“All people want to be treated with respect, want to be valued and accepted, loved, and cherished, and made to feel they are making important contributions to society and that their wishes and desires are heard and respected (Berg and Steiner, 2003 as cited in Patel, Corter ad Pelletier, 2008, pp 23)”. Parents often feel this way and want to have a say in how and what their child is being taught. Partnerships between educators and families help parents be able to voice their own wishes and desires while allowing teachers and children to be valued, respected and accepted. This literature review will discuss what has been written in regard to family educator partnerships. Reference will be made to a range of literature on the topic of partnerships in a school and centre setting. Rationale for building effective reciprocal relationships with parents and whānau The literature states that partnerships between parents and families helps children feel safe within the learning environment. Porter (2008) discusses how through interactions between parents and educators, educators gain access to knowledge and support and gain a sounding board for any concerns about the child. Children also gain ‘permission’ to develop confidence and trust with the teachers (Porter 2008). With trust and confidence with and in their teacher’s children feel a sense of safety which allows them to be able to engage in learning to their fullest ability. Arthur, Beecher, Dealth, Dockett and Farmer (2007) and Patel, Corter and Pelletier (2008) agree with Porter and add that parents and whānau often have different values and expectations and that partnerships enable all involved to promote the sharing of information to enhance the children’s learning (Patel, C... ... middle of paper ... ... the child’s learning. Educator should endeavour to ensure that the families’ culture is included in the centre or school. Studies have shown us that by included families into centres or schools children’s social and emotional development benefits greatly. Families often experience multiple stress in their life’s these stress can often affect their child’s learning and educators need to be sensitive to family situations. Educators should always maintain professionalism when dealing with parents. Educators should know their boundaries and should never yell or get into arguments with families members. Educators, schools and centres should be regularity reflecting on their own practices and policies. Challenging attitudes and beliefs allows educators to become more open to others attitudes and beliefs and allows educators to form effective partnerships with parents.
As a future educator, I have reflected on how my own personal experiences have formed me into the person that I am today, and how I can use my experiences to help my future students. I have also reflected on how I can information about family systems as well as risk and resiliency to better understand families that I will work with in the future, as well as how children with special needs impact a family’s structure. I believe all of these components are essential for teacher, student, and family collaboration and success.
We as educators must always act in the best interests of the children, while we seek to understand and embrace the different cultures by talking, listening and learning from the families and communities that surround us.
to do set tasks of the kind that adults usually asked of them. In the
To further integrate the parents of multicultural students into the school setting, the school could obtain a parent advocate to work with the parents on basic skills and help them to develop skills that will enable them to support their child. This skill development will help to foster a relationship between home and school with the multicultural families. Once the relationship has been created the parents will feel more comfortable in the school setting and choose to become a part of the school
New Zealand has now become a multi-cultural country. We have families coming from different places around the world, who have come here with their cultural experiences, languages, values and beliefs . The most important strategy in order to support families and children from diverse backgrounds is by working alongside with the families and their children because through this teacher’s will be able to respect and have a better understanding about different cultural backgrounds. Our centre is multi-cultural, as a teacher I want to be there with the children and support their language. Having a good communication and collaborative relationships with the families are...
Before children learn to use language to let their needs and wants be known they first learn to read, understand adult’s behaviour as well as responding through behaviour (Bishop and Baird, 2007). Challenging behaviour contributes to children’s social-emotional development through expressing their feelings and reacting to certain experiences with or without control (Berk, 2006). Early childhood teachers struggle to deal and to help children with challenging behaviour that teachers themselves are searching for answers and solution. Teachers should know about challenging behaviour or do they have enough knowledge to help themselves when facing this situation. Therefore; is disciplining the children the same as positive guidance? This review will consider these questions using literature from articles and research in early childhood education and special education. Teachers struggle when dealing with challenging behaviour especially when a child refused to listen but not only that they throw themselves on the ground, kicking and screaming. Bishop and Baird (2007) explain challenging behaviour from the children’s point of view as their way of communicating that something is not right with their experience using pain or distress. In addition, children with no self control, maturity, less understanding and don’t know how to express emotions appropriately or tiredness respond through challenging behaviour (Flicker & Hoffman, 2002). As children with challenging behaviour find it hard to communicate to adults and their peers, Neece & Baker (2008) examined children of intellectual disabilities and how it affects the parents. Children with both challenging behaviour and anti-social skills stress the parents because they do not know how to de...
Teacher collaboration with students’ families is a fundamental part of culturally relevant teaching. Parhar and Sensoy (2011) explain: “Interaction among teachers and family members allows students to feel increasingly a part of the school, and that the school becomes part of their family” (p. 203). Family
As an effective early childhood educator, creating strong partnerships with children and their parents, as explained by Shonkoff et al. (2000; as cited in Wood 2008) has shown that to provide a productive learning environment a teacher must have a positive relationship with children and their families.
Teachers, parents, and the students all become better communicators when being involved in the process of inclusion into mainstream schooling. Teachers learn that communication can be key, while parents can alert teachers if their child is having a bad day. Due to the fact that the simplest things could affect the student drastically, the idea of open communication between teacher and parents is vital, since the parents will learn these tendencies before anyone else. Communication also works well the other way. If the student has a bad day a...
At V.V.C. the teachers and student teachers were culturally responsive. The teachers develop positive relationships with the children and their families. I observed that when the children come in the teacher greats and acknowledge the child and teacher. I hand the opportunity to complete my student teaching in this environment. I clearly remember that the teachers acknowledged parents’ concerns. They respectfully listened to parents views. The parents felt comfortable and validated. If problems arose the parents discussed them with the teachers. The teachers listened and respectfully worked out a solution. York (2003) stated, “Teachers can help children feel at home by demonstrating the ability to take another perspective” (p.73).
Family involvement in schools is crucial. There are several ways to implement family involvement in schools that can increase a child’s success. Teachers should keep the line of communication between themselves and their students’ families open. They should make the communication easy and attainable for each family, staying sensitive to each students diverse culture. There are several ways to communicate with parents and families whether it be written or through some form of technology. With this being said teachers must take into consideration the availableness of these to each family. Families may not have the ability to use technology or even understand a written letter. Children with disabilities may come from families with similar weaknesses who cannot communicate without assistance. Family involvement in schools is important. It is attainable with proper planning and consideration so that it is available for everyone.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for
...er’s should try to encourage and strengthen parents engagement in their Childs school experience, as the student is more likely to want to come to school and participate in work if they have the encouragement of their family members. Every single student has the ability to learn and reach their full potential if they have the right role models there to help them. All these aspects explain how it can be very challenging for a teacher to try and manage a classroom where every student has different learning abilities.
As we know, Indigenous culture is driven on relationships in their communities. For education to support Indigenous students’, teachers must reflect these cultural values and focus on making education a shared experience (MacFie, 2015). Strengthening the connection of Indigenous communities and schools can alter their prior negative views of schools. This approach allows students and parents to build a sense of belonging within the school, support activities in the classroom leading towards shared responsibility for successful outcomes and most importantly feel comfortable and confident with their education (Aus. Government [What Works], 2016). Some families may not wish to be involved with teacher parent relationships due
I interviewed both a teacher and a parent regarding school and community partnerships. School and community partnerships are vital because taxpayers have a vested interest in what their dollars are being used for, effective communication contributes to public confidence in schools, and students benefit when all stakeholders play a role in education. The teacher I interviewed is a Kindergarten teacher in a school that is very diverse and works with many students and families that live in poverty. The parent I interviewed is the mother of five children, but I asked her to focus on her youngest son who is in fourth grade when answering the questions. The school he attends is a small private school.