Caribbean Immigrant Parents’ Cultural Perspectives on Preparing Their Children for Kindergarten

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Dynamics in Creating Desirable Educational Possibilities for Learners From/in the Global South (Table 11)

Abstract

Parents, being the first teachers for their children, develop and acquire expectations essential to developmental domains, and education. A transcendental phenomenological study explored Caribbean immigrant parents’ cultural perspectives on preparing their children for kindergarten. Data analysis used the four steps of the philosophical phenomenological method: (a) epoche, (b) phenomenology reduction, (c) imaginative variation, and (d) synthesis. Four major themes emerged from the participants’ representation of their cultural perspectives: (a) balancing expectations, (b) developing relationships, (c) investing in your child’s education, and (d) creating lifelong critical thinkers. These findings demonstrate that parents’ cultural differences, values, and perspectives play a crucial role in preparing, developing, and promoting children’s early learning.

Authors

• Suzan South, University of Alaska - Fairbanks

• Sharla L. Snider, Texas Woman's University