Parental Engagement in Early Childhood Education: The Case of Debre Tabor Schools, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Parental engagement (PE) in early childhood education refers to the different ways parents get involved to help children's learning. Drawing on Ecological Systems and Social Capital as theoretical frameworks, this research explored parents' engagement experiences in early childhood education in primary schools in Debre Tabor Town, Ethiopia. A qualitative approach with a case study design was employed in this study. Through purposive sampling, 12 key informants, such as parents, school principals and teachers, were chosen from five primary schools for in‐depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data from interviews focusing on four dimensions of PE: communication, learning at home, collaborative partnership and creating a nurturing environment. Results showed that parents excelled in creating a nurturing home environment to support their children's education. However, the study revealed low engagement from parents in communication, collaborative partnership and learning at home activities. It highlighted that parents' engagement in working with others to help the education of their children was not motivating. Lastly, the study also identified the reasons behind parents' low engagement in early childhood education, many of which are associated with parent‐related, and school‐related. Generally, the research indicated parents had limited engagement in their child's pre‐school education.