Priorities for Developmental Areas in Early Childhood Education: A Comparison of Parents' and Teachers' Priorities

The purpose of this study was to examine parents' and early childhood teachers' perceptions of the priorities for developmental areas targeted in the Turkish Early Childhood Education Curriculum for children aged 36-72 months. The sample of this study consisted of 1600 parents and 158 early childhood teachers. The study utilized a survey research design. Data were collected using an instrument designed for the study. Results indicated that parents' priority perceptions for the developmental areas targeted in the curriculum differ based on their socioeconomic status and the age and gender of their children. The findings demonstrated no significant difference in teachers' priority perceptions. The results indicated congruence between parents' and teachers' priority perceptions with teachers only perceiving psychomotor development as more important than parents.