Navigating Values Education in Early Childhood: Parents’ Perspectives from Singapore

VE during early childhood is shaped not only within families and preschools, but also through the wider social environments children increasingly encounter. This study examines how parents in Singapore experience and navigate the challenges of nurturing values among preschool-aged children. Using an interpretive qualitative collective case study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight parents whose children attended Ministry of Education kindergartens, private preschools, religious-affiliated preschools, and international schools. Thematic analysis, informed by within-case and cross-case comparison, identified four interrelated themes: translating values into developmentally meaningful practice, negotiating influences beyond direct parental control, structural constraints on parental capacity, and home-preschool continuity. Parents described adapting explanations and guidance to children’s developmental differences, mediating peer and digital influences, and managing limited time for sustained engagement. They also raised concerns about variation in the emphasis placed on VE across preschool settings. Interpreted through Bronfenbrenner’s ecological and Vygotsky’s social constructivist perspectives, the findings suggest that parental VE increasingly extends beyond transmitting preferred values towards helping children interpret and navigate multiple value-bearing environments. Stronger reciprocal alignment between families and preschools may therefore support more coherent and developmentally responsive VE.