Young chinese children's remote peer interactions and social competence development during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way young children engage in peer communication. The aim of this study was to explore how young children engaged in peer interaction remotely by examining young children's multimodal interactions during the pandemic. Visual and audio data posted to Douyin (China's most popular live-streaming site) between January 23, 2020 and May 6, 2020 were collected and analyzed. Mediated discourse analysis was used to explore young children's remote interactions as captured on video recordings. Results support the critical role of play materials and tangible tools in mediating young children's peer interactions and participation in remote environments.

Keywords:

• Remote peer interactions
• mediated discourse
• COVID-19
• young children
• China

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wenwei Luo

Wenwei Luo is a Ph.D. Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction with specialization in Early Childhood in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of South Florida. She also is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Hubei University of Arts and Science, China. Her teaching and research focus on pre- and in-service early childhood teacher development, the integration of technology into home-school collaboration to support young children's active learning, and play-based instruction.

Ilene R. Berson

Ilene R. Berson is a Professor of Early Childhood at the University of South Florida. She conducts participatory research to explore young children's civic engagement through multiple literacies and studies the intersection of technology and the pedagogy of inquiry in the early years with a focus on children's affordances of ICT innovations. She also has led international studies on integrating social justice and child advocacy into early childhood teacher preparation. She also has led international studies on integrating social justice and child advocacy into early childhood teacher preparation.

Michael J. Berson

Michael J. Berson is a Professor of Social Science Education at the University of South Florida and a Senior Fellow in The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship. He has extensively published his research and achieved global recognition for studies on child advocacy and technology in social studies education.

Sophia Han

Sophia Han is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education program at the University of South Florida. Her research aims to enhance socio-culturally responsive and equitable pedagogy in early childhood education and also to promote early childhood teachers' roles in supporting children's social competence development.