An overview of the problems of pre-school education in the 2000s : a typical example from Turkey

Abstract

The general opinion about the importance of pre-school education and about the positive effects of the educational curriculum on children, their families and today’s society gains more supporters with each passing day. In particular, the discussions are concentrated on increasing the investment in preschool education. Providing the pre-school education for children at an intended level depends on the physical conditions, choosing the curriculum and personnel well, and careful planning. The aim of this study is to examine the role of pre-school education in the Turkish education system and to propose suggestions for changes by identifying the problems of programme, control mechanisms, work regulations and personnel rights, physical environment, administration and administrators, staff, finance, parents, self-awareness and self development. It also aims to increase the quality of pre-school education in Turkey in all respects. In this study, a questionnaire has been designed to analyse and evaluate the opinions of Turkish pre-school teachers on ‘the problems of pre-school education’. The subjects of the study are 1760 pre-school teachers from public or private educational institutions which are under the provision of either the Ministry of Education, or the Society for the Protection of Children, or practice schools within universities.