Assessments by principals, teachers, and parents on values education in Estonian kindergartens

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse assessments made by principals, teachers and parents regarding the performance of values education in Estonian kindergartens. Six fields of activity were investigated: formulating and explaining values, promoting values, having a systematic approach towards values education, kindergarten culture, collaboration, and development activities related to values education. The authors also sought to identify the main values in preschool childcare institutions/kindergartens. Altogether, 978 respondents across Estonia returned the questionnaire. Principals, teachers and parents consider values education in kindergartens to be very important. Parent assessments of childcare institution activities related to values education are mostly lower than those given by teachers and principals, while parents assess collaboration with kindergartens at a higher level and emphasise their own part in the values education of a childcare institution. Discussions with teachers and parents play a significant role in kindergartens. It was mostly collaboration that was named as the core value for a kindergarten, followed by safety, caring, openness, child-orientation, health, trust, friendliness, traditions, professionalism, honesty and tolerance.

Keywords:

• Values
• values education
• kindergarten

Acknowledgements

This study is connected to the following projects: IUT 18-2 Õpetajate professionaalsuse ja professionalismi muutuv kontekst (The Changing Context of the Professionality and Professionalism of Teachers) and the EDUKO project Early childhood education sub-project: Supporting the professional development of educators AU/910. The authors would like to thank Indrek Tart, Linda Pallas and Anneli Veisson, who helped to prepare this article.

Notes

1. The Estonian self-evaluation model for schools was developed using the quality standards of the US Character Education Partnership, which are based on this organisation’s ‘Eleven principles of effective character education’ (Lickona, Schaps, and Lewis 2007). The workgroup for developing the self-evaluation model for schools included 27 Estonian education experts and therefore it was considered appropriate to use and adapt this model for kindergartens.