Parental involvement and developmentally appropriate practices: a comparison of parent and teacher beliefs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and parental involvement beliefs of preschool teachers and the parents of preschool children. Data were collected from 279 teachers and 589 parents via a demographic information questionnaire, Teachers' Beliefs Scale [Jones, L. D., Burts, D. C., Buchanan, T. K., & Jambunathan, S. (2000). Beginning prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices: Supports and barriers to developmentally appropriate practices. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 21, 397–410]; Parents' Beliefs Scale [Yen, Y. (2008). Parents’ beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs in Taiwan (PhD thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database (UMI No.3352157)] and the School and Family Partnerships Questionnaire [Epstein, J. L., & Salinas, K. C. (1993). School and family partnerships: Surveys and summaries. Baltimore, MD: Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, John Hopkins University]. The results underline the relationship of parental involvement beliefs of teachers and parents with their DAP and Developmentally Inappropriate Practice (DIP) beliefs, as well as providing that DAP or DIP beliefs are not independent in their nature; they are influenced by parental involvement beliefs.

Keywords:

• developmentally appropriate practices
• developmentally inappropriate practices
• parental involvement

Notes on contributors

Özlen Demircan is assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at Middle East Technical University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Early Childhood Education from Middle East Technical University in 2012. Her research interests focus on parent involvement, teaching methods and school readiness.

Feyza Tantekin Erden is associate professor of Early Childhood Education at Middle East Technical University. She earned her doctoral degree in Early Childhood Education from Florida State University in 2002. Her main research interests are classroom management, play, curriculum and assessment, parent education, and gender equity in education.