Introduction

From birth, a child interacts with the people and objects around them. Some of the activities that occur throughout these interactions gradually become established routines. A routine is the repetitive execution of an action in the same or comparable manner at certain times and settings. The routines that children engage in during their daily lives and play have an impact on their language, speech, and communication development (Otto, 2021).

The routines of children have experienced significant alterations during the COVID-19 pandemic (Vuković et al., 2021). The pandemic led to the introduction of certain regulations that were not previously integrated into children’s daily routines, such as wearing masks, refraining from touching their mouths and noses with their hands, and practicing hand disinfection. They were not able to connect with their relatives, teachers, and friends, with whom they regularly communicated prior to the pandemic, and accordingly, started to lead more isolated lives. The alterations in routines resulting from quarantine, coupled with the heightened stress faced by parents concerning health and economic matters, adversely affected the family structure and parent-child dynamics (Spinelli et al., 2020). Parents faced challenges in managing their professional responsibilities alongside parenting while working from home (Roos et al., 2021). Additional factors that heightened stress for families encompassed the continuation of children’s education through remote learning, as well as the associated risks and adverse elements linked to employment. The separation from loved ones, limitations on mobility, uncertainty, and health concerns all heightened stress and anxiety levels in both parents and children (Viola & Nunes, 2022).

Children’s levels of physical exercise, socialization chances, screen time, and sleep patterns all decreased as a result of the mandate to stay at home and the shutdown of schools (Brazendale et al., 2017; Brooks et al., 2020; Clark et al., 2020). For instance, Carroll et al. (2020) conducted a study with 254 families, which revealed that screen time in children increased by 87%, 61% for fathers, and 74% for mothers. Research indicated a reduction in daily physical activity, with a decline of 59% observed among mothers and 52% among fathers and children. The alterations in routines and family dynamics, coupled with heightened levels of stress and anxiety, adversely impacted children’s cognitive, psychological, social, language, and communication development (Viola & Nunes, 2022).

During the COVID-19 epidemic, families faced challenges such as social separation, mask use, quarantine, and isolation (Çelik & Çak, 2021). Numerous studies indicate that the rise in social isolation has correspondingly resulted in an increase in the duration children spend in front of screens (Özyürek & Çetinkaya, 2021). Many studies have shown that the rise in screen time during quarantine had adverse effects on children’s sleep patterns, emotional regulation, working memory, language development, and overall psychological well-being (de Almondes et al., 2016; Cross et al., 2018; Forrest et al., 2018; McGregor et al., 2015). Reports indicate that during the COVID-19 quarantine, children’s dependence on their parents intensified, issues with concentration and sleep arose, and elevated rates of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were noted (Altena et al., 2020; Xie et al., 2020; Jiao et al., 2020). Studies have demonstrated that continuous stress has negative consequences on cognitive processing, including memory issues and damage to hippocampal neuroplasticity in the short and long term, as well as an increased likelihood of acquiring stress symptoms (McEwen, 1999; Orru et al., 2020).

The pandemic resulted in several observable effects in preschool children, including reluctance to engage, difficulties in focusing on play, increased use of bottles and pacifiers, thumb sucking, toilet accidents, and other behaviors inconsistent with their chronological age and developmental level, along with heightened separation anxiety from parents (Imran et al., 2020; NCTSN, 2010). School-age children may exhibit increased levels of fear and anxiety, sibling conflicts, restlessness, aggression, psychosomatic symptoms, task avoidance, reluctance to share thoughts, concentration difficulties, sleep disturbances, and social withdrawal (Imran et al., 2020; Olness et al., 2015; Dalton et al., 2019, 2020). One of the most important components of language development is social engagement. The development of pragmatic language abilities, such as taking turns, recognizing nonverbal clues, and comprehending the meaning of what is being said, depends on peer interaction. The development of these abilities was also adversely impacted by children’s inabilities to engage with their peers throughout the pandemic (Charney et al., 2021).

The COVID-19 pandemic was announced in our country in March 2020, and quarantine procedures were undertaken. In the course of this process, schools were closed, and teachings were implemented online. Lessons were conducted online for a year, and schools were suspended during the 2020–2021 academic year. Throughout this timeframe, only nurseries, daycare centers, and independent kindergartens maintained in-person educational and training activities outside of complete lockdowns. Nevertheless, due to the ongoing pandemic, numerous parents opted against enrolling their kindergarten-aged children in school. As vaccines were discovered and uncertainty about the pandemic diminished, schools reopened for the 2021–2022 academic year, allowing students to return to the classroom. Following a period of isolation and notable alterations to their daily routines, it is understandable that children entering kindergarten are showing some of the impacts of the challenging pandemic experience. Preschool educators and counselors are unequivocally the initial observers of the symptoms and disparities in children impacted by the pandemic. It is essential to gather the perspectives of educators who interact closely with children regarding this matter.

To situate the current study within an established theoretical framework, we adopt a processual view of the transition from home to preschool, understanding it as an ongoing change shaped by multiple interacting ecological layers rather than a single discrete event. An ecological (bioecological/ ecosystemic) perspective (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007) highlights how children’s language and social development are influenced by proximal contexts (family, peers, classroom), the interrelations among these contexts, and broader exo- and macro-level factors (e.g., parental working conditions, public health policies, societal norms regarding technology use). Prior transition research similarly emphasizes how school entry is a process affected by characteristics of the child, family, and school context (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000). The COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously disrupted multiple ecological layers (reduced peer interaction in the microsystem; increased parental stress and work-life strain in the exosystem; and shifts in policy and social practices at the macrosystem), which helps explain the multifaceted effects on pragmatic language and social functioning.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s development has been analyzed in numerous studies, as illustrated above. Nonetheless, comparable research in Turkey and internationally on the pandemic’s direct effects on children’s language, speech, and communication remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) evaluate the pragmatic language skills of children who experienced the COVID-19 quarantine and subsequently entered preschool using the PDBE-TV, and (2) explore preschool teachers’ and guidance counselors’ perspectives on language, speech, and communication challenges and adaptive practices during the post-pandemic transition. Specifically, we asked: (a) To what extent do pragmatic language skills in this cohort differ from normative expectations? and (b) What themes emerge from educators’ descriptions of children’s communicative and socio-emotional functioning after the pandemic?

Method

This study utilized a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies to achieve a thorough understanding of the research topic. The quantitative data were analyzed through comparative methods, and the qualitative data were developed using a descriptive methodology. A qualitative descriptive design was selected for the qualitative component, as it is well-suited for investigating phenomena that have not been systematically examined previously (Sandelowski, 2000). This method enabled the researchers to stay closely aligned with the data, emphasizing surface-level themes and descriptions that arose directly from participants’ responses (Graneheim & Lundman, 2004; Lambert & Lambert, 2012). This study sought to elucidate participants’ views on the language, speech, and communication skills of children who began preschool after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualitative descriptive studies exhibit analytical flexibility and do not necessitate adherence to a particular theoretical or philosophical framework. They are based on the principles of naturalistic inquiry, which prioritize the collection and analysis of data within its natural context (Doyle et al., 2020). This method is especially suitable for research focused on elucidating participants’ experiences and viewpoints, facilitating the integration of various data collection techniques, such as semi-structured interviews, as utilized in this study (Willis et al., 2016). The analysis employed an inductive approach, allowing themes to emerge directly from the data, thereby ensuring that the findings were firmly rooted in participants’ experiences.

The quantitative sample comprised 200 children (98 boys, 102 girls) aged 60–69 months for whom teachers completed the Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (PDBE-TV). Participants were recruited from three preschools in Istanbul; the majority attended state-run institutions (n = 173, 86.5%), while one private preschool contributed the remaining cases (n = 27, 13.5%). One large state preschool accounted for the largest share of the sample (n = 143, 71.5%). Children at this large state preschool represented a socio-economically heterogeneous population, ranging from families with academic affiliations to lower-income households. Enrolment at the site follows the municipal address-registration system.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 education professionals: 10 preschool teachers (all female) and 10 guidance counsellors (4 male, 6 female). The interviews elicited participants’ views on the language, speech, and communication abilities of children who commenced preschool following the pandemic. All guidance counsellors were employed in state schools; among preschool teachers, eight were employed in state preschools and two in a private preschool. To protect participant confidentiality, institutional sites are reported by type (state vs. private) rather than by name. We did not collect family-level SES indicators (e.g., parental education or household income); thus, school type is used as a coarse proxy for socio-economic background. The uneven contribution of cases across sites (notably the 143 cases from a single state preschool) is acknowledged and discussed as a potential source of clustering and limited generalizability (see Limitations). This socio-economic heterogeneity likely increased the variability of child experiences captured in the sample, which can enhance external validity but also introduces within-site variability that may influence language and communication outcomes.

The inclusion criteria for the study comprised teachers and guidence councelors who had experience working with children who commenced nursery school post-pandemic and who consented to participate in the research. Furthermore, teachers were instructed to respond to the interview questions regarding children with typical language development, excluding those with diagnoses such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, hearing impairment, or language and speech disorders.

The research was carried out from February 2023 to May 2023 in private and state-run preschools associated with the Ministry of National Education in Istanbul. Preschools were approached and informed regarding the study, and consent forms for families and teachers were distributed to participating schools. Interviews were carried out with teachers and guidence councelors who provided consent, and the PDBE-TV was administered for children from families that granted permission. Ethical approval for our study was obtained from the --- University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee (Decision No: 2023/77 − 55).

PDBE-TV

The PDBE-TV served as the source of quantitative data in the study. PDBE-TV is a norm-referenced assessment tool administered by teachers, comprising 45 items. PDBE-TV is designed for children aged 5 to 12 and evaluates their pragmatic language development within this demographic. The administration of PDBE-TV is brief, requiring approximately five to ten minutes for completion. The inventory consists of nine points and utilizes a Likert scale (Alev et al., 2014). Studies on validity, reliability, and standardization have been conducted. The inventory comprises the subscales of Social Interaction, Classroom Interaction, and Personal Interaction. All item discrimination coefficients in the Social Interaction subscale were above 0.80, with the exception of two items. The item discrimination coefficients for the Classroom Interaction subscale exceeded 0.80, with the exception of two items. Analysis of the item discrimination coefficients for the Personal Interaction subscale revealed that all items, with the exception of one, had coefficients of 0.69 or higher. The reliability analysis indicated that the alpha coefficient for the subscale standard scores exceeded 0.90. PDBE-TV computes a metric known as the Pragmatic Language Skills Index (PDBI) by summing the scores derived from the subscales. The score is derived by initially converting the total of the subscale standard scores into Z scores, followed by transforming these scores into a distribution characterized by a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

Interview Questions

A semi-structured interview form was developed by the researchers. The advantage of these forms lies in the ability to restructure pre-prepared questions during the interview based on the interviewee’s responses (Ruslin et al., 2022). This facilitated the acquisition of unanticipated and comprehensive data on the topic through the semi-structured interview method. During the preparation of the interview form, a review of the literature concerning the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s development was conducted. The study’s purpose informed the development of the interview questions. The interview questions elicited teachers’ perspectives on the pandemic’s impact on children’s language, speech, and communication skills, as well as their assessment of the difficulties encountered by children. Furthermore, teachers’ perspectives were gathered regarding the implementation of practices aimed at children experiencing challenges in language, speech, and communication skills, as well as their referral of children to various specialists.

The semi-structured interview format of 15 questions. The teachers were sequentially posed these questions and requested to furnish more detailed responses or elucidate any ambiguous comments. The interview procedure was documented with a voice recorder. Subsequent to the interviews, all audio recordings of each participant were reviewed and analyzed by the second and third authors, who achieved a consensus with the first author regarding the transcriptions. In analyzing the data collected from the interview form, all replies to each question were initially recorded sequentially. The replies of kindergarten teachers and guidance counselors to each question were analyzed to discern prevalent themes and the content that constituted these themes. The content was cataloged, and the authors achieved consensus on each theme and its associated content. Direct citations from the participants’ responses were included in composing the findings section. In the quotations, kindergarten teachers are denoted by the letter “T” and guidance counselors by the letter “G”. The information acquired from the educators was anonymized to ensure confidentiality and prevent ambiguity. To this end, the initial kindergarten teacher questioned was assigned the code T1, while the guidance counselor received the identifier G1.

Analysis

The quantitative data from the PDBE-TV were analyzed through comparative methods to identify patterns and trends in children’s pragmatic language abilities. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data was performed in accordance with the framework established by Willis et al. (2016). This method utilized an inductive process, allowing themes to arise directly from the data instead of being influenced by established theories.

The analysis commenced with the transcription of interviews, during which data were anonymized. Multiple authors reviewed the transcriptions for accuracy to ensure reliability. The coding process commenced with the first author and was subsequently evaluated by the second and third authors to reach consensus. Codes were systematically categorized, and themes were formulated to offer a descriptive overview of participants’ experiences. The final themes and subthemes underwent review and refinement to ensure accurate representation of the data. Findings incorporated direct quotations from participants to improve descriptive validity (Sandelowski, 2000). The primary objective of the qualitative descriptive analysis was to provide a clear and logical summary of the data, closely aligned with participants’ experiences and minimizing over-interpretation. This approach ensured that the findings accurately and consistently represented the pandemic’s impact on children’s language, speech, and communication abilities.

Results

Results Related to PBDE-TV

Two hundred students, 98 of whom were boys and 102 of whom were girls, had their teachers complete the PDBE-TV. The PDBE-TV’s classroom interaction, social interaction, personal interaction, and pragmatic language skills subscales were used to calculate each student’s score and proficiency level. As a result, it was discovered that 20.5% of the kids had somewhat below-average classroom interaction abilities, 17% had weak skills, and 2.5% had very weak skills. 12% were weak, 4% were very weak, and 18% were slightly below average in terms of social interaction abilities. Of the students, 12.5% scored somewhat below average, 9% were weak, and 2.5% were very weak on the subtest for personal interaction skills. Additionally, 20% of the youngsters were found to have slightly below-average pragmatic language skills, 6% to be weak, and 2% to be very deficient. According to the overall results, 40% of the 200 students had below-average, bad, or extremely poor classroom interaction skills, while 60% had average, slightly above-average, adequate, or very adequate levels. Of the children, 34.5% had below-average social interaction skills, while 65.5% had average and above ability levels. 76% of preschoolers demonstrated average or above skills in human contact, while 24% continued to perform below average. Of the group, 28% had below-average pragmatic language skills, whereas 72% had at- or above-average skills. Table 1 displays the findings.

Table 1 Results related to PDBE-TV subscales and PDBI
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Interview Findings

In the interviews, the following themes and subthemes were identified that reveal the effects of the pandemic on children: The impact of the pandemic on language and communication skills (difficulties in communication skills and behavioral changes), differences observed in children before and after the pandemic (changes in social, emotional, and academic aspects), practices to reduce the negative effects of the pandemic (in-class and out-of-class activities), recommendations for future pandemics (family education, promotion of social interaction, and reduction of screen exposure), the impact of the pandemic on academic and developmental areas (delays in academic and developmental areas), and difficulties that may be encountered in adapting to primary school (adjustment problems, difficulty in self-expression, lack of social skills).

The Impact of the Pandemic on Language and Communication Skills

All kindergarten teachers and guidance counselors unequivocally stated that the language and communication skills of children who entered kindergarten after the pandemic were affected by the pandemic. Based on the participants’ responses, two main themes were identified: “difficulties in communication skills” and “behavioral changes.” Within these themes, children experienced communication difficulties such as an inability to produce age-appropriate speech sounds, a decrease in vocabulary, difficulty forming sentences, stuttering, and pausing when excited, as well as behavioral changes such as attention deficit, an increase in violence, and the use of slang. One teacher even stated that children’s excessive exposure to television and tablets in a limited environment due to lockdown has led to ‘frozen child’ syndrome in children. Sample statements taken from the opinions of kindergarten teachers and guidance counselors on this issue are presented below. The themes in question and the sub-elements that make up these themes are shown in detail in Table 2.

Table 2 Observed Changes in Communication Skills and Behaviors
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T5: I think it has had a generally negative impact. When I compare my students before the pandemic with my students after the pandemic, I think that my students’ vocabulary has weakened after the pandemic, that they were exposed to too many technological devices during the pandemic, that they spent too much time on their phones, tablets and televisions, and that this has led to a decline in their vocabulary. I have observed behavioural problems such as distractibility and inability to focus.

G10: Some children are learning too many words that are inappropriate for their age, especially because they are exposed to screens too much. They use words that contain violence and insults to an extent that is unexpected for their age. The intensity of violence in their behaviour is also reflected in their conversations. In addition, children do not know how to initiate verbal communication. So they start hitting each other. Actually, they want to attract his attention and show him that they exist, but since they do not know how to address him or how to start a conversation, they resort to violence.

G1: When we look at the children’s ages, that is, their dates of birth, I did not experience such frequent speech and language disorders in my previous students, such as inability to pronounce letters, stuttering, or stumbling a lot when excited. In our discussions with teachers at the other school where I worked before and with our teachers here, they said that these language-related problems have increased.

G2: During the pandemic, children couldn’t go outside, so they had to do activities at home. Before the pandemic, children did activities outside. They went to the park with their families, visited relatives, and communicated with their cousins. But with the pandemic, internet usage increased significantly, and screen time at home also increased. If there was a phone, a tablet was also purchased. Children became passive in front of screens. As a result, they lost the ability to express themselves. I see children suddenly laughing to themselves in class. They can’t distinguish between what is virtual and what is real. I think their sense of reality has been damaged. There are so many children who think they are superheroes… I think they are affected in this way.

Differences Observed in Children before and after the Pandemic

When comparing children who started kindergarten before and after the pandemic, the majority of kindergarten teachers and all guidance counselors reported significant differences in children’s language, speech, and communication skills. Based on the responses, two main themes were identified: “changes in social and emotional aspects” and “academic differences observed in children before and after the pandemic.” According to the participants, children who started kindergarten after the pandemic exhibited notable declines in areas such as vocabulary, social interaction, play skills, and the ability to form friendships. While children before the pandemic were described as having adequate vocabulary, being physically and socially active, easily adapting to group games, and expressing themselves comfortably, post-pandemic children were observed to have inadequate vocabulary, increased introversion, a preference for individual play, difficulties in establishing and maintaining friendships, and a general reluctance to attend school. These differences were largely attributed to increased screen time and reduced social interaction during the pandemic period. Sample statements taken from the opinions of kindergarten teachers and guidance counselors on this issue are presented below. The observed differences and their sub-components are shown in detail in Table 3.

Table 3 Differences observed in children before and after the pandemic
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T2: Well, I didn’t see any differences in some of them because the family also has a big impact on this. If the family has taken care of the child, read enough books to them, limited their screen time, or not given them any screen time at all, then of course that child will be different. The children’s imaginations and vocabularies are different. But as I said, with the pandemic, when families were stuck at home and gave their children tablets and televisions, we observed a significant difference between these children and the others.

T5: Before the pandemic, our students had better communication skills. Behaviours such as cooperation, working together, and adapting to social situations were much better before the pandemic. After the pandemic, there was a lot of individualisation. I observed behaviours such as acting alone, playing alone, and spending time alone in children, and I observed that children were unable to play. Unfortunately, our children began to be unable to play after the pandemic. I saw that this negative change occurred because they spent too much time with screens rather than concrete objects during the pandemic.

T9: These differences were noticed in a very serious way. The children were not communicating with each other, they were not playing games with each other, they preferred individual games, they were inadequate in group games, they were reluctant. They could not form friendships because they did not know how to communicate with each other. They could not socialise and did not know how to share. They did not want to share. After the pandemic, the children were reluctant to come to school. When we asked the families about the reason for this later, they said that the children wanted to play with tablets at home and watch television. There were children who were more individualistic and whose communication skills were underdeveloped, but I can say that we never encountered such a thing before the pandemic. Such cases were very rare. However, after the pandemic, 80–90% of children are coming in this way.

Practices to Reduce the Negative Effects of the Pandemic

Participants outlined a variety of strategies to lessen the pandemic’s adverse impacts, which were divided into two primary themes: “in-class activities” and “out-of-class activities.” Nine preschool teachers stated that they carried out specific activities in this regard, while one teacher mentioned that, although no individual intervention was made, children were regularly taken outside in groups. All guidance counselors also reported that they engaged in relevant activities. The efforts undertaken by teachers were categorized under two main themes: “in-class” and “out-of-class” activities. In-class activities included book reading, storytelling with pictures, playing card games, classroom presentations, frequent conversations, drama activities, arranging seating order, Turkish language activities, singing songs or listening to music, assigning tasks to children, question-and-answer sessions, providing more opportunities for children to speak, group activities, reciting tongue twisters, and theater performances. Out-of-class activities encompassed orientation, field trips, assigning behavioral tasks to parents, outdoor games, and parent education. These activities and their subcomponents are detailed in Table 4. Sample statements from kindergarten teachers and guidance counselors regarding this theme are presented below.

Table 4 In-Class and Out-of-Class activities
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T8: We integrated classroom activities more with card games and stories. We had the children play one-on-one games. We tried to seat children with low language development next to children with high language development. We enabled them to communicate with children with high language development, but children with low language development did not only have deficiencies in language and communication; they also had deficiencies in other areas. There were children who were withdrawn due to language communication. For this reason, we tried to seat withdrawn children with more energetic children. In fact, we tried to balance the children. We guided them in this way.

G10: Generally, what we wanted to convey to the children was how to initiate communication with the people around us without violence and how to maintain the communication we initiated. How do we communicate with our friends while playing and how do we continue playing together? How can we express the feelings that upset us when we get angry with our friends or when our friends hurt us? What are the emotions we feel, and how should we express them?

Recommendations for Future Pandemics

Three main themes emerged from the participants’ recommendations for future pandemics: “family education,” “promotion of social interaction,” and “reduction of screen exposure.” The recommendations provided by the teachers were diverse. Some teachers highlighted the importance of family education, while others emphasized the necessity of facilitating peer socialization and ensuring that children have opportunities to interact in comfortable and open environments such as gardens and parks. Additional suggestions included promoting story reading, encouraging home-based activities, reducing screen exposure, continuing education in larger classrooms, implementing a coordinated working system, providing information through public service announcements, and reducing class sizes. These recommendations and their subcomponents are detailed in Table 5. Sample statements from teachers regarding this theme are presented below.

Table 5 Recommendations to mitigate the effects of a possible future pandemic
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G8: Of course, if this situation happens again, it will be difficult for all of us. But we are more aware than before. We can focus on providing training to families at this point. We can address the following topics when providing training to families. We can provide training and information to families on how to spend quality time with their children. At the same time, training should also be provided on the harms of technological use or how to use technology correctly. ….

T6: Families can play games with their children at home. They can choose chess and board games that will develop their children’s cognitive skills. They can even play backgammon at home. They can make it fun by changing the combinations, such as father-son or mother-daughter. If we experience another pandemic, which I hope we don’t… There can be kitchen activities. Families can diversify kitchen activities according to their preferences. For example, it can be baking cookies or making ayran. Children up to the age of five love finger painting. They can paint with finger paints. Children who are interested in art continue to pursue their interests after the age of five. They can take private lessons at home or online in the art they are interested in. Of course, this may vary depending on the family’s circumstances. I can make recommendations to families in this way.

The Impact of the Pandemic on Academic and Developmental Areas

Based on the responses of the participants, the theme “The impact of the pandemic on academic and developmental areas” was defined, and two sub-themes, “Delays in academic areas” and “Delays in developmental areas,” were determined. All kindergarten teachers and the majority of guidance counselors stated that the negative impact of the pandemic on language and communication skills would also affect children’s academic skills. According to the participants, difficulties in language and communication are likely to hinder children’s performance in various academic areas such as physical education, mathematics, life sciences, Turkish, music, and art. In addition to academic skills, teachers also emphasized that several developmental domains—including language, motor, emotional, cognitive, social, and self-care development—would be adversely affected. One guidance counselor (R6), however, expressed the view that these effects would be temporary and that children would adapt over time. The affected academic and developmental areas, as identified by the participants, are detailed in Table 6. Sample statements from kindergarten teachers and guidance counselors regarding this theme are presented below.

Table 6 Affected areas
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T5: I think children will be particularly affected in social and emotional terms. Within the framework of group cooperation, sports and music are areas that are greatly affected by artistic activities. For example, rhythm work consists of moving together as a group, and children need to make the same sound at the same time. I think the pandemic has negatively affected these types of artistic activities. If children can solve these problems at the age of four or five, they will have less difficulty when they start primary school.

G2: If I have to answer this question based on the field rather than the lesson, we encounter problems even in the child’s ability to express themselves. The Turkish lesson taught in primary school goes through the child’s language development level. Finding the meaning of the piece being read, knowing the meaning of the words in the piece and being able to use them form the basis of the Turkish lesson. If the child’s language development level is low, they will struggle with Turkish lessons in primary school.

G6: I don’t think it will affect their academic skills too much, but it is a process. Children will get over it with time. They will struggle for the first year, but after a year, they will relax.

G9: Children who have been negatively affected by the pandemic will experience more difficulties in reading and writing than their peers because their ability to express themselves is lagging behind. Children who start reading later than their peers will automatically lag behind in other academic skills as well. In this case, their school life will be negatively affected. Academic skills such as early reading and mathematics may be affected. Expressive skills are not only related to Turkish but to all areas that require expression. For example, a child may know numbers but have difficulty expressing them. In the second grade of primary school, problem-solving skills are introduced in mathematics lessons. The child will read the problem, understand it, and then solve it. As I said, the child will struggle in many ways, even in life skills lessons. In life skills lessons, they will also experience difficulties in learning about life, questioning, and developing problem-solving skills.

Difficulties that May Be Encountered in Adapting to Primary School

Within this theme, all of the teachers interviewed expressed the view that the negative impact of the pandemic on language and communication skills would affect children’s adaptation to primary school, using statements such as “Of course it will affect them,” “It will definitely affect them,” and “Yes, unfortunately.” Although one kindergarten teacher and two guidance counselors concurred with this general opinion, they approached the issue from a different perspective, the details of which are presented below. According to the participants, children are likely to face a range of challenges during the process of adapting to primary school, including shyness, difficulty in self-expression, challenges in perception and social skills, problems adapting to rules and social environments, attention deficit, increased attachment to the mother, lack of self-confidence, difficulty in making friends, deficits in academic and cognitive skills, challenges in reading and writing, reluctance to attend school, and exposure to peer bullying. These potential difficulties and their subcomponents are detailed in Table 7. Sample statements from teachers regarding this theme are presented below.

Table 7 Possible difficulties in adapting to primary school
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T3: Children who come from kindergarten will not have many problems, but children who go directly from home to primary school may have problems.

G4: Of course, there is a possibility of impact. We cannot say there is no impact, we cannot deny this situation, but I do not know if it will affect all children. This is a question mark, of course.

G7: Yes. If a child will continue to kindergarten after the pandemic, that is, if they will move on to first grade after kindergarten, I do not think there will be any impact in first grade. Of course, if the child has no other diagnosis, there will be no impact. However, if the child is still living in a household affected by the pandemic and therefore has not yet broken their connection with the screen and is unaware of what is going on socially, they will certainly experience an impact when they move on to first grade.

Discussion and Conclusion

This study assessed the pragmatic language skills of children who experienced quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic and later entered preschool, as well as the views of preschool teachers and guidance counselors regarding language, speech, and communication challenges. Findings from the PDBE-TV indicated that 40% of children displayed below-average classroom interaction skills, 34.5% possessed inadequate social interaction skills, 24% exhibited deficient personal interaction skills, and 28% revealed below-average overall pragmatic language abilities. The PDBE-TV is a validated screening tool for pragmatic language but not a diagnostic instrument; therefore results should be interpreted cautiously, particularly in the absence of pre-pandemic baseline data. The increased prevalence of inadequate performance relative to normative data (24% in the standards group) indicates that the pandemic may have intensified challenges in children’s pragmatic language development.

To interpret our findings, we frame the post-pandemic home-to-preschool transition from an ecological and processual perspective. The bioecological/ecosystemic model emphasizes that children’s development emerges from interactions across multiple nested systems—microsystems (family, peers, classroom), mesosystem interactions among these contexts, exosystem influences such as parental work conditions, and macrosystem forces including public health policies and societal norms (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted several of these layers simultaneously (reduced peer contact in the microsystem; increased parental stress in the exosystem; and policy-driven school closures at the macrosystem level), which helps explain the multifaceted effects on pragmatic language and social functioning observed in our sample. Viewing the transition as a process rather than a single event also highlights why both immediate (e.g., classroom interaction) and more persistent (e.g., social initiation, friendship formation) domains may be affected.

Several mechanisms likely contributed to the observed outcomes. First, prolonged reductions in face-to-face peer interaction decreased opportunities for practicing turn-taking, narrative sharing, and nonverbal communicative cues—core components of pragmatic development (Charney et al., 2021; Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000). Second, marked increases in passive screen time during quarantine may have displaced rich, contingent conversational experiences and limited exposure to varied vocabulary and responsive feedback (Carroll et al., 2020; Özyürek & Çetinkaya, 2021; de Almondes et al., 2016). Third, elevated parental stress, shifting caregiving routines, and reduced opportunities for shared book reading or joint play likely decreased the quantity and quality of caregiver–child conversational turns (Spinelli et al., 2020; Roos et al., 2021; Çelik & Çak, 2021). These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and likely interacted across ecological layers to produce the patterns documented in our sample (Viola & Nunes, 2022).

The findings are consistent with existing literature that highlights the negative impacts of social isolation, increased screen time, and disrupted routines on children’s language and communication development during the pandemic (Viola & Nunes, 2022; Özyürek & Çetinkaya, 2021). Teachers and guidance counselors noted a decrease in vocabulary, difficulties in sentence construction, and behavioral changes including increased introversion, distractibility, and attention deficits. The qualitative insights enhance the quantitative findings, offering a more detailed understanding of the pandemic’s impact. Educators identified these challenges as stemming from increased screen time and reduced opportunities for interaction with adults and peers, both essential for the development of pragmatic language and social communication skills (Charney et al., 2021).

The findings indicated differences between children who attended preschool before the pandemic and those who began preschool after the pandemic. Teachers and guidance counselors noted that children post-pandemic exhibited limited vocabulary, reduced skills in initiating and maintaining play, and heightened challenges in establishing friendships. These children encountered difficulties in communication, self-expression, and adaptation to social contexts. These findings align with previous studies that associate increased screen time, diminished social interaction, and prolonged isolation with developmental disruptions (Dalton et al., 2020; Imran et al., 2020; Erbay & Tarman, 2022).

The observed differences highlight the long-term developmental consequences of the pandemic. Children who attended preschool before the pandemic demonstrated enhanced social and communication skills, improved adaptability to group activities, and elevated levels of physical activity. Post-pandemic children exhibited increased introversion, a tendency towards solitary play, and challenges in adhering to classroom rules and social norms. The behavioral and linguistic differences underscore the significance of early socialization and routine in promoting language and communication development, as evidenced in the literature (Viola & Nunes, 2022). The findings indicate that the pandemic interrupted children’s developmental trajectories, which may have long-term implications for their academic and social success.

Prior research links increased screen time to adverse outcomes in sleep, emotional regulation, memory, and language development (de Almondes et al., 2016; Cross et al., 2018; Forrest et al., 2018; McGregor et al., 2015). The pandemic exacerbated these effects, leading to substantial increases in screen time among children as a result of school closures, social isolation, and the shift to remote learning. Teachers’ observations support these findings, demonstrating that prolonged screen exposure during the pandemic negatively impacted children’s language and cognitive development, while also restricting opportunities for social interaction, which are crucial for the development of pragmatic language and social skills.

Teachers and guidance counselors indicated the use of both in-class and extracurricular activities to address the negative impacts of the pandemic on children’s language, speech, and communication skills. In-class activities aimed at enhancing socialization, promoting peer integration, and offering opportunities for children to develop and articulate their verbal communication skills. Extracurricular activities provided additional support to families, highlighting the significance of a comprehensive approach to mitigating the impacts of the pandemic. The literature demonstrates that the pandemic disrupted children’s routines, increased screen time, and diminished opportunities for social interaction, adversely affecting their language and communication development (Viola & Nunes, 2022; Özyürek & Çetinkaya, 2021). Educators highlighted the importance of family engagement, acknowledging that the pandemic exerted considerable pressure on family structures, influencing parent-child interactions and the home setting, which are vital for children’s developmental results (Brooks et al., 2020; Çelik & Çak, 2021).

The quarantine period and school closures during the pandemic significantly disrupted children’s daily routines, resulting in reduced physical activity, limited socialization opportunities, increased screen time, and modified sleep patterns (Brooks et al., 2020; Clark et al., 2020). Teachers and guidance counselors emphasized the necessity of implementing proactive strategies to mitigate similar negative outcomes in future crises. Recommendations encompassed educating families, promoting home-based activities, ensuring school accessibility, facilitating peer socialization, and restricting screen time. In the early stages of the pandemic, educators proposed strategies including family education programs, the encouragement of hobbies to minimize screen time, the allocation of time for outdoor activities, and the promotion of educational internet applications. The recommendations are consistent with the findings of Carroll et al. (2020), which indicated notable increases in screen time and reductions in physical activity during the pandemic.

Beyond classroom- and family-level strategies, our findings also have clear implications for policy and public planning. From a policy perspective, the results underscore the developmental costs of prolonged closures and social isolation. Policies that prioritize the safe continuity of early childhood education, allocate resources for reduced class sizes and access to outdoor learning spaces, and provide targeted family supports during crises could help mitigate negative developmental impacts. In addition, public health messaging that includes practical guidance for parents on maintaining language- and play-rich home environments during periods of restricted social contact may be beneficial.

The combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence provides a comprehensive assessment of the pandemic’s impacts. Children who performed poorly on the PDBE-TV social interaction skills test exhibited difficulties in forming friendships and initiating conversations. Teachers’ observations of concentration difficulties, challenges in adhering to rules, and inability to cooperate during group activities correspond with the decline in classroom interaction skills. The findings indicate that the reduction in children’s language and communication abilities due to the pandemic may have enduring effects on social, academic, and behavioral aspects.

This study emphasizes the necessity of targeted interventions, including family education, restrictions on screen time, and enhanced opportunities for social interaction, to alleviate the impacts of the pandemic. Future research must emphasize longitudinal studies and diverse samples to enhance understanding of causal relationships and the long-term developmental effects of such crises. Addressing these challenges enables educators and policymakers to more effectively support children’s developmental needs amid future disruptions.

In sum, the combined quantitative and qualitative evidence suggests that the pandemic disrupted key social and communicative experiences underpinning pragmatic language development for a meaningful minority of preschool-aged children. Timely, multilevel interventions—spanning classroom practices, family supports, and policy measures—are warranted to address these gaps and promote children’s successful transitions into formal schooling.

Limitations

This study has several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the findings. First, the cross-sectional design and the absence of pre-pandemic baseline measures limit causal inference; we cannot definitively attribute observed differences to the pandemic rather than to pre-existing trends. Second, although the PDBE-TV is a validated instrument for pragmatic language screening, it is not a diagnostic tool, and teacher-report measures may be influenced by subjective perceptions and reporting bias. Third, the sample was drawn from three preschools in Istanbul with a heavy contribution from one large state preschool (n = 143), which may introduce clustering effects and limit the generalizability of the results to other regions or educational settings; no statistical adjustment for clustering was performed. Fourth, we did not collect family-level socio-economic indicators or parent/caregiver reports, restricting our ability to account for home-environment factors and potential confounders (e.g., parental education, household income) that likely moderate the pandemic’s impact. Fifth, the qualitative component relied solely on educators’ perspectives; inclusion of parent/caregiver voices and direct child assessments would provide a more comprehensive understanding. Finally, the cross-sectional and interview-based design is subject to potential observer and recall biases. Future research should employ longitudinal designs, broader and stratified sampling, multi-informant measures (parents, teachers, and direct assessments), and analytic strategies that account for clustering to better establish causal pathways and enhance generalizability.

Despite these limitations, the study provides meaningful insights into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on preschoolers’ pragmatic language abilities and underscores the need for targeted interventions to support language and social development. Future studies should build on these findings by addressing the noted limitations and evaluating evidence-based mitigation strategies in diverse contexts.