Parents’ Views on Preschool Children’s Engagement in Extracurricular Activities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55707/ds-po.v41i2.229Keywords:
extracurricular activities, parents of preschool children, preschool period, sociodemographic influencesAbstract
Extracurricular activities make an important contribution to the development of preschool children, especially in early childhood. The aim of this paper was to examine how parents of preschool children perceive the importance of extracurricular activities and which factors influence their decisions regarding their children's participation. The research was based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data were collected using an online questionnaire with a sample of 60 parents of preschool children and analysed through descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests, and thematic analysis of open-ended responses. Most parents attribute a high importance to extracurricular activities, highlighting psychophysical well-being, socialization, and skills development as key reasons for participating in extracurricular activities. Statistical analysis did not reveal significant associations between participation and demographic factors, such as education, occupation, region, or age of the parents. The findings indicate that parents primarily follow their own values when making decisions and seek a balance between activities, family time, and rest, which serves as a foundation for improving the existing practices, and for planning and developing accessible extracurricular activity offerings.
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