Overview

It is likely that you have heard the saying “the family is a child’s first and best teacher.” There are many studies that show that the most crucial years of learning take place at home, before a child is old enough to enter school (Dewey, 2018). We also know that teaching and learning in a school setting cannot compare to the impact that parents and families impart every day through words and examples (modeling and coaching) at home. Additionally, the phrase carries with it our professional obligation to honor, value, and include the families with whom we work in early childhood education.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) states through the Power to the Profession work that:

We need to be clear that recognizing families as the experts on their children and supporting them in their role as their children’s ‘first and most important’ teachers does not undermine the professional responsibilities of early childhood educators. Rather, it underscores the breadth and depth of professional knowledge early childhood educators need to carry out their formal responsibilities to fully support each child’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical, language, and literacy development. (Allvin, 2018, para. 2)

In your role as an early childhood professional, you will have a variety of responsibilities. In addition to teaching and sharing knowledge; you are a caregiver, mentor, nurturer, and sometimes even the first significant non-family influence in a child’s life. With that in mind, it is important to recognize that building strong relationships with families is a core part of an early childhood educator’s role. This starts with communicating openly and working closely with parents to ensure a cohesive approach to the child’s development. It is also essential to become a team with your colleagues, and focus on each and every individual child’s success in school and in life.

Chapter 9 of this OER textbook provides insight into family partnerships and how [GL]responsive[/GL] and respectful relationships with families impact the child, family, teacher, and ECE program. The content of the chapter is presented using a positive, [GL]strengths-based[/GL] approach to support children as they grow, develop, and learn. Using a [GL]strengths-based[/GL] approach centers our lens on looking for and identifying a family’s strengths as a starting point for our work in [GL]partnership[/GL] with the family.

Keep reading and intentionally engage with the content in this chapter to learn more!

Attributions

1. Chapter opening image: image released under the Unsplash License