The Contribution of Caregivers in Christian and Buddhist Preschools in Respect of Early Childhood Care in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Early childhood is considered as the most important and decisive period in forming the foundation of the holistic development of one's personal life. The type of ones future personality depends on how he or she brought up during this period. This study has been planned to be conducted under three objectives. They were 1. Investigating the need for early childhood care and factors that fluency such care. 2. investigating the contributors of in early childhood care development. 3. investigating the different among contribution of caregivers Buddhist, Christian Preschools in respect of strategies in early child care. The data was obtained through: Visits and observations , Interviews , Study of documents conducted 32 early childhood centers in Negombo and the Maharagama area. ( Negambo- Christian 16, Maharagama, Pannipitiya- Buddhist-16. (n=32). And they were analyzed qualitative methods. In Christian preschools, the guiding principle was that each child was a precious gift of God. This belief resulted in a play oriented curriculum that maximized the choices available to children. Teachers also attempted to encourage children's creativity and their ability to formulate thoughts and express them to others. The Buddhist schools were among the largest of any schools, some had over 600 pupils. If the present economic uncertainties continue, these schools will likely continue to be a very appealing method for parents interested in giving their children a head start in school. Yet, in spite of factors that work to blur the distinct philosophical contribution of the various religions, researcher has seen concrete ways in which the ideologies of Christianity and Buddhism continue to influence Sri Lankan preschools. In the past decade, researchers and policy experts have been grappling with the feasibility of a global definition of child care quality that could be applied across all institutions in any community across the country. The elements of "appropriate practice" have been articulated by the Policy of western province Pre School.