In probing about the types of experiences that participants believe to be important early learning experiences for preschool children, we identified a third dimension, which we labeled as learning opportunities. Learning opportunities refer to the type of learning encounters children have, which is associated with what children learn and how they learn. Based on our analysis, we found seven factors: (1) play, defined as allowing children to be creative and to experiment with skills they have acquired while allowing children to have fun indoors or out; (2) hands-on activities, defined as direct and physical interaction with materials in the classroom and/or playground; (3) peer interactions, which refers to providing children with opportunities to interact with one another; (4) one-on-one activities, defined as activities where the child and the teacher are interacting with each other without the involvement of other students or staff; (5) small group activities, which means activities that are carried out by multiple children and often are teacher-directed, such as working at an activity table; (6) guided exploration, which refers to activities that are teacher-directed but also allow the child to experiment and explore the use of blocks or other classroom materials; and (7) child-guided activities, which are activities initiated and directed by the child during center time where the child has access to blocks, books, pretend play clothes, and other classroom manipulatives.
The results from our qualitative coding scheme indicated that at least half of all focus groups across all types believed that learning opportunities were an important aspect of children’s preschool learning experiences. Table 4 shows the frequencies across focus group type for each of the factors of learning opportunities that emerged from the data.