9.3 The Importance of Professionalism in ECE as Related to Families
Ardene Niemer, M.Ed.
The NAEYC document Power to the Profession (P2P) Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession (Power to the Profession Task Force, 2020) offers guidance that supports ECE professionals in striving to build this profession. P2P guides educators to engage in professionalism in a way that elevates the knowledge and skills of families and communities. NAEYC expects that ECE professionals respect the professional and ethical obligation to develop relationship with all families and the communities served, paying particular attention to those families from diverse cultures, languages, and experiences who are often marginalized.
To do this, it is essential to create opportunities with families that value their experiences, views, beliefs, and current world views. When we actively integrate this knowledge of our families in the curriculum and the classroom, it ensures that we are more able to respect, learn about, understand, and embrace families’ cultures and communities; and supports us in building stronger partnership and connections with families and communities with the end goal of supporting all children.
According to NAEYC’s P2P (Power to the Profession Task Force, 2020), the guidelines for early childhood educators that relate to our connections with families include: (a) identify and participate as members of the early childhood profession; (b) serve as informed advocates for young children, for the families of the children in their care, and for the early childhood profession, and (c) have professional communication skills that effectively support their relationship and work with young children, families, and colleagues.
Building a sense of community goes beyond a simple partnership with families. In a classroom, we are connected by the common interest or purpose of quality education and services for young children. This is our community of learners. To enhance the educational experience of the young children, we work to make each child and family feel valued, and connected, and that they belong.
Here are some questions to get you started:
Sometimes teachers, providers, and ECE professionals are challenged with cultural differences between themselves and the families, viewing cultural differences as challenges to overcome when working with families. To address this belief, focus on the potential resources available in the community.
Following are some questions to ask yourself before talking with families. It is essential to your success in building relationships with families that are positive and supportive:
- What are your beliefs and practices related to working with culturally and ethnically diverse children and families?
- What resources do you need to support your growth in learning about what culture is, and how to work with diverse families?
- In addition to learning from the families in your program, where in your community will you find support and resources to learn to build positive and strong relationships?
Here are some examples of questions you might ask families. Make time and space to discuss cultural differences in a positive, respectful way.
- Tell me about your cultural beliefs related to parenting.
- How do you approach child independence in daily routines?
- Do you have family beliefs and practices about displaying photos of the children and families?
- Would you be willing to work with me to create classroom labels, dictations, and signs reflecting the children’s first languages?
- Is there anything you would like to share with us about touch and personal space?
- How can we best communicate with you about your child?
What questions you would add to the list as a teacher or as a parent?
Reflection
Working with families within an anti-bias approach is not just doing “occasional activities about diversity and fairness topics. To be effective, anti-bias [and antiracism] education works as an underpinning perspective… including our interactions with children, families, and coworkers” (Mackey, 2023, para. 6). Anti-bias education places a positive value on differences with a goal to treat all people with respect, and without prejudice or bias.
Reflect on what you believe would be the benefit of building a strong relationship with a child’s family. Reflect on a strong relationship with a family that has a different cultural or ethnic background from yourself.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Working with Families
“Knowledge from families is essential to developmentally appropriate practice.”
Rhian Evans Allvin (2018, para. 5)
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is an early childhood teaching approach from NAEYC that states “each and every child, birth through age 8, has the right to equitable learning opportunities… that fully support their optimal development and learning across all domains and content areas” (NAEYC, 2020, p. 1). In a DAP approach, the teacher supports the child’s development (socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively) based on their knowledge of each child. This knowledge is used to make appropriate decisions about classroom materials, appropriate interactions, and learning experiences that are most likely to be effective and support the development and learning of the group and each individual child.
The DAP position statement from NAEYC also guides expectations for our work with families. DAP Guideline #2 is Engaging in Reciprocal [pb_glossary id=686]Partnerships[/pb_glossary] with Families and Fostering Community [pb_glossary id=686]Connections[/pb_glossary].
This DAP guideline states that developmentally appropriate practice requires deep knowledge about each child, including the context within which each child is living. Educators acquire much of this knowledge through respectful, reciprocal relationships with children’s families. Across all ages, families’ expertise about their own children is sought out and valued. (NAEYC, 2020, p. 18)
The DAP statement also discusses the expectation for early childhood professionals to “take responsibility for forming and maintaining strong relationships with families and communities” (NAEYC, 2020, p. 18). It is believed that these professional relationships act to support the individual needs and experiences that each child requires for success in the classroom and in life. Additionally, it is through respectful and reciprocal relationship with families that programs and teachers build a foundation of collaboration, mutual respect, and shared responsibility that will help families achieve their goals. This is a critical consideration that helps to build opportunities for regular communication and interactions with the family and provides a structure for families to share preferences and concerns about their child(ren).
When building partnership with families that are responsive, respectful, and reciprocal, remember that this begins with strengths and abilities, seeing possibilities and opportunities before we identify difficulties and challenges that a child or family is facing.
This chapter will close by discussing resources for children and families. When you intentionally involve families in school programs, each family is a source of information about their child. Know your community to be better able to provide appropriate resources related to the family’s priorities and concerns.
Reflection
- How has your thinking changed about the role of families and how you connect with them in your classroom?
- What is your first goal related to connecting with families as you move forward in your professional practice?
Attributions
- Figure 9.3: image released under the Pexels License
The connections and interactions between family members, including parents, siblings, grandparents, and other extended family members.
A partnership is a reciprocal, respectful, and ongoing relationship between a program and families or community.
Please look for related terms in the Glossary
A group of people living in a common geographical area or space. Community can also be a feeling or set of relationships between people based on common needs.
Finding the “right fit” to offer what individual children and families need for successful relationships
Shared, felt, or shown by both sides, in a balance of give and take.
In ECE mutual refers to respect and relationships that are between two parties (programs, staff, families, community)
Something or someone that reacts quickly and positively to different situations or needs.