ABSTRACT
Early childhood education in Singapore is showing an increased focus on play-based learning. This seems to contradict its national culture with a predominant focus on academic excellence as the measurement for success. With the early childhood education (ECE) changes announced in the 2017 National Day Rally speech, this study was conducted to explore if parental aspirations and desires are aligned with the new government measures. We argue that parental aspirations and desires can be seen through the families’ educational mind-sets. A 62-item questionnaire developed based on the Actiotope model was completed by 240 parents in Singapore. The results revealed ambivalent responses from parents where their preference for their children’s ECE may not be reflected in the final choices they take to ensure a smooth transition from preschool to primary schooling.
