Principle 3 - Reciprocal Relationships
Introduction
Because family-school partnerships are crucial in early childhood education, a great deal of effort must be made to develop and maintain relationships between both parents and educators so as to enhance children’s learning and to address any obstacles that may impede it (Loughran, 2008). Caregivers want to be engaged in their child’s educational program, but may struggle to insert and assert themselves into the educational environment. It has been found that there is frequently a smaller percentage of parent participation from parents in the diverse community (Jaworski, 2017). This may be attributed to the fact that some families may have challenging circumstances, such as language differences, …show more content…
It is important that school administrators understand families’ needs so as to choose and implement appropriate strategies that will promote greater engagement. Often caregiver or parental involvement is limited to activities such as volunteering, fundraising, and helping with homework (Virginia Department of Education, 2002). But, parents need to partner with their child’s school in promoting their children’s learning. In order to encourage collaborative problem solving, shared decision-making strategies, and make families feel more welcome in a program, staff should receive training in parent engagement as well as in topics of diversity so that all staff are better able to support engagement activities thus minimizing barriers to family participation. Home visits and education needs assessments help teachers gain insight into the educational and emotional values of families and thus how best to support a child in their care. By assessing a parent’s educational needs, preschools can provide them with information and workshops that will increase their understanding of parenting and child development. productive home-school collaborations are …show more content…
Communication between caregivers and families should be ongoing and take place daily, weekly, and monthly in multiple forms. This allows parents to hear from teachers and administrators in ways that work for them. Each day teachers and preschools have a chance to interact with their students’ parents and caregivers. This can be done by face-to-face contact, daily reports, newsletters, calendars, and through email. Just by making an effort to speak with their child’s teacher through email or face to face contact, they are able to find out what their child participated in and ask pertinent questions or extend their child’s learning at home. When I talk with parents, I should be attentive, listen carefully, and ask questions (Doyle, 2017). In the event that there is a language barrier, I can find others who may speak the same language and who are willing to help facilitate communication. Daily reports are not only essential for infants and toddlers, they provide parents with critical information about a young child’s day such as diapering and feeding times. These reports also are helpful when parents are unable to see their child’s teacher at the end of the day as they give a snapshot of what the child did in school each day. Daily reports can be sent home in paper form or electronically. Parents and caregivers are able to understand what is occurring in their child’s day and how
Introduction
Because family-school partnerships are crucial in early childhood education, a great deal of effort must be made to develop and maintain relationships between both parents and educators so as to enhance children’s learning and to address any obstacles that may impede it (Loughran, 2008). Caregivers want to be engaged in their child’s educational program, but may struggle to insert and assert themselves into the educational environment. It has been found that there is frequently a smaller percentage of parent participation from parents in the diverse community (Jaworski, 2017). This may be attributed to the fact that some families may have challenging circumstances, such as language differences, …show more content…
It is important that school administrators understand families’ needs so as to choose and implement appropriate strategies that will promote greater engagement. Often caregiver or parental involvement is limited to activities such as volunteering, fundraising, and helping with homework (Virginia Department of Education, 2002). But, parents need to partner with their child’s school in promoting their children’s learning. In order to encourage collaborative problem solving, shared decision-making strategies, and make families feel more welcome in a program, staff should receive training in parent engagement as well as in topics of diversity so that all staff are better able to support engagement activities thus minimizing barriers to family participation. Home visits and education needs assessments help teachers gain insight into the educational and emotional values of families and thus how best to support a child in their care. By assessing a parent’s educational needs, preschools can provide them with information and workshops that will increase their understanding of parenting and child development. productive home-school collaborations are …show more content…
Communication between caregivers and families should be ongoing and take place daily, weekly, and monthly in multiple forms. This allows parents to hear from teachers and administrators in ways that work for them. Each day teachers and preschools have a chance to interact with their students’ parents and caregivers. This can be done by face-to-face contact, daily reports, newsletters, calendars, and through email. Just by making an effort to speak with their child’s teacher through email or face to face contact, they are able to find out what their child participated in and ask pertinent questions or extend their child’s learning at home. When I talk with parents, I should be attentive, listen carefully, and ask questions (Doyle, 2017). In the event that there is a language barrier, I can find others who may speak the same language and who are willing to help facilitate communication. Daily reports are not only essential for infants and toddlers, they provide parents with critical information about a young child’s day such as diapering and feeding times. These reports also are helpful when parents are unable to see their child’s teacher at the end of the day as they give a snapshot of what the child did in school each day. Daily reports can be sent home in paper form or electronically. Parents and caregivers are able to understand what is occurring in their child’s day and how