The evaluation of family involvement activities implemented in the preschool institutions based on teachers and parents opinions

In the preschool age, the most important role in the children?s education and development is in their families. However; in this age preschool institutions have to take on their education together with family. Achieving the desired level in children?s education is related to cooperation with their family and preschool institutions. For this reason, preschool institutions and families have to share the responsibilities in children?s education and it is pretty important that providing family involvement to preschool education and educating the families about children?s education and development. Family involvement activities are activities that give families an opportunity to make brain-storming together with their children and provide them to be a guide in discovering and developing their children?s interest and abilities and give families an opportunity to assist in developing their children?s personality in this critical period. Thanks to this, families have substantial contribution for their children to become happy and successful, the parallelism between school and family atmosphere, to have an opportunity for new abilities, more conscious communication, to be aware of the activities in the school, to participate in the educational programs actively and to increase the quality and continuity of education. In this research, it is aimed that the teachers? and parents? opinions about the family involvement activities implemented in preschool institutions are determined. This iii research is carried out based on the opinions of the preschool teachers who work in the independent kindergartens in Eskisehir in 2006-2007 Education year and the parents whose children attend these schools. In the research, the screening model is used and had an interview with 25 preschool teachers and 25 parents. The research papers are collected with the semi-structural interview technique which is one of the qualitative data collecting methods. In the analysis of the research papers, descriptive analysis technique is used. In the numerical analysis of the research papers, findings are presented quantitatively by using frequency. According to the results of the research findings, it is observed that the teachers first apply the need determination form about the family involvement activities and then they determine and apply the activities according to results that are obtained from that form. It is observed that teachers? and parents? opinions overlap about the organized family involvement activities and the effects of these activities that are applied the individuals; and every individual states that they are pleased to be a part of these family involvement activities. About the organized family involvement activities teachers state that parents benefit from educational classroom and parents state that they involve the family involvement activities outside the classroom like cinema, theatre, trip, planting a tree. It is observed that teachers hope parents to increase the family involvement especially fathers? involvement and as for parents, they hope teachers and headmasters to benefit from activities which are more comprehensive and various. iv