Differences in Priorities for Kindergarten Goals Among Parents, Teachers, and Experts in Malaysia.

Abstract

The study considered whether differences in priorities for kindergarten educational goals exist among parents, teachers, and experts in two urban and rural areas in Selangor, Malaysia. Forty goals encompassing six domains of child development were obtained from parents, teachers, and experts. These goals were validated and formed part of a final questionnaire. The latter requested demographic data and personal characteristics of the subjects and a level of priority assigned to each of the r and omly ordered educational goals. The domains considered were intellectual (thinking and problem solving), social (relationships and interactions), emotional (self-concept and feelings), physical (coordination and health), and the moral and spiritual. These data were collected from 882 parents, teachers, and experts associated with kindergartens in Malaysia using a stratified r and om sampling procedure. They were analyzed using the ANOVA and Profile Analysis. The major findings were: (i) Significant differences were found among parents', teachers', and experts' priorities for the social, emotional, intellectual, physical, spiritual, and moral domains and for certain items within these domains. (ii) Significant differences were found between urban and rural kindergartens' priorities for the intellectual, emotional, physical, moral, and spiritual domains. The Malay, Chinese and English medium kindergartens differed for the intellectual, social, emotional, moral, and spiritual domains. Kindergartens of different types differed for the intellectual, social, emotional, moral, and spiritual domains. (iii) Significant differences between parents and teachers by location of kindergartens were found for the intellectual domain; by types of kindergartens for the physical and spiritual domains and by medium of instruction for the intellectual and spiritual domains. (iv) Significant differences among parents' priorities for the six domains were related to their income, academic qualifications, ethnicity, and religion. Teachers' salary, professional membership, length of training, teaching experience, and kindergarten fees were found to be significant factors for certain domains. The findings suggest that social and cultural characteristics of parents, teachers, and the kindergartens give direction to educational goals and practice and that careful study of differences due to these characteristics is needed when designing programs or developing policies. A replication of the study with improved sampling design and considering the underlying reasons for selection of priorities is suggested.