Working with parents and families can be a challenge, especially when there are contradicting expectations. However, it can also be a joyful and empowering experience for both the program and the family if partnering with families is built into the program’s culture. Following a strengths-based approach, Family Engagement in Early Childhood Settings offers all programs, including family child care, center-based and school-based programs, strategies for building or enhancing interactions, engagement, expectations, communication and participation with families. This Redleaf Quick Guide provides clear information of what to do as well as what not to do when encouraging family engagement in early care and education programs. Readers will find helpful information on making the best first impressions with parents in-person and online, establishing effective and supportive intake meetings for both parents and program, setting expectations from both perspectives, two-way communication strategies including daily conversations, verbal and technological methods, conferences and documenting learning, and creating a culture of family engagement embedded into every part of your program.

This second edition of Parent-Friendly Early Learning brings to life real scenarios that care providers face in today's world. We know parent engagement is important for a child's success, but how do you turn parent-provider relationships into partnerships? Learn how to improve parent-teacher communication, deal with family issues and special complications, and how to work with the modern family. Julie Powers has worked with children, families, educators, and communities for over forty years. She started preschool programs at the Dodge Nature Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, an inclusion-based program for Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson, Arizona, and was a consultant for the Air Force Child Development Centers. She has taught at colleges across the country and is currently an associate professor of early childhood education at University of Hawaii Maui College.

Exploring the importance of parental engagement in early childhood education, this book delves into research and practices in 25 countries to bring students, researchers, teachers and policy-makers insights into working families around the world. The incorporation and consideration of parental engagement and involvement in early childhood education are a new phenomenon to many countries. Yet, increasing research recognises the importance of parental engagement and involvement in early childhood education services, and the role both parents and teachers play to support children’s learning and development. Using a range of materials from curriculum to policy documents, Garvis et al. demonstrate differences in practices and terminologies pertaining to the topic and provide an international perspective on the importance of parental involvement and engagement in early childhood education services. The content covers a range of countries as well as countries beyond an ‘Anglo-Saxon’ perspective. The different policy settings across these countries highlight how countries work with, and involve, parents differently, which is useful for jurisdictions where early childhood education is a developing aspect of a country’s education system. Looking at cultural influences, partnership approaches, parental collaboration, institutional dominance and child involvement in parent meetings, the content offers readers real understanding of parental engagement and involvement in different settings. The readership includes students in early childhood education, and researchers, teachers, policy makers, and general members of the public interested in parental engagement or involvement in early childhood education across the globe.

Family Engagement in the Digital Age: Early Childhood Educators as Media Mentors explores how technology can empower and engage parents, caregivers and families, and the emerging role of media mentors who guide young children and their families in the 21st century. This thought-provoking guide to innovative approaches to family engagement includes Spotlight on Engagement case studies, success stories, best practices, helpful hints for media mentors, and "learn more" resources woven into each chapter to connect the dots between child development, early learning, developmentally appropriate practice, family engagement, media mentorship and digital age technology. In addition, the book is driven by a set of best practices for teaching with technology in early childhood education that are based on the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Fred Rogers Center joint position statement on Technology and Interactive Media. Please visit the Companion Website at http://teccenter.erikson.edu/family-engagement-in-the-digital-age

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Strategies for good communication and problem-solving between child care teachers and parents.