Step by step towardsquality preschoolsin Sri Lanka : A qualitative study based on preschoolteachers’ perceptions

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to create a better understanding of how preschool teachers in ametropolitan region in Sri Lanka view their opportunities to create quality preschools and alsoidentify factors that affect quality enhancement. Three research questions were created focusingon the preschool teachers’ perceptions of the quality of their preschools, what actions theyimplement to enhance the quality of preschools and what they consider affects their preschools’quality. In order to achieve the aim of the study, interviews were conducted with six preschoolteachers, all from different preschools. The results show that preschool teachers have anapparent positive attitude towards the quality of their own preschools. The actions theyimplement in hope of improving quality are staff meetings, where they plan for the future andenvironmental improvements. Further the results also show that four out of six preschools carryout some part of the Systematic Quality Development Work (SQDW). The factors that theteachers believed influence the quality of preschools included the minimum standards in SriLanka, shortcomings in preschool teacher education and expectations.