Families are viewed as contributors, creators, and participants. As such, there is aclear need for observational research to evaluate how these discussions unfold and the quality of information, strategies, or suggestions educators communicate to parents. Partnership with families in early childhood education: Exploratory To support educators to work more effectively with parents, an understanding of daily experiences of raising and responding to child-related concerns within ECEC settings is needed. With such relationships already developed, educators have placed themselves in a position of trust with families that can facilitate open discussions, thus potentially leading to a greater sense of confidence when raising and responding to concerns. Login to the Early Learning Accreditation Portal to take charge of your accreditation process. We acknowledge Warren Cann, Antony Gates, Catherine Murphy, Zvezdana Petrovic, Christopher Tran, and Catherine Wade for their contributions to intervention and study design. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 37(2), 8193. Building Partnerships: Guide to Developing Relationships with - ECLKC Second, only educators who had raised or responded to concerns in the four-week period were asked to comment on interactions and their confidence. As the governing body of all research involving Victorian government schools and early childhood settings, approval to conduct the research was also granted by the Victorian Department of Education and Training (Project ID 2019_003961) on 7th March 2019. Participant consent in this research did not include seeking permission for data to be made publicly available. This work was supported by the Victorian Department of Education and Training and the Victorian Department of Health and Humans Services. volume50,pages 527538 (2022)Cite this article. Several educators suggested their confidence was influenced by how approachable parents were when they raised concerns with them, with more favourable experiences when parents presented as open or receptive to discussions and reacted in a positive manner: I am pretty confidence (sic) to talk about my concerns regarding their children to their parent, because most of the parents are friendly and easy to approach. The early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector . (2008). Asked about the childs home routine and communicated realistic possibilities of mimicking that in care. However, several limitations should be noted. Google Scholar, Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority. Here are strategies you can use for sharing resources: Photograph: Getty Images. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. The most commonly raised concerns (see Table 2) were about behaviour (59.3%), followed by toilet training (51.9%) and social development (48.1%). Partnering with Parents: Building quality relationships that benefit The goal of parent and family engagement is to work with families to build strong and effective partnerships that can help children and families thrive. It was widely acknowledged that educators derived a strong sense of confidence when they felt that they had a good understanding of the childs strengths and needs. Pathways to Partnership: Early Childhood Education Results indicated child behaviour, toilet training, and social development were most often discussed by both parents and educators, highlighting the prominence of these difficulties among preschool children. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Educators are seen Google Scholar, Combs-Orme, T., Holden Nixon, B., & Herrod, H. G. (2011). Early Years. (2019). Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, Partnering with Parents in Early Childhood Services: Raising and Responding to Concerns, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01173-6, https://www.acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework, https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/acecqa/files/, http://www.setearc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Nesurvey08res.pdf, https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa, https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf, https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/pracguidepartnershipswfamilies2017.pdf, http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/educators_guide_to_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf, https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2017.1358700, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30162-2, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.224, https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2018.1449006, https://www.parentingrc.org.au/publications/review-of-the-evidence-on-parenting-interventions-in-australia/, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-019-0846-1, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-015-0746-x, https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2019.1582475, https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/guidelines/SR_Caregiving. I realized early in my teaching career . Family Engagement | NAEYC This is consistent with information from consultations with peak ECEC agencies and leaders in the sector (Parenting Research Centre, 2019). We used a qualitative descriptive approach to analyse open-ended responses (see Lambert & Lambert, 2012) with inductive thematic analysis to identify patterns within the dataset. Part of data collection was about raising and responding to concerns and this information is explored in the present paper. Tayler C. (2006) Challenging Partnerships in Australian Early Childhood Education, Early Years, 26(3), 249-265. & Matthews, J. Partnering with Parents in Early Childhood Services: Raising and Responding to Concerns. Partnership with families in early childhood education: Exploratory study https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.43.1.01, Parenting Research Centre. Several educators noted an approach that focused on solutions to support the child. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. This study addresses the importance of active skills-based training for early childhood educators in communicating effectively with parents. In theory, partnerships with parents are recognised as important for ensuring . Learn about NAEYCs informed positions on significant issues affecting young childrens education and development. Parents seemed to leave happier and with tools and strategies. By using the five Rs, educators can build trust and foster positive family engagement. Definition: Building relationships with and among families that support children's development, family well-being, and positive parent-child interactions. When acknowledging parent concerns, several educators reported on similar issues they had observed in the centre. Parents conveying an understanding of the educators concerns was linked to positive experiences of many educators. Connect with professionals in your community at conferences, networking events, advocacy efforts, leadership opportunities and more! The relationship might begin with them visiting your setting. Data were collected at three time points: before, immediately after, and three months after intervention (Petrovic, et al., 2019). Educators who are flexible in their understanding, their expectations, and their responses to the families they serve will build that trust. Role and success of Finnish early childhood education and care in supporting child welfare clients: Perspectives from parents and professionals. Research questions and associated questionnaire items for parents and educators are in Table 1. Developing positive partnerships with the families of the children you teach is one of your most important tasks as a teacher. Table 2 lists types of concerns and the percentage of parents and educators who raised or responded to these concerns. Surveys of early childhood educators have consistently shown educators see engaging parents and the broader community as critical and believe additional training in these areas is needed (Australian Education Union, 2008; Doecke & Parr, 2011; Parenting Research Centre, 2019). (2012). Partnership with Parents in Early Childhood Settings As long as you find time to reflect while your memories are still fresh, youll have new insights that will positively impact your instruction and your interactions with each child and their family. If parents had raised a concern with an educator or an educator had raised a concern with them in the previous four weeks, they indicated the types of concerns discussed based on a pre-determined list (see Table 2) derived from relevant research on commonly occurring early childhood difficulties (Armstrong et al., 2014; Yousafzai, 2018) and types of problems parents often deem important for receiving information or support (Combs-Orme et al., 2011). A small portion of parents did not specify their gender (n=7), age (n=23), main language spoken (n=7), and their childs age (n=4). Qualitative descriptive research: An acceptable design. Clinical Pediatrics, 50(8), 729737. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf, Department of Education and Training. Results revealed child behaviour, toilet training and social development concerns were most often discussed, and most parents felt satisfied with interactions they had with their childs educator about those concerns. DAP: Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and - NAEYC We appreciatively acknowledge all the service leaders who implemented Partnering with Parents as part of the work at their service and supported their staff and parents to take part in the trial. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article. Working in partnership with parents and carers - Help for early years Alasuutari M. (2010) Striving at Partnership: Parent-practitioner relationships in Finnish early educators' talk, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(2), . Such coordination involves being flexible with our approaches and expectations. National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2017). (2016b). Other concerns commonly discussed were health and hygiene, sleep, and language. Given the close relationship parents (or caregivers) have with their children, the parent brings a unique perspective and insights into a childs strengths, abilities and challenges (Department of Education & Training, 2017). When adopting such an approach, they appeared confident in their ability to raise difficult concerns with parents as this may contribute to positive child outcomes: It is the best interest for the child and I want to make a positive difference to their wellbeing. Evidence from our study supports past findings, which may be explained by the processes underpinning educator-parent collaboration. She was genuinely keen on the welfare of my son and had straightaway implemented strategies to support my son. See permissions and reprints online atNAEYC.org/resources/permissions. Inquiries about the data management, questionnaires, and intervention materials should be directed to the corresponding author. Pirchio, S., Tritrini, C., Passiatore, Y., & Taeschner, T. (2013). IN THIS RESOURCE STRATEGIES As such, this study examines pre-intervention data of the Partnering with Parents cRCT on the types of child-related concerns being raised and responded to, as well as the nature and quality of such interactions from parents and educators perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121416659053. (2014). Partnerships between parents and professionals Footnote 1 in early childhood education and care (ECEC Footnote 2) are widely acknowledged as important for children's well-being, learning and development (Epstein Citation 2018).In Europe, 94% of all children attend ECEC before starting in primary education (Eurostat Citation 2018), and the bridges between the different social contexts that . About Family Engagement Principles of Effective Family Engagement Blog Understanding the Power of Parent Involvement New Research Finds Parents and Early Childhood Educators Coming Together On a Unified Message to Invest in High-Quality Early Childhood Education Resources for Families Parent-Teacher Conferences Members Only Perceiving parents as approachable and open was noted by several educators as favourable to successful collaboration: I felt parents felt we were approachable and open to converse with us about deep issues that were worrying them which is great. Parents' Perspectives of Family Engagement with Early Childhood Immigrant parents perspectives on early childhood education and care practices in the Finnish multicultural context. This may explain the predominantly positive experiences reported by educators. Among educators who raised a concern, all reported medium to high confidence levels (ratings of5) when doing this (M=7.95; SD=1.40). It is possible that those less skilled or had less confidence in conducting such conversations with parents were missed by this sample as they tended to leave such conversations to others in their service. Here are strategies you can utilize to develop respect: Use the information and experiences shared to connect with the broader curriculum so that families funds of knowledge are integrated into learning in meaningful and sustained ways. https://www.ecms.org.au/sites/default/files/media/Parent%20Survey%20report%202014%20v2.pdf, Einarsdottir, J., & Jnsdttir, A. H. (2019). Say Hello and discuss, network, and connect with our interest forums and online communities. In a Victorian study, 79% of parents of children attending an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) service said they had sought information or help for their child from their childs educators (Parenting Research Centre, 2019), whose role includes working with families to provide appropriate referrals and information about available services (Department of Education & Training, 2017). Petrovic, Z., Clayton, O., Matthews, J., Wade, C., Tan, L., Meyer, D., Gates, A., Almendingen, A., & Cann, W. (2019). Some educators also provided psychoeducation to parents in addition to support strategies, as reflected in the following comment: Discussed with parent age appropriate behaviour, speaking to children in a positive way and having group discussions about appropriate behaviour with children and labelling emotions. Plkki, P. L., & Vornanen, R. H. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2019.1582475, Yousafzai, A. K. (2018). Specifically inquiring about negative as well as positive experiences may provide a more comprehensive understanding of daily educator experiences. A sense of apprehension that parents may not react well was also mentioned by some educators if there was a possibility of a difference of opinion about the child or a fear that parents may become upset as a result of concerns raised. Overall, educators reported favourably about their own interactions. I felt very reassured to know that my sons educators knew him well enough (to know they should call me) and I now have complete trust that they would do so again were it required. Although most educators expressed a high level of confidence in responding to and addressing concerns, several also accepted when it was beyond their current capacity. When educators do not . Families are engaged in meaningful and culturally respectful ways and have opportunities to influence programs, practices, policies, and systems for young children. In addition to well-established parent-educator relationships, the way concerns are responded to and raised is also important. Seventy-two (88.9%) commented on their confidence in raising concerns. Parents openness, responsiveness, and approachability played a key role in many educators evaluation of their experiences and confidence in raising concerns. Processes include information sharing that allows educators to gain further insights into child-related concerns from the parents perspective, brainstorming support strategies suitable for the family, and mutually agreeing with parents about which course of action to take are all conducive to effective collaboration. Interestingly, although collaboration was important when raising concerns with parents, an educators capacity to address concerns raised was critical to how parents evaluated these interactions. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2018.1449006, OCathain, A., & Thomas, K. J. There is a certain vulnerability when initiating these conversations with parents. their children's school. Early Childhood Education Journal Drawing partnership on paper: How do the forms for individual educational plans frame parent-teacher relationship? When educators described instances of providing information, teamwork was commonly endorsed, which involved sharing perspectives when supporting a child: Families were engaged in an information sharing conversation so that we could work together to support and understand the reasons behind the childs behaviour. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 224235. Stay up-to-date on issues in early childhood education and hear perspectives from a wide range of educators. Here are strategies you can utilize to build relationships: Reciprocity often involves a shift in thinking about engagement and communication because it relies oninterdependence, or depending on each other to accomplish something. In it for the long haul: parentteacher partnerships for addressing preschool childrens challenging behaviors. For example, find childrens literature that mirrors cultures, languages, and experiences shared. Moreover, open communication between parents and educators about childrens learning plans and development (Lastikka & Lipponen, 2016), feeling supported by educators in their parenting endeavours (Rautamies, Vhsantanen, Poikonen, & Laakso et al., 2019), and collaborative practices (Hadley & Rouse, 2018), have all been regarded, from the parents perspective, as important features of caring, genuine, and effective parent-educator partnership. Together, families and early childhood educators nurture positive social, emotional, and intellectual development. Access accreditation data on early learning and higher education program characteristics and quality for research purposes. Partnerships with families involves developing responsive relationships that fit the individual child/young person and their family. When attempting to convey and understand concerns, many educators place value on collaborative problem-solving. Armstrong, K. H., Ogg, J. In addition to knowing how to phrase concerns and choose appropriate times to have discussions, several educators emphasised respectful communication and empathic understanding, as illustrated in this comment: Let parents understand and feel that we are supporting them, not judging them, care and understand their emotion and needs. Improving family engagement: The organizational context and its influence on partnering with parents in formal child care settings. This likely strengthened theeducators sense of collaborative partnership with parents in support of their child. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(6), 518527. Five themes emerged: collaborative approach, rapport-building, knowing how to communicate concerns, best interest of the child, and approachability of parents. Early Head Start programs serve infants and toddlers under the age of 3, and pregnant women. A number of parents said educators were willing to support their child, whether through parent-educator collaboration (e.g., the educator raised it respectfully and we discussed strategies that we can both implement), their own means (e.g., staff were very aware of childs anxiety and provided ongoing support to overcome this), or via recommendations for other services (e.g., They advised a speech assessment could benefit). Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77101. Educators who displayed good awareness of the child generally, and their challenges specifically, were perceived by parents as trustworthy sources of support: In the first interaction I was called to pick up my son early. Of the 118 educators, 65 (55.1%) indicated they had responded to a concern raised by a parent in the past four weeks. Karila, K., & Alasuutari, M. (2012). Family members need to be reassured that you care about meeting their child where they are and that you are knowledgeable about their child as an individual and as a part of social and cultural communities.
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