2.3. Sample and procedures

In Ontario, full-day kindergarten consists of a two-year, child-centered learning program for 4- and 5-year-old children where students attend school all day, five-days a week (The Kindergarten Program, 2016). The curriculum is focused on play-based learning, with the goal of promoting all aspects of their development, from physical health and well-being, to socioemotional and cognitive skills (Government of Ontario, 2019b). Since the introduction of full-day kindergarten in 2010, each class has an educator team, comprised of a teacher and an early childhood educator (ECE). Teachers have knowledge of the curriculum and are responsible for student learning (including assessments and evaluations) and reporting to parents. ECEs have knowledge of early childhood development and help promote children's overall development by participating in the planning of age-appropriate activities (Government of Ontario, 2019a). Since kindergarten classes in Ontario, Canada are taught by two professionals, our study sample comprised both. Therefore, we refer to both teachers and early childhood educators jointly as “educators.” Invitations to participate in the study were sent out to kindergarten educators working at publicly-funded schools in the province of Ontario through their unions' newsletters, as well as several other online publications reaching out to the target audience.¹ Given the kindergarten program's emphasis on play-based learning, it was particularly difficult for kindergarten educators to effectively carry out the curriculum from a distance when schools were closed in the spring of 2020.

Participants completed a web-based survey entitled “Hidden Future Front Line: Educators' perspective on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kindergarten children (HiFLEC)” starting on May 26th and ending on July 17th^, 2020, thus at least 2 months after the beginning of school closures. Participants provided consent by clicking “yes” in the appropriate box located below the study information on the survey's first page. Educators reported on a variety of topics regarding the COVID-19 pandemic including their own family situation, their experience with the transition to distance learning, and their own mental health. All methods and procedures were approved by the University Research Ethics Board.