Examination of Parents' Opinions on Early Childhood Learning

ABSTRACT Qualified and continuous learning experiences provided in early childhood have an important place in the development of the child. This should not be considered a situation that only concerns schools, but parents, who are the first teachers of the children, should be included in the process. For this reason, this study aimed to determine parents' views and practices on learning. The research was designed using basic qualitative research. The Snowball sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used to select the sample. In this study, demographic information forms and semi-structured interview questions developed by the researcher were used as data collection tools. The data were collected by interview method. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the study, it was determined that parents perceive learning as a behavioral change and developmental process, that parents think that they learn by playing, exploring, and doing, and living, that their children should be able to express themselves and learn universal values, and they generally teach these as models. According to the results of the research, it has been determined that parents are knowledgeable about different instructional strategies used in early childhood, but they need to be supported.