English abstract
This study aims to identify the pre-school education in the Sultanate of Oman from the perspective of family members and kindergarten teachers through answering the following questions:
What is the educational role of pre-school education in building child cognitively and educationally that would qualifies him/her for subsequent educational stages? What are the cognitive and scientific requirements that a child could acquire in this stage to qualify him/her for the basic education stage? Is there any relevance or (nexus and integration) between this stage and basic education stage? What are the suggestions that could be provided to enhance pre-school education stage?
To answer these questions, the researcher applied open interview method through structured group interview with (34) mothers who have children at pre-trial division in pre school education stage. She also applied individual interviews with (15) kindergarten teachers at the aforementioned division in Muscat and Dakahlia governorates. The reasons stand behind choosing A Seeb in Muscat governorate and Bidbid in Dakahila governorate are; 1) Using them as models to apply this study, 2) Experience variety of schools in A'Seeb and Bidbid Wilayats, which would let the researcher to benefit from their points of view about pre-school education. Based on that, three private kindergarten schools in A'Seeb and two in Bidbid were chosen.
Most remarkable finding of this study are the following:
Pre-school education stage plays a major and effective role to build child's personality properly through developing him/her in physical (kinetic), mental, linguistic, psychological, social, creative and spiritual aspects.
Pre-school education stage is a bedrock for the subsequent stages (First Cycle of Basic Education), because it provides the child with educational knowledge and behavioral skills needed in the first grade of basic education stage. In addition, its educational influence extends to the following years of the child's educational life, which contributes to raising the level of academic achievement of him/her.
Guardians pay attention to the necessity for their children to acquire skills of reading and writing both in Arabic and English in pre-school education stage. They find that there is a need to build their children in this aspect in order to promote their mental and cognitive preparedness, which would qualify them for basic education stage.
