Partnerships

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Partnerships

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Forming Partnerships with Parents: Self-Learning Module

Module: Communication

Unit: Forming Partnerships with Parents: A Teacher’s Perspective

Unit Overview: This unit on parent-teacher partnerships is a self-paced, self-administered learning module to teach child care employees how to form proactive partnerships with parents to promote positive educational experiences for young children.

Pre-requisite

None

Topic Completion Time

60 minutes

Target Audience

Teachers in child care centers

How To Use This Unit

Read all the material.
Complete the test.
Complete the course evaluation.

When To Use This Unit

	Initial orientation of new child care employees
	Annual review of child care employees

Learning Objectives

Following completion of the Forming Partnerships with Parents unit, the child care employee will be able to meet the following program objectives:

	Articulate the impact of proactive parent-teacher partnerships on young children’s healthy growth and development.
	Identify red flags of child development.
	Form positive, proactive parent-teacher partnerships
	Implement opportunities for parent involvement

Introduction
Overview of Child Development
Red Flags of Child Development
Forming Partnerships with Parents
Tips for Involving Parents in Preschool Settings
Conclusion

Introduction

Most of us have colorful childhood memories of school. For some of us, those memories are mostly happy, but, for others, unhappy memories bring back feelings of failure, low self-concept, and punishment. Happy or sad, our memories influence our adult relationships with teachers and school administrators.

By developing partnerships with parents, preschool teachers and administrators can set the stage for positive educational experiences for young children and their parents. Effective partnerships are built on mutual respect, reciprocal communication and common goals. The primary goal is young children’s healthy growth and development. To achieve that goal, adults must set aside irrelevant differences and come together for children’s sake.

Overview of Child Development

Because preschool teachers are often young children’s first significant caregivers other than family members, they have the critical task of joining with parents to facilitate the child’s growth and development. Three areas of child development are particularly enhanced by positive parent-teacher partnerships: sense of trust, sense of belonging and sense of security.

Sense of Trust
Children who trust the world around them meet the challenges of life with enthusiasm and confidence. Parents and teachers can promote trust in young children by providing appropriate and adequate care, protection, and nurture. They can also foster trust in young children by working together to provide safe, fun, and developmentally appropriate environments.

Sense of Belonging
In his book Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, David Elkind (1994, p. 125) asserts that “a child who does not develop a strong sense of belonging during this period (three to four year old period) may develop a sense of alienation that will later make it difficult for the person to become an active group member and make it more likely that he or she will be something of a loner.” He continues to say that families who value and model cooperation encourage young children’s sense of belonging to and acceptance by peer groups (p.127). Teachers and parents can be strong role models of cooperation as they partner to work through problems and plan preschool activities.

Sense of Security
D.W. Winnicott (1993, p. 93), the esteemed British pediatrician and psychoanalyst, discusses security as necessary to children’s development of self-control. He says, “Good conditions in the early stages lead to a sense of security, and a sense of security leads on to self-control…” He continues to remind parents and teachers that children’s sense of security is reinforced as they test the limits set by parents and teachers (p. 91). By setting limits, adults promote children’s self-control. As children internalize limits, self-control replaces external control. Parents and teachers can support each other by developing appropriate, consistent limits and by reassuring each other of the necessity to hold firm.

Healthy development in the areas of trust, belonging and security promotes social, emotional, and behavioral growth. For example, young children who feel a sense of belonging with peers energetically initiate cooperative play and communication. Some children who do not have a sense of belonging to a group of friends might withdraw, while others might act out. Parents and teachers support a healthy sense of trust, belonging, and security when they form partnerships to provide children with consistency that transcends home and school boundaries.

Red Flags of Child Development

Unfortunately, children sometimes develop inadequate levels of trust, belonging, and security. Young children often demonstrate problems by:

	Excessive clinging and crying
	Withdrawal from peers
	Solitary play
	Anxious socialization

Forming Partnerships with Parents

The preschool experience is often a young child’s first significant experience away from home. The first separation from home frequently places stress on the family until the transition is made. I have vivid memories of the first day I dropped off my older son at preschool. I must have had a thousand questions and a million concerns: Would he behave? Would he cry? Would the teachers be able to keep up with him? What happens if he wets his pants? The questions and concerns went on and on until I finally felt comfortable with the preschool staff and environment. I’m very sure the teacher was tired of my questions and phone calls, even though she never gave any indication of frustration. The years have come and gone, and I remain eternally grateful to her! Her patience allowed us to develop a partnership that benefited both my son and me.

Positive parent-teacher partnerships assist young children with the transition from home and promote healthy growth and development. Even though actively reaching out to parents requires time, patience, and energy, teachers benefit by understanding children’s home environments, and that understanding gives them insight into children’s behavior at school. For example, a child who spends much time watching television and videos at home might not engage in play and conversation with friends at school. Communication with parents helps clarify the problem and promotes strategies to encourage socialization. In his book, Creating Partnerships with Parents: An Educator’s Guide, Donald C. Lueder (1998) develops the following four strategies to help teachers and parents form proactive partnerships:

Connecting

Connection based on reciprocal communication supports collaborative partnerships between parents and teachers and benefits both parents and teachers. Parents feel welcome to share their skills, hobbies and interests, and teachers feel comfortable asking parents to help with projects or to help address a problem with a child. Preschool teachers and staff can connect with the family throughout the school year in a number of ways, including:

	Extending a welcome to school events
	Making home visits
	Providing parent bulletin boards
	Sponsoring family picnics

Communicating

Once a cordial connection is made, preschool teachers and staff can develop a “flow” of communication with parents (Lueder, p. 90). Positive communication based on respect and listening helps parents and teachers work together in the best interests of young children. Through communication, they can resolve problems, enhance preschool programs, and support family-friendly communities. Examples of ways to communicate include:

	Weekly newsletters
	Monthly calendars
	Parent policy manuals
	Positive notes to parents regarding children’s progress, socialization, and behavior

Coordinating/Collaborating

According to Lueder (1998, p. 135) the entire community, public schools, mental health services, social services, businesses, hospitals, civic organizations, and all other community members are “stakeholders in the education of children.” Preschool staff can be instrumental in educating parents about available health services, recreational opportunities, enrichment programs, and other age-appropriate services and opportunities. For example, preschools can:

	Develop a community directory for young families
	Create family resource centers
	Develop a network of parent volunteers
	Link young parents with mentors or support groups

That level of interest and involvement with families supports and encourages parents in the awesome responsibility of parenting.

Coaching

The goal of coaching is to support parents’ competency, confidence, and positive self-concept. Through coaching, preschool teachers and staff can empower parents to develop positive and proactive parenting skills. They can help parents develop positive techniques for managing behavior and can also promote consistency between home and school. Coaching can be offered through:

	Parent resource materials
	Parent support groups
	Parent education opportunities
	Referral for evaluation and treatment when necessary

Reciprocal communication, mutual support, and healthy development are just a few of the benefits of parent-teacher partnerships. Parents and preschool teachers also need to communicate about many matters because young children do not have mature verbal skills. When adults engage in respectful, two-way communication, the best interests of young children are promoted. In addition, communication between home and school should welcome and encourage parents’ involvement in school fund-raising, volunteer opportunities, and many other activities. Finally, a positive preschool experience lays the foundation for good school experiences in the future and for healthy growth and development.

The benefits of parent-teacher partnerships extend to the resolution of problems. Parenting and educating young children challenge the most competent and calm adults. Naturally, occasional problems need to be addressed. A solid partnership helps parents and teachers to set aside irrelevant differences and to focus on the best interests of young children. When the foundation of this partnership is mutual respect and reciprocal communication, adults are able to relate to each other from a genuine point of empathy. Teachers acknowledge that parents are responding to a problem out of concern and love, and parents recognize that teachers are acting out of professional responsibility and caring. This genuine point of empathy clears tension from the air and promotes honest conversation, enduring collaboration and problem solving.

Tips for Involving Parents in Preschool Settings

Preschool staff can create many attractive opportunities for parent involvement. Every opportunity for parent participation increases the potential for positive parent-teacher partnerships.

The following ideas just scratch the surface. To develop other ideas, bring together a group of teachers and parents to brainstorm ideas. The sky is the limit!

Preschool staff can invite parents into the school by:

	Inviting families to open houses.
	Creating a bulletin board for parents.
	Setting up a parent resource center with parent-education materials.
	Greeting parents with enthusiasm.
	Sending home newsletters and calendars.

Preschool staff can support families by:

	Developing a resource manual for parents of young children
	Offering opportunities for parent education
	Coordinating parent support groups
	Offering morning coffee and muffins several times a year
	Writing notes that describe young children’s positive behavior and progress

Preschool staff can encourage parent involvement by:

	Inviting parents to help supervise field trips
	Asking parents to teach hobbies, supervise cooking projects, or read stories
	Establishing parent-teacher conferences a couple of times a year
	Establishing volunteer committees to structure parent involvement in, for example, playground maintenance, grounds improvement, vegetable gardening, and administrative support

Conclusion

Taking the time and energy to develop positive partnerships benefits parents, teachers, and children. For children, healthy growth and development is promoted, especially the development of trust, belonging, and security. Parents are supported in the challenging job of parenting young children even when they are in an educational or childcare setting. Teachers receive parents’ support in the education and care of young children.

Proceed to written test.