Indigenous Parents' Ratings of the Importance of Play,Indigenous Games and Language,and Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Australian Indigenous children's participation in mainstream early childhood education has been markedly low when compared with non-Indigenous children. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Indigenous parents may not be sending their children to these programs because such programs are considered culturally inappropriate. The aim of the present study was to investigate Indigenous parents' attitudes to Indigenous-specific early childhood programs. Eighteen parents whose children attended Indigenous-specific child care centres and playgroups completed a questionnaire that contained questions by which they evaluated the importance of early childhood education and other related cultural issues. Results of the parents' evaluations indicate a high level of support for early childhood education in an Indigenous-specific context. It is suggested that aspects of Indigenous-specific programs may be usefully adopted in the development of more inclusive mainstream early childhood education programs.