Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Family engagement contributes greatly to families, children, teachers, and classrooms succeed. The purpose of this research is to examine in detail the views and activities of preschool teachers about family engagement activities. To this end, phenomenology was employed as one of the qualitative research methods. There are 35 preschool teachers in the study group of the research. These teachers were identified using the maximum diversity sampling method. As a result of the research, two main themes emerged: family engagement perception and family engagement experience. The theme family engagement perception includes the meaning of family engagement and the ideal family engagement qualities. Family engagement theme involves planning, preparation, activities, evaluation, engagement issues, strategies to increase engagement and their effect. The findings of the study revealed the necessity and importance of family engagement in early childhood.