Immigrant Families’ Expectations of Early Childhood

Abstract

This paper presents some of the findings of a study which examined the views of 101 South Australian immigrant families concerning their educational expectations for their children who are in the age range of birth to 8 years. These families came from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, and the Philippines. Likewise, the views of 100 early childhood teachers working in early childhood centres were examined in relation to their educational expectations for the children of immigrant families. A comparison of the findings is presented in this paper, noting the commonalities and differences between parents and teachers to seven questions about their expectations of preschool education.