The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a thinkable paradigm shift in educational settings for children enrolled in Early Childhood Education. The ECE is regarded as the foundation for children's lifetime learning. Bangladesh has challenges aiding children and families. With the swift change in learning approaches from the classroom to remote learning, many children are not learning. Due to parental socioeconomic status, they seldom assist children in remote learning. This chapter demonstrates the present situation of ECE facilities in Bangladesh and remote learning opportunities in light of the pandemic. The case study approach is utilized to examine the phenomena of supply- and demand-side interventions to comprehend the unique paradigm shift occurring in ECE settings in Bangladesh. Most schools, particularly in rural regions, are unwilling to offer remote learning facilities, considering the socio-economic conditions of locality, and many children are not fetching in remote education due to a deficiency of technical equipment.
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In the global context, Early Childhood Education (ECE) has always been perceived for children between 3 to 8 years of age in formal and informal settings (Homolak et al., 2020). While considering the United Nation's (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education, ECE is the highest priority sector in Bangladesh for children's progress and lifelong learning (Hossain, 2021). Before the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, nearly all ECE institutions had physical classes to educate their students. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Bangladesh imposed a state of emergency and closure of the educational institutions nationwide, including all the ECE facilities (Titumir, 2021). Nearly all of the schools were obligated to close all the regular educational activities, making them unable to continue to teach their students in traditional physical classrooms at school. Many ECE institutions started offering remote learning facilities, although the participation rate is still relatively low (Emon et al., 2020). One of the causes for this low participation is related to the socio-economic condition of the families involved (Kainuwa et al., 2013). The paradigm shifts in ECE and remote learning participation indicate that families struggle to provide support for their children due to their socio-economic hurdles, creating a disparity for access to education (Penn, 2014). In addition, exceptional difficulties faced by the children in family settings due to the COVID-19 demonstrate the vital significance of family engagement in children's educational development (Novianti & Garzia, 2020). Many teachers are not comfortable with remote learning due to their unfamiliarity with the new education delivery environment. To respond effectively to the COVID-19 epidemic, the government and other stakeholders should consider making the hypothetical and applied remote learning actions wider accessible and equipping educational instructors, such as school teachers, with the necessary equipment and assistance to conduct remote learning sessions (Yoshikawa et al., 2020). The rapid paradigm shift of in-person to remote learning in ECE settings due to the COVID-19 epidemic postured difficulties for families and their children. Children are unable to conduct lessons on their own, they are exposed to the remote world, which can impair their natural mental development, and plenty of obstacles lie ahead of them (Thakur et al., 2020). In light of these factors, despite the difficulties and opportunities of remote learning, families are hesitant to take the opportunity to implement, considering the negative impact it may have on their children. In Bangladesh, ensuring equal access to learning and motivating children to participate in class are complex tasks in ECE settings. This chapter aims to investigate the educational opportunities for children in ECE settings through remote learning in Bangladesh.