Parents’ Beliefs on Play in Preschool

Parents’ beliefs and attitudes about early childhood play-based curriculum are influenced by personal history, socio-economic demographics, and culture. This qualitative study utilized narrative inquiry to delve into six parents’ beliefs on play in preschool. Their beliefs about their children’s participation in a play-based preschool and how their children’s various needs were met inform the family-school partnership. Methods included narrative inquiry, observation, and documentation review. Data sources were analyzed to ascertain commonalities, differences, and emerging themes in parents’ views of a play-based curriculum. Three overriding themes emerged: structure, socialization, and the reputation of their choice of Play Preschool (pseudonym). Additional analysis uncovered a deeper theme of readiness: preparation of their children for “real school,” for college, and for life. The final underlying theme to emerge was fear that the child would be unprepared for school and unable to live a good life, which caused and surrounded the readiness concern. Lastly, this study provided insights for family-school partnerships in which parents’ beliefs are valued.