A Comparison of Japanese and Turkish Mothers’ Views about Self Care Skill Acquisition Age and Their Expectations from Preschools

Abstract

Spanning the vital temporal interval between birth and the elementary school education, the preschool period is one of the most critical times of human life due to its importance in the formation and nourishment of personality. Specifically the preschool education enables children to acquire and develop basic knowledge, skills and habits, thus shaping their social and emotional life, attitudes, beliefs and value judgments. Educational opportunities offered to children in this period facilitate the socio-cultural background for future life. The modern understanding of education designates that preschools are as important as families in providing children with the preliminary education during this period in life. Today, preschool attendance rates for children aged between five to six years (a year prior to starting school) are approximately 60% in Turkey and 97% in Japan. This demonstrates that Japan is significantly ahead of Turkey in the development and popularization of preschool education. Inquring into this discrepancy, this study compares the opinions of mothers, with different economic development levels and culture, on preschool period and education in Japan and Turkey. As such, 300 Turkish and 300 Japanese mothers were given a survey/questionnaire with 21 questions. The frequency and percentage of mothers’ responses were calculated. The results indicate that Turkish and Japanese mothers had certain similar and certain different views. The answers given to nine questions inquiring the opinions of the Japanese and the Turkish mothers on self-care skill acquisition age yields that the Japanese mothers state that suggest that their children acquired self-care skills at earlier ages. When the answers given to the seven questions inquiring mothers’ expectations from preschool education are examined, the results depict very differing opinions. However, based on the answer of the Japanese mothers in the sample, the study concludes that their children acquired self-care skills at a younger age. The questions about mothers’ expectations from preschool institutions received different responses from Japanese and Turkish mothers.