The Values of Estonian Preschool Childcare Institutions' Principals, Teachers, and Parents

The aim of the current study was to find out, what the values of Estonian preschool childcare institutions’ principals, teachers, and parents. The Estonian language version of the Portrait Value Questionnaire, developed by S. H. Schwartz, was used as a research method. Altogether 978 respondents from all over Estonia participated in the study, including 163 preschool childcare institutions’ principals, 425 teachers and 390 parents. The values of preschool principals, teachers, and parents were rather similar. In all groups, the highest evaluations were assigned to values related to benevolence (both caring and dependability) and the lowest to power (both dominance and resources). The results indicated that principals, compared to teachers, valued higher dominance and tolerance, while teachers gave higher evaluations to personal security and conforming to rules. Compared to principals and teachers, parents gave significantly higher evaluations to resources. Also, parents valued dominance higher than teachers and hedonism more than principals. © 2015 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk