AN EVEN BETTER START? PARENT CONCEPTIONS OF THE PREPARATORY YEAR IN A NON-GOVERNMENT SCHOOL IN QUEENSLAND Lyndal O’Gorman Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood) Bachelor of Educational Studies (QUT) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Learning Innovation, Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology Australia 2007 Key words “Early childhood education and care” (ECEC), “Preparatory Year”, parents, views, Queensland, Australia, phenomenography, conceptions. Abstract The introduction of a universal, full-time Preparatory Year in all Queensland schools from 2007 is a significant reform in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in that state. Rapidly increasing enrolment of children in full-time Preparatory Year programs in non-government schools has been a feature of the Queensland context over the past decade. These trends, along with efforts towards consistency of services and universal school starting ages across Australian states and territories have prompted this important reform to early education in Queensland. Constructions of the role of parents as consumers of early childhood services and/or partners in their children’s early education suggest that consideration of parent views of this reform is both timely and strategic. This thesis reports the findings of a research project investigating parent conceptions of a Preparatory Year in a non-government school in outer urban Queensland. The research used a phenomenographic approach to elicit and describe the qualitatively different ways in which a group of 26 parents viewed the Preparatory Year. Analysis revealed that the range of parent conceptions of the Preparatory Year demonstrated varying emphasis on parent needs, child needs and preparation for future success in school and beyond. The study led to the construction of five categories of description outlining five different ways of understanding the Preparatory Year. The Preparatory Year was viewed in relation to (1) the current needs of the parents, (2) the current needs of the child, (3) preparation for Year One, (4) providing an advantage in primary school, and (5) preparation for future success beyond school. These five categories were linked and differentiated from each other by two central themes, or dimensions of variation: (1) a beneficiary dimension in which either the parent or the child were seen to benefit from the program, and (2) a temporal dimension in which the ii program was viewed in relation to meeting current needs or preparing for the future. The results of the study suggest that variation exists in the ways that parents may conceptualise the phenomenon of the Preparatory Year in Queensland. Analysis of the data further suggests that tensions exist around whether the Preparatory Year ought to emphasise preparation for the future and/or meet current needs of children; and whether those programs should meet the needs of the parent and/or the needs of the child. This thesis opens up the possibility of future tensions, with the potential for parent preferences for a formal interpretation of the Preparatory Year curriculum being at odds with the new play-based Early Years Curriculum Guidelines. Results of the study suggest that more attention be given to engaging parents and eliciting their views of the early childhood programs experienced by their children. Moreover, it provides an approach for ways in which parent views might be generated, analysed and incorporated into future policy developments and reforms. iii Table of contents Key words ........................................................................................................... ii Abstract ............................................................................................................... ii Table of contents................................................................................................ iv List of tables...................................................................................................... vii Statement of original authorship ........................................................................ ix Acknowledgements............................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1 .......................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background to the study.......................................................................... 2 1.3 Research question and design ................................................................. 7 1.4 Terminology............................................................................................ 9 1.5 Researcher’s standpoint ........................................................................ 10 1.6 Significance and timeliness of the study............................................... 12 1.6.1 Significance................................................................................... 12 1.6.2 Timeliness..................................................................................... 18 1.7 Structure of thesis.................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................ 21 LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction........................................................................................... 21 2.2 Non-government schooling and the education market.......................... 22 2.2.1 An education marketplace in Australia......................................... 24 2.2.2 Early childhood education as a marketable commodity ............... 26 2.3 Constructions of the role of parents in ECEC....................................... 29 2.3.1 Parents as consumers..................................................................... 29 2.3.2 Parents as partners......................................................................... 34 2.4 The contested focus of the early childhood curriculum........................ 39 2.4.1 Developmental psychology and children’s needs......................... 44 2.4.2 Readiness for school ..................................................................... 49 2.5 Play as a focus for learning and teaching in the early years ................. 52 2.5.1 Context of play.............................................................................. 52 2.5.2 Characteristics of play................................................................... 54 2.5.3 Work and play............................................................................... 56 2.5.4 Pressures on play........................................................................... 58 2.5.5 What is good play?........................................................................ 62 2.6 Transition to school............................................................................... 63 2.7 Studying parent views........................................................................... 65 2.7.1 Parent views across cultures.......................................................... 66 2.7.2 Parent views across different services........................................... 69 2.7.3 Parent views across individuals .................................................... 73 2.8 Chapter summary.................................................................................. 74 CHAPTER 3 ........................................................................................................ 75 METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................. 75 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................... 75 3.2 A qualitative approach .......................................................................... 75 3.3 Phenomenography................................................................................. 77 3.3.1 History of phenomenography........................................................ 77 iv 3.3.2 Phenomenography and other qualitative approaches.................... 79 3.3.3 Phenomenography in early childhood research ............................ 81 3.3.4 Advantages of phenomenography................................................. 82 3.3.5 Variations within phenomenography............................................ 83 3.3.6 Second-order perspective.............................................................. 86 3.3.7 The phenomenographic interview................................................. 87 3.3.8 Conceptions and categories of description.................................... 90 3.3.9 Phenomenographic analysis.......................................................... 93 3.3.10 Dimensions of variation................................................................ 98 3.3.11 Outcome space .............................................................................. 99 3.3.12 Research rigour ........................................................................... 101 3.3.13 Transferability............................................................................. 103 3.3.14 Objectivity..................................................................................