A Study of Parents' Perceptions about Early Childhood Education and Development in the Pakistani Context

Abstract

Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) is an emerging
field focusing on a child's holistic development and learning. The role of
adults, particularly parents, are very significant in ECED. The main aim
of this study was to explore the perception of parents about ECED in terms
of how early enrolment in ECED provides benefits to the children. Further,
this study also identified the development and learning of children in
ECED programs, the time and equal opportunity that children get, and the
likeness and happiness of children in ECED setups. This research was
based on a quantitative study. A survey questionnaire was used to find the
perception of randomly selected 100 parents. SPSS was used to analyze
the data by finding Frequencies, Percentages, Mean and Standard
deviation. The results portrayed that most parents have a favorable opinion
about ECED and parents endorsed the benefits that provide ECED to the
children. Parents also indicated family involvement in the learning of
children. Further, ECED helped develop the values and morals of the
children. Parents also shared that children got sufficient time and equal
opportunity for play and acknowledged children's likeness to attend the
ECED.