Parental support of emergent literacy in the final preschool year in Austria during COVID-19-induced lockdowns

Figures & data

Table 1. Profiles of the sample.

	Characteristics considered for the selection of cases			Further characteristics for the description of the cases
Pseudo-nym	SES of the interviewed parent	Provision of educationally relevant material in the household	Self-efficiency Expectations of the interviewed parent	Federal State	Number of people in household	Motive for status maintenance of the interviewed parent: How important is it to you that your child later achieves a similar or better school-leaving qualification than yourself?	Motive for status maintenance of the interviewed parent: How important is it to you that your child has a good or better job later on than you do?	Categorisation of parental behaviour based on qualitative content analysis
Emily	2	3	2	Vorarlberg	4 (2 children)	1	1	Passive support
Isabella	2	3	2	Vienna	4 (2 children)	3	3	Passive support
Sophie	3	5	2	Vienna	5 (3 children)	4	4	Passive Support
Olivia	0	2	0	Tyrol	3 (1 child)	4	4	Active Support
Jessica	1	0	1	Tyrol	4 (2 children)	3	3	Little/no support
Mia	0	3	1	Tyrol	4 (2 children)	4	4	Active support
Emma	1	2	0	Upper Austria	4 (2 children)	3	3	Little/no support
Hannah	1	5	2	Upper Austria	4 (2 children)	3	3	Passive support
Sarah	3	4	2	Upper Austria	4 (2 children)	2	3	Passive Support

Note.

SES of the interviewed parent, generated from variables of the online survey: highest level of education: qualification for university entrance (0 = no, 1 = yes), quotient of net income and number of persons in the household (0 = lower third, 1 = middle third, 2 = upper third).

Provision of educationally relevant material in the household, generated from variables of the online survey (each 0 = no, 1 = yes): dictionary in the household, books with poems in the household, library card in the household, artwork in the household, classic literature in the household, range: from 0 (lowest score) to 5 (highest score).

Self-efficacy expectations of the interviewed parent, generated from variables of the online survey (each 0 = barely or partially, 1 = good or very good): Being able to support children in (written) language, being able to support children in school preparation, range: from 0 (lowest score) to 2 (highest score).

Motive for status maintenance of the interviewed parent: 1 = not important, 2 = rather unimportant, 3 = important, 4 = very important.

Table 2. Guiding interview questions.

Guiding questions	Research interest
Since I don't have an impression of you and your family yet, can you give me a brief overview of your family?	Family structure, family members, living situation, parents’ work situation
Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your life as a family? If so, how?	Daily life before and during the pandemic, changes in daily routine, organisation and implementation of preschool lessons at home, related challenges
What role do the topics of reading and writing and the upcoming start of school play for you?	Emergent literacy assessment, contact with preschool during the lockdowns, support from preschool
If you think of activities such as reading, writing, painting, etc. – how active is your child in these areas right now? And how do you see your role as a parent in promoting these skills?	Child's emergent literacy skills, level of support needed, parents’ support behaviour, parental resources in terms of support, existing materials to practice emergent literacy skills at home
What are your child's experiences with letters, narrative, and language comprehension in everyday life?
What would you like to see regarding your child’s school career and academic performance?	Educational aspirations, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child development
When you think about the last few months, what do you take away from this time?	Positive and negative achievements, conclusion

Table 3. Deductive category application.

Category	Definition	Examples	Coding Rules
Stressors	Negative outcomes as a result of covid-related measures and parental challenges during the pandemic: e.g. fears, doubts, changes in everyday life	‘So, it's sometimes more the work, home office, childcare that was a bit challenging at times.’ (Jessica/l. 21)
Parental Support	Parental care as well as emotional and educational support behaviours related to their children during lockdown.	‘Nevertheless, we got up in the morning and thought of some program points, what we could do (…).’ (Emily/ll. 25)	Everyday childcare is assigned to this category, unless it is related with ‘Stressors’, ‘Positive Aspects’ or ‘Emergent Literacy’.
Preschool Support	Provision of craft, play, and learning incentives by preschool, facility contact opportunities, and parental evaluation of support provided.	‘They just kept us in the loop. And what they also did beautifully, they sent home suggestions for what we could do with the kids.’ (Sophie/ll. 73)
Emergent Literacy	Children's abilities, interests, and support requirements, as well as parental assistance in this area.	‘From an early age, we read a lot to the children, and we also have a lot of books at home and borrow books from the library.’ (Emily/ll. 40)	Parental support related to Emergent Literacy is assigned to this category.
Beneficial Aspects	Consequences of the pandemic and restrictions based on this, parents perceive as beneficial and things they can take away from this period.	‘That we appreciate everything a bit more so self-evident things with family and friends meet that one appreciates small things more (…).’ (Hannah/ll. 35)