Staying Connected Troy Parrish ECE497: Child Development Capstone Course Professor Katherine Palichuk 6/22/15

Early Childhood Strive for independence Shows pride in accomplishments Establishes close relationships with playmates Needs (and seeks out) adult approval and attention Understands and needs limits Follows directions and carries out assignments Has better self-control Becomes less dependent on family Easily disappointed and frustrated by self-perceived failure. Takes responsibilities seriously (Marotz & Allen, 2013) Early childhood marks a time where children are more independent and self-regulation gets better. Children during this time start to establish relationships with peers, and become less dependent on family. They take responsibility seriously, and will get frustrated with failure.

My responsibilities to the Students Prepare students for their place in society Aide in proper development Provide motivation to learn Understand individual needs (Berk, 2013) By completion of high school, children have spent on average, 14,000 hours in school (Berk, 2013). This fact alone explains the importance of teachers and the school, in a child’s life. Teachers and caregivers act as a back-up to parents. Much of a child’s success is also impacted by teachers and childcare providers. We play a crtical role in ensuring that children reach their maximum potential so that they may fulfill their riles in society as adults.

Why Parent-Teacher Partnerships are Important. Children, parents and teachers benefit from a strong partnership. Children feel more secure. Parents feel more confident in their involvement. Teachers have a better understanding of students’ needs (Jaruszewicz, 2013). Parent-teacher partnerships are important for a child’s development and learning experiences. Teachers and caregivers need to consider sociocultural family contexts as essential to developing curriculum and experiences that are meaningful and relevant (Jaruszewicz, 2013).

Bronfenbrenner’s Mesosystem Linkages of two or more of the child's microsystems (Parents, school, neighborhood, religious affiliates). How members of the mesosystem interact with each other (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). Positive interactions supports development Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model explains the importance of parent and teacher collaboration. Parent involvement in a child’s school life makes a huge difference in academic performance, and the child’s ability to maintain healthy relationships with peers. Important interaction in the mesosytem also involves parents and teachers keeping a close relationship with the community. In particular, lower-income neighborhoods benefit from programs that allow children to participate in extracurricular activities (Berk, 2013).

Epstein’s Types of Involvement Epstein’s Six Types of Involvement was designed as a guide to helps educators develop programs that encourage family-school-neighborhood partnerships. Each type of involvement includes different practices of partnership; and each type has its own individual challenges. Each type leads to different results for students, families, and teachers.

Type 1- Parenting Help all families establish home environments to support children as students. Life at home affects performance at school Positive personal qualities, habits, beliefs, and values Improved attendance To ensure all families get access to information, we can create a family newsletter that goes home with children once a month. The newsletter will address common family issues, and how to address them (Epstein, n.d.).

Type 2- Communicating How to send home useful information from the school Parents are aware of child’s progress Understand school and teacher expectations Teachers understand what parents expect for their child’s education experience. Because many students are Hispanic, communication sent home needs to be written in both English and Spanish (Epstein, n.d.).

Type 3- Volunteering How to get parents physically involved school affairs. Parents become more comfortable with the school and how things operate. Parents feel good about participating in improving the school Families feel welcomed Activity: Hold a “bake sale” (does not have to be baked food per se”) but parents can cook a dish, and have a fundraiser day for the school (Epstein, n.d.).

Type 4- Learning at Home How to help children with assignments at home Increase in completed assignments Students will feel better about assignments if parents can help Parents learn how to help children at home At the start of a new unit, send home an agenda to parents so that they can prepare for how they will help their children with homework. This allows them to know what to expect. (Epstein, n.d.).

Type 5- Decision Making Encourage parents to be involved in the educational decision making Children will have an educational experience more geared to their needs. Parents feel like their concerns matter Teachers have an idea of what makes families comfortable (Epstein, n.d.). The most common way to include families is through PTA meetings. There needs to be incentives given to parents to encourage more participation.

Type 6- Collaborating with the Community Find ways to incorporate the community, the school, and the parents, into children's growth and development Parents and children have more access to resources. Provide networking opportunities Families get support from other families Can have community activities and gatherings at local parks to make families aware of local resources, and important information (Epstein, n.d.).

References Bojczyk, K. E., Shriner, B. M., & Shriner, M. (2012). Supporting children’s socialization: A developmental approach. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Marotz, L. R. & Allen, K. E.  (2013).  Developmental profiles: Pre-birth through adolescence (7th ed.).  Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Berk, L. E. (2013).Child development. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Jaruszewicz, C. (2013). Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc. Epstein, J. (n.d.). Epstein's framework of six types of involvement. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/lac/Joyce_L._Epstein_s_Framework_of_Six_Types_of_Involve ment(2).pdf