Longer-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Preschool Children: Perspectives from Malaysian Teachers and Parents

The COVID-19 pandemic substantially disrupted early childhood education (ECE), with immediate effects on learning, social interaction, play, and family routines widely documented. Less is known about how these disruptions are perceived to have carried into children's later developmental and school-transition experiences. This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of Malaysian preschool teachers, administrators, and parents on the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children who attended preschool during the COVID-19 period. A purposive sample of 11 participants was drawn from one private preschool: eight teachers or administrators and three parents representing varied household-income backgrounds. Data were collected through semi-structured online interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis. Three interrelated themes were identified: holistic developmental trajectories of preschool children post-COVID, shifts in parent-teacher dynamics, and the pandemic as a generational marker in children's lives. Participants described continuing concerns related to attention, communication, socioemotional adjustment, physical activity, and readiness for primary school. At the same time, they identified adaptive gains, including greater digital fluency, stronger hygiene practices, and closer home-school collaboration. Parents' capacity to support online learning also varied according to time, resources, and family circumstances, highlighting the importance of equitable support. The findings suggest that post-pandemic recovery in ECE should extend beyond academic remediation to include socioemotional development, play, physical wellbeing, and structured transition support. Because the study relies on retrospective stakeholder accounts from a single private preschool, the findings should be interpreted as perceived longer-term impacts rather than direct longitudinal evidence. Future research should follow affected cohorts over time and compare experiences across socioeconomic groups and preschool settings.

COVID-19; preschool children; Malaysia; online learning; pandemic

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