Early childhood programs have been proliferating in Taiwan for the past decade due to the drastic changes in the society, and to public and professional concepts of child development. Children, today, are placed in non-maternal and academic-focused early childhood programs at a much younger age than previously. The current trend of so-called the earlier the better' in Taiwan raises issues about the effects of early formal schooling experiences on children's optimal development. However, very little is known about young children's early schooling experiences in Taiwan due to the lack of empirical studies.
The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives and experiences of Taiwanese mothers, children, teachers, and administrators regarding young children's early schooling involvement. Participants were recruited mainly from two preschools (one public and one private) in a west-central city of Taiwan. Research participants included 32 mothers, 10 young children, 3 teachers, and 3 administrators. A qualitative design with a phenomenological approach was used in the study to investigate the subjective experiences of the phenomenon. Data were collected by using focus groups and individual interviews. In addition, a content review was conducted to gain an overview of how young children's early schooling involvement was viewed by the parental advice literature in Taiwan. From the analysis of the data, the following five general themes emerged: children's development, mass media, social competition, differences between individuals and groups, and cultural change aspects. The specific meaning of each theme is illustrated, including similarities and differences amongst the participants. Finally, limitations, implications and future research directions are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/1951 |
| Date | 04 December 2009 |
| Creators | Chen, Chin-Hsiu |
| Contributors | Mayfield, Margie |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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