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

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.