ERIC Number: EJ1138778
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 38
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Does Pre-School Education Matter? Understanding the Lived Experiences of Parents and Their Perceptions of Preschool Education
Manigo, Catrina; Allison, Rinyka
Teacher Educators' Journal, v10 p5-42 Spr 2017
According to the United States Department of Education, approximately 4,172,347 four-year-olds are eligible to attend publicly funded preschool programs. Of this number, only 1,709,607 of those eligible are enrolled in a publicly funded preschool program (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Because of a lack of quantitative and qualitative data regarding parents' positive and negative attitudes and beliefs about preschool, misconceptions arise regarding parental decisions to support or not to support their child's academic, social, and emotional development prior to kindergarten. In a large urban district in the southeastern part of the United States, this qualitative phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of 12 parents, six of who elected and six of whom did not elect to send their children to preschool, and the lived experiences that contributed to those decisions. Unanswered questions linger about why so few children attend preschool. Further, the study examined the relationship between parent attitudes and beliefs about preschool and whether or not their lived experiences contributed to their perceptions of the values of preschool.
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Urban Schools, School Districts, Qualitative Research, Phenomenology, Parent Attitudes, Educational Attitudes, Decision Making, Enrollment Influences, Parent Participation, Interviews, Beliefs, Multiple Regression Analysis, School Readiness, Child Development, Social Development, Emotional Development, Predictor Variables, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Trust (Psychology), Low Income Groups, Parents as Teachers, Faculty Development, Expectation, Feedback (Response), Surveys, Information Dissemination, Parent Education
Association of Teacher Educators in Virginia. Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA 22601. e-mail: ehthomps@ehc.edu; Web site: http://ateva.org/?page_id=450
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education; Early Childhood Education; Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A