Author: Sarah Wight
Wight, Sarah , 2015 How do parents and preschool educators perceive children’s experiences of preschool in a time of policy reform?, Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
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The research explores how a cohort of South Australian parents and preschool educators perceive children’s experiences of preschool in a time of local and national policy reform.
Four preschools in metropolitan Adelaide were purposely selected as sites for the primarily qualitative research. The perceptions of preschool educators were explored through semi-structured interviews. Four families agreed to participate in more in depth case studies to determine how their preschool children spent their time in and out of preschool. Two preschool sites were observed to better understand the nature of the learning environment. Finally, a quantitative questionnaire was completed by parents from the four preschool sites to complement other data and provide opportunities for triangulation.
The research concluded that socio-economic, and parental education factors, and children’s life experiences away from the preschool setting result in differences in children’s access and experience of preschool in a time of policy reform. The investment and interest in early childhood education was welcomed by parents and educators alike as educators sought to adapt to changes brought about by the converging reforms of the National Quality Framework (NQF), Universal Access, Same First Day and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Educators expressed concerns about additional workload and whether the result of the reforms would be genuine improvement for all South Australian children eligible to attend preschool education in South Australia. The research argues that further investment in early childhood education by the Commonwealth government is timely, but the success of this commitment must be measured by increased enrolment and attendance of children at preschool and tangible improvements within early childhood settings to ensure that every Australian child has access to excellent early childhood education.
Keywords: Preschool children, Parents, Preschool educators, Children’s experiences of preschool, Policy reform, Semi-structured interviews, Case studies, Questionnaire, Learning environment, Children’s access and experience of preschool, Enrolment and attendance, Early childhood education,
Subject: Education thesis
Thesis type: Professional Doctorate
Completed: 2015
School: College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
Supervisor: Associate Professor Susan Krieg