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a tandem of influences on daily life at child care centers. As policy makers consider additional guidelines or supports measures to prevent the infection and spread of Covid-19 at child care centers, long-term as well as short-term plans at various levels should be considered to meet the unique needs of child care programs.