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Exploring Indian parents' perceptions of early childhood care and education in two cities of India.

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Title: Exploring Indian parents' perceptions of early childhood care and education in two cities of India.
Authors: Sharma, Varun1 (AUTHOR) sharmavarun84@gmail.com, Sharma Sen, Rekha2 (AUTHOR), Ghosh, Shreya1 (AUTHOR), Mahara, Priti1 (AUTHOR)
Source: International Journal of Early Years Education. Mar2026, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p121-138. 18p.
Subject Terms: *Parent attitudes, *Decision making, *Early childhood education, *English language education, *Child care, *Preschool education, *Child development
Geographic Terms: Mumbai (India), India, New Delhi (India)
Abstract: The early stages of childhood are of utmost importance in terms of development and learning, thus making it crucial to invest in the provision of care and education during this period. An early childhood care and development facility is a crucial initial step in a child's learning trajectory. It sets the foundation for their future learning experiences. However, the selection of a facility by parents is influenced by their perceptions and attitudes. This paper explores parental perceptions and decision-making processes when selecting an education facility for their child. We conducted interviews with 297 parents of children aged 3–6 years in Delhi and Greater Mumbai, India. The results indicate that parents' perception of 'good education' differs considerably from the discourse prevalent in the academic domain. They tend to equate the quality of education solely with English-medium instruction. Furthermore, the study reveals that parents are generally unaware of the substantive content encompassed in preschool education, leading to its absence in their decision-making processes. The findings suggest that the lack of understanding of developmentally appropriate early childhood education among parents is a significant deterrent to ensuring the right kind of pre-school education, and hence efforts should be made to bridge this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of International Journal of Early Years Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Exploring Indian parents' perceptions of early childhood care and education in two cities of India.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Early+Years+Education%22">International Journal of Early Years Education</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p121-138. 18p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+attitudes%22">Parent attitudes</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Decision+making%22">Decision making</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+education%22">Early childhood education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language+education%22">English language education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+care%22">Child care</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+education%22">Preschool education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+development%22">Child development</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mumbai+%28India%29%22">Mumbai (India)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22New+Delhi+%28India%29%22">New Delhi (India)</searchLink>
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  Data: The early stages of childhood are of utmost importance in terms of development and learning, thus making it crucial to invest in the provision of care and education during this period. An early childhood care and development facility is a crucial initial step in a child's learning trajectory. It sets the foundation for their future learning experiences. However, the selection of a facility by parents is influenced by their perceptions and attitudes. This paper explores parental perceptions and decision-making processes when selecting an education facility for their child. We conducted interviews with 297 parents of children aged 3–6 years in Delhi and Greater Mumbai, India. The results indicate that parents' perception of 'good education' differs considerably from the discourse prevalent in the academic domain. They tend to equate the quality of education solely with English-medium instruction. Furthermore, the study reveals that parents are generally unaware of the substantive content encompassed in preschool education, leading to its absence in their decision-making processes. The findings suggest that the lack of understanding of developmentally appropriate early childhood education among parents is a significant deterrent to ensuring the right kind of pre-school education, and hence efforts should be made to bridge this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Early Years Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/09669760.2025.2471291
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 121
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Parent attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Decision making
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early childhood education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English language education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child care
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preschool education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mumbai (India)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: India
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: New Delhi (India)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Exploring Indian parents' perceptions of early childhood care and education in two cities of India.
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            NameFull: Sharma, Varun
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            NameFull: Sharma Sen, Rekha
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            NameFull: Ghosh, Shreya
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            NameFull: Mahara, Priti
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            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 34
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