Mothers’ perception of early childhood education as a function of ethnic background

This exploratory study examined what mothers from different ethnic backgrounds perceived as important to their children in early childhood education programs. The question as to whether there are differences between Caucasian and non-Caucasian mothers was tested by Spearman's rank-difference correlation coefficient (rho). A total of 85 questionnaires were collected from a university-based preschool, a college-based daycare, and a community-based preschool. The mothers were asked to rank order eight developmental goals listed in the questionnaire. The development of good self-concept was ranked as the most important goal, whereas physical development was ranked the least important. There was a statistically significant correlation between the Caucasian and non-Caucasian mothers in their perception of importance of developmental goals in early childhood education (rho=.90, p<.001). To gather qualitative data, six mothers were interviewed to examine if they had a similar pattern of thinking and reasoning in regard to choosing what were and were not the important goals for their children. Despite the overall similarity in perception, mothers from different ethnic backgrounds expressed some different concerns and reasons for their decisions of what specific goals were and were not important for their children. Further studies were recommended to improve the understanding of parents' values and beliefs in regard to education in general.Education, Faculty ofGraduat