THE EFFECTS OF PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 60 AND 72 MONTHS NERIMAN ARAL, GÜLEN BARAN, FIGEN GÜRSOY, AYSEL KÖKSAL AKYOL, AYNUR BÜTÜN AYHAN, MÜDRIYE YILDIZ BIÇAKÇI, AND SERAP ERDOG ˘ AN Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey The effects of a parent education program on the development of children aged between 60 and 72 months attending preschool were assessed. Participants were children attending 9 kindergartens located in central Ankara and their parents (experimental group: 68 children, 68 parents, control group: 68 children, 68 parents). Data were gathered using a general information form, and the version of the Brigance Early Development Inventory II (Brigance, 2004), that was adapted for use in Turkey by Aral et al. (2008). There was a significant difference between the scores on the subtests of the Brigance Early Development Inventory II and the total pretest and corrected posttest scores independent of group, but no significant difference was found between the scores of the groups on the Brigance Early Development Inventory II or the total pretest and corrected posttest scores. The results also revealed that the parent education program had a minimal effect on children’s daily life and social emotional skills. Keywords: preschool education, parent education programs, children’s development, Turkey. SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2011, 39(2), 241-250 © Society for Personality Research (Inc.) DOI 10.2224/sbp.2011.39.2.241 241 Neriman Aral, Gülen Baran, Professor, Figen Gürsoy, Professor, Aysel Köksal Akyol, Professor, Aynur Bütün Ayhan, Associate Professor, Müdriye Yildiz Biçakçi, PhD, and Serap Erdoğan, Assistant Professor, Department of Child Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey. This study was part of the Family Education in the Preschool Period project, which was supported by Ankara University Scientific Research Projects. Appreciation is due to reviewers including: Z. Fulya Temel, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey, Email: ftemel@yahoo.com; Remziye Ceylan, PhD, Primary Education Department, Ahi Evran University, Kirsehir, Turkey, Email: rceylan@gazi.edu.tr; Nathaniel R. Riggs, PhD, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Alhambra, USA, Email: nriggs@usc.edu Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Neriman Aral, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Child Development, Ankara University, Ankara 06080, Turkey. Phone: +90-3123- 191450/1149; Fax: +90-3123-197016; Email: mudriyebicakci@yahoo.com