Back to Basics: What Do Parents and Teachers Expect of Early Childhood Education and Care?

Yıl 2014, Cilt: 31 Sayı: 1, 19 - 43, 16.02.2016

Mine Göl-güven

Öz

Recent developments in the area of early childhood education and care (ECEC) lead to more academicallyoriented decisions taken in classrooms. Although, this attempt had positive outcomes, the academia has forgotten to pay attention to the ideas and expectations of parents and teachers. The purpose of this study is to create a research agenda to get professions’ attention back to what parents and teachers want for children. For this purpose, the sample of 286 parents and forty seven preschool teachers were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of statements about parents' and teachers' expectations of ECEC settings and their roles in children’s lives. Findings indicate that while parents see themselves as responsible for developing children's self-sufficiency and social skills with adults, teachers consider themselves responsible for developing children's academic, self-expression, and gross-motor skills. Parents and teachers agree that the preschool curriculum should allow children to learn things by themselves, encourage children to be curious and ask questions, and be flexible enough to meet each child's learning needs. It is important to understand parents and teachers ideas and expectations of preschool education to shape the policy and practice that are valued by the culture and the context.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), Parents’ and Teachers' Roles and Expectations, Curriculum, Teacher, Environment

Kaynakça

• Abu-Jaber, M., Al-Shawareb, A., & Gheith, E. (2010). Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs toward developmentally appropriate practice in Jordan. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(1), 65-74.
• Al-lawati, F.A.K. (1999). Parent and teacher expectations for early childhood education in Oman. Unpublished Masters' thesis, Utah State University
• Association for Childhood Education International. (2006). ACEI global guidelines assessment. Olney, MD: Author.
• Barton, P. E., & Coley, R. J. (2007). The family: America's smallest school. Princeton: NJ, Educational Testing Service.
• Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.). (2000). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Burchinal, M. R., & Nelson, L. (2000). Family selection and child care experiences: Implications for studies of child outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(3), 385-411.
• Charlesworth, R., Hart, C. H., Burts, D. C., Thomasson, R. H., Mosley, J., & Fleege, P. O. (1993). Measuring the developmental appropriateness of kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 8(3), 255-276.
• Chen, J., Krechevsky, M., Viens., & Isberg, E. (1998). Building on children's strengths: The experience of project zero. (Vol. 1). New York: Teachers College Press.
• Crahay, M. (1994). The IEA preprimary project: Obtaining knowledge to improve the quality of children's early experiences. In Olmsted, P. P. & Weikart, D. P. (Eds). Families Speak: Early Childhood Care and Education in 11 Countries, p. 3-24.Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.
• Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (2007). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Languages of evaluation (2.nd Ed.). London: Routledge.
• Dyson, A. H., & Genishi, C. (1993). Visions of children as language users: Language and language education in early childhood. In Spodek, B. (Ed.). Handbook of research on the education of young children, p. 122-136. New York: Macmillan.
• Education for All Global Monitoring Report (2006). Strong Foundations: Early childhood care and education. Paris, France: UNESCO.
• Erdiller, Z., & McMullen, M. B. (2004). Turkish teachers’ beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 25, 84-93.
• Essa, E. L., & Burnham, M. M. (2001). Child care quality: A model for examining relevant variables. In Reifel, S. & Brown, M. H. (Eds). Early Education and Care, and Reconceptualizing Play, p. 59-113. Elsevier Science, Oxford, UK.
• Gallahue, D. (1993). Motor development and movement skill acquisition in early childhood education. In Spodek, B. (Ed.). Handbook of research on the education of young children, p. 24-41. New York: Macmillan.
• Gol-Guven, M. (2009). Evaluation of the quality of early childhood classrooms in Turkey, Early Development and Care, 179(4), 437-451.
• Harms, T., Clifford R. M., & Cryer, D. (1998). Early childhood environment rating scale: Revised edition. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. (1998). High/Scope Program Quality Assessment-PQA. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.
• Honig, A. S. (1979). Parent involvement in early childhood education. (Rev. ed.). Washington, D.C. The National Association for the Education of Young Children.
• Isik-Ercan, Z. (2010). Looking at school from the house window: Learning from Turkish-American parents' experiences with early elementary education in the United States. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(2), 133-142.
• Jeynes, W. H. (2010). The salience of the subtle aspects of parental involvement and encouraging that involvement: Implications for school-based programs, Teachers College Record, 112(3), 747-774.
• Kabadayi, A. (2010). Investigating demographic characteristics and teaching perceptions of Turkish preschool teachers. Early Child Development and Care, 180(6), 809-822.
• Karakus, M., & Savas, A. C. (2012). The effects of parental involvement, trust in parents, trust in students and pupil control ideology on conflict management strategies of early childhood teachers, Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 12(4), 2977-2985.
• Koralek, D. G., Colker, L. J., & Dodge, D. (1995). The what, why, and how of highquality early childhood education: A guide for on-site supervision (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• Kucukturan, G. (2011). What do parents expect from pre-school teachers in Turkey?. International Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2(19), 123-130.
• Liang, X., Fuller, B., & Singer J. D. (2000). Ethnic differences in child care selection: The influence of family Structure, parental practices, and home language. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(3), 357–384.
• Lindauer, S. L., & Harris, K. (1989). Priorities for kindergarten curricula: Views of parents and teachers. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 4(1), 51- 61.
• McMullen, M. B., Elicker, J., Wang, J., Erdiller, Z., Lee, S. M., Lin, C. H., Sun, P. Y. (2005). Comparing beliefs about appropriate practice among early childhood education professionals from the U.S., China, Taiwan, Korea and Turkey. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20(4), 451-464.
• Micklo, S. J. (1993). Perceived problems of public school prekindergarten teachers. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 8(1), 57-68.
• Ministry of National Education. (2009). Strategic Plan. http://sgb.meb.gov.tr/ Accessed 29 September 2010.
• Ministry of National Education Statistics. (2010). National education statistics: Formal education 2009-2010. http://sgb.meb.gov.tr/l. Accessed 29 September 2010.
• Moss, P., & Pence, A. (Eds.). (1994). Valuing quality in early childhood services: New approaches to defining quality. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Myers, R. (1995). The twelve who survive (2nd ed.). Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press. National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1998a). Accreditation criteria and procedures. Position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Washington, DC.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1998b). Guide to Accreditation. Washington, DC.
• NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Does quality of child care affect child outcomes at age 4 ½? Developmental Psychology, 34(3), 451-469.
• Opper, S., & Olmstead, P. P. (1999). The study background and a review of the literature. In Weikart, D. P. (Ed.). What should young children learn: Teacher and parent views in 15 countries, p. 3-16. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.
• Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Stat Extracts. (2010). http://stats.oecd.org/. Accessed 29 September 2010.
• Papalia, D E., & Olds S. (1995). Human development (6th ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill, Inc.
• Rentzou, K. (2010). Using the ACEI global guidelines assessment to evaluate the quality of early childhood care in Greek settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(1), 75-80.
• Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Sagmanli, E. O. (1998). Mothers' and teachers' expectations from preschool education. Unpublished Masters' thesis, Bogazici University
• Stern, D. (1985). The psychological world of the human infant. New York, NY: Basic.
• Super, C. M., & Harkness, S. (1997). The cultural structuring of child development. In Berry, J. W., & Dasen, P. R. (Eds). Handbook of cross-cultural psychology, Vol. 2: Basic processes and human development (2nd ed.), p. 1-39. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.
• Tekin, A. K. (2011). Parents' motivational beliefs about their involvement inyoung children's education. Early Child Development and Care, 181(10), 1315-1329.
• TUIK. (2011) Adrese dayali nufus kayit sistemi nufus sayimi (Population study based on people's addresses). http://rapor.tuik.gov.tr/reports/. 15 January 2012.
• Varol, F. (2012). What they believe and what they do. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, doi:10.1080/1350293X.2012.677309.
• Vidali, L. E. (1998). Parental expectations of early childhood services for preschool children: The case of policy change in Greece. International Journal of Early Years Education, 6(1), 19-30.
• Weikart, D. P. (Ed.). (1999). What should young children learn: Teacher and parent views in 15 countries. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.
• Wen, X., Elicker, J., McMullen, M. B. (2011). Early childhood teachers curriculum beliefs: Are they consistent with observed classroom practices. Early Education and Development, 22(6), 1-25.
• Winetsky, C. S. (1978). Comparisons of the expectations of parents and teachers for the behavior of preschool children. Child Development, 49, 1146-1154.
• Woodhead, M. (1996). In search of the rainbow: Pathways to quality in large-scale programmes for young disadvantaged children. Early childhood development: Practice and reflections. Number 10. Netherlands: Bernard van Leer Foundation. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 399 037).