Abstract
Today's education requires that children attend a fitting preschool setting aligned with their parents' goals. Parents may take innumerable factors into consideration when choosing the right preschool for their child, such as the school's philosophy, their personal beliefs, instruction, location, and the school's reputation. Parents' own early educational experiences may also influence them in profound ways as they pursue their decision-making process.
This study aimed to explore parents' goals and own early childhood experiences in an effort to help teachers better understand and connect with parents. The study used interviews and an online questionnaire. The questions were both specific and open ended, as one of the goals was to learn about personal accounts and memorable experiences parents may have enjoyed in their earliest educational settings. Results indicate that parents do in fact place children in certain preschool settings based on their own early educational experiences, as they want them to either go through the same enjoyable occurrences or undergo better experiences. Implications suggest early childhood centers should understand parents' own experiences and goals in order to forge a deeper connection between educators and parents through a sharing of personal, early educational accounts. Such connections could result in a more comforting and enjoyable learning experience for children, since parents and teachers will be more able to work together toward the same goals.