Preschool is a crucial first step in a child’s education, during which parents, teachers, administrative staff, and society at large play important roles. As such, preschool institutions planning their programs and schedules... [ view full abstract ]
Preschool is a crucial first step in a child’s education, during which parents, teachers, administrative staff, and society at large play important roles. As such, preschool institutions planning their programs and schedules should consider children’s views, characteristics and expectations. These components have been assessed at a theoretical level by some researchers, notably through the ecological model. Studies have also been conducted of the views, expectations and experiences of parents, teachers, staff and communities related to preschool education. However, it should not be ignored that children are at the center of this process – especially in countries such as Turkey, where the preschool curriculum is formally child-centered and the practices of teachers are expected to conform to this approach. Moreover, the Turkish preschool program specifically emphasizes that preschool teachers should give children opportunities to plan, conduct and review classroom activities, and to query, investigate, discuss and create. If such child-centered practices are to be conducted effectively, then the views, expectations and experiences of young children should be much better known and understood. Therefore, this study collects and analyzes 35 young Turkish children’s views about the preschool education process. This is a qualitative research which aims to determine participants’ perceptions, views and experiences directly. More specifically, a phenomenological approach was selected because it was aimed to determine how preschool children understood their experiences related to preschool education. The focus was on similarities between children rather than their individual experiences. Data was collected through an interview protocol developed by the researchers, and analyzed via the word-list technique. The findings of the study will be discussed at the 69th OMEP World Assembly and International Conference.
