Types of Family and Community Partnerships [CLOs: 1, 2]

Many children enter an early childhood education setting as their first experience with school, outside of the home environment. It is important that early childhood education professionals understand that each child is unique and comes into our centers/programs from diverse backgrounds. As we learned last week, when early childhood education professionals understand the diverse needs of the families present in their educational settings, they can provide greater support for the children in their care.

This week’s discussion will allow you to examine several different family and community partnerships common in early childhood education. You will use your knowledge and experience to discuss which partnerships you will work on to facilitate in your future role. To prepare for this week’s discussion, please review the required readings for the week. Also, you should focus specifically on Epstein’s research of types of parent involvement models beginning on page 86.

For this discussion, choose three of the six types of family involvement discussed and complete following table: create a Table

Type of Parent Partnership

Most important characteristic of this type of partnership

Ways you will support this partnership in your desired future role including a connection to the community

Barriers you may encounter in developing this partnership in your desired future role

Plan of action to overcome barriers you may encounter in developing this partnership in your desired future role

Joyce Epstein, a leader in school–family–community research, discusses the overlapping spheres of influence of home and school, with both centered on the child. She suggests that the ideal is more family-like schools and more school-like families, and therefore identifies six types of family involvement, with successful programs incorporating all six. Many schools are now following this model. Here are the six types of involvement:

• Parenting: Here, schools help families with parenting and child-rearing skills, child development knowledge, and creating homeconditions that support children at each grade level. Reciprocally, schools have to learn to understand families.
• Communicating: The school involves parents by communicating about school programs and student progress through effective two-way channels that may include memos, notices, conferences, newsletters, phone calls, and electronic messages.
• Volunteering: Here, schools help families with parenting and child-rearing skills, child development knowledge, and creating home conditions that support children at each grade level. Reciprocally, schools have to learn to understand families.
• Learning at home: Schools involve families with their children in learning activities at home and in the community, including homework and other curriculum-related activities.
• Decision making: Schools include families as participants in school decisions and governance through the PTA, advisory councils,committees, and other leadership opportunities.
• Collaborating with the community: Schools coordinate services and resources for families and the school with businesses,agencies, and other groups. Schools also provide services to the community (Epstein, 2011; Epstein et al., 2009).