Parent and Community

Kaci Palmer

ECE497
Susan Hoagland March 31, 2014

Period of Development

In this presentation I will be discussing The period of early childhood in development. Early childhood is ages 2 through 6 years and is the basis for what children will know throughout the rest of their lives. The saying, it takes a village to raise a child, is a completely true statement. This is a critical period in children's lives because they are growing and changing so rapidly so we all need to come together to make sure every child in early childhood is developing and learning to their fullest benefit. They are growing and developing physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally, and their language develops very fast during this period. In Early Childhood, it is especially important for families and the community to come together and partner with the child's school to enhance children's learning and development.

Role as Child Development Professional

As a child development professional, my Role is to ensure children learn and develop to their fullest potential. Children must be prepared for the future so they can be successful in life and thrive. In order for them to be successful and thrive, child development professionals, such as myself, must teach, guide, and foster development in every domain. We must make sure the children are safe, healthy, and not in need of intervention. Assessing and observing children tells me what children need to work on, their strengths and weaknesses, and if they have a developmental delay. I must make sure the

Rationale
The purpose For this Presentation is to create and sustain partnerships between the families of the children here at Lincoln Elementary School and the community and for the families and community to understand how important this partnership is to the children's learning and development. "There are many reasons for developing school, family and community partnerships. They can improve school programs and school climate, provide family services and support, increase parents' skills and leadership, connect families with others in the school and the community and help teachers with their work. However, the main reason to create partnerships, is to help all youngsters to succeed in school and in life. When families are involved, students here common messages from home and school about the importance of attending school, staying in school, and working hard as a student." (CAplan,J., (1998)

Mesosystem
Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory uses the Ecological System to explain his theory on relationships and children's development. Ecological systems theory views the child as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment (Berk, L. E., 2013). Every level interacts with the child and each level has to interact with other levels to mold their development. There are four levels, the microsystem (individual child), mesosystem (immediate family, school), exosystem (extended family, doctors, workplace), and the macrosystem (values, laws, customs). Among the layers of the system is the Mesosystem which consists of the child, their immediate family, school, and neighborhood friends. These are the people who are the closest in relationship to the child and who the child interacts with everyday.The ecological systems theory holds that we encounter different environments throughout our lifespan that may influence our behavior in varying degrees (Sincero, S., 2014). The mesosystem is the closest in relationship to the child with the most interactions with the child so they have the most influence on a child and the

Epsteins Types of Involvement:

Name of type- Parenting

Parenting

Help all families establish home environments to support children as students. Influence on learning and development

Parents influence children's learning and development by creating Positive personal qualities, habits, beliefs, and values, Balance between time spent on chores, on other activities, and on homework,

Good or improved attendance, Awareness of importance of school, and respect.

Types of Involvement: Parenting

School and community idea for culturesProvide information to all families who want it or who need it, not just to the few who can attend workshops or meetings at the school building. Enable families to share information with schools about culture, background, children's talents and needs. Make sure that all information for and from families is clear, usable, and linked to children's success in school

Epsteins Types of Involvement:

Communicating
Name of type- COMMUNICATING

Design effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children's progress.
Influence on learning and development

Awareness of own progress and of actions needed to maintain or improve grades.

Understanding of school policies on behavior, attendance, and other areas of student conduct. Informed decisions about courses and programs. Awareness of own role in partnerships, serving as courier and communicator.

Epsteins Types of Involvement:

Communicating
School and community idea for culturesCommunicate in different languages (send letters in different languages, provide interpreters). Send awareness about the different cultures at school to parents. Create lessons in class about the different cultures and allow students to share their cultural stories.

Epsteins Types of Involvement:

Volunteering
Name of type- Volunteering

Recruit and organize parent help and support.

Influence on learning and development Skill in communicating with adults. Increased learning of skills that receive tutoring or targeted attention from volunteers. Awareness of many skills, talents,

Epsteins Types of Involvement:

Volunteering
School and community idea for cultures Recruit volunteers widely so that all families know that their time and talents are welcome. Make flexible schedules for volunteers, assemblies, and events to enable parents who work to participate. Organize volunteer work; provide training; match time and talent with school, teacher, and student needs; and recognize efforts so that participants are productive.

Epsteins Types of Involvement: Learning At Home

Name of type- Learning at Home Provide information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculumrelated activities, decisions, and planning. Influence on learning and development Gains in skills, abilities, and test scores linked to homework and classwork. Homework completion. Positive attitude toward schoolwork.

View of parents as more similar to teacher and of home as more similar to school.
Self-concept of ability as learner.

Epsteins Types of Involvement: Learning At Home

School and community idea for cultures Design and organize a regular schedule of interactive homework (e.g., weekly or bimonthly) that gives students responsibility for discussing important things they are learning and helps families stay aware of the content of their children's classwork. Coordinate family linked homework activities, if students have several teachers.

Involve families and their children in all-important curriculum-related decisions.

Epsteins Types of Involvement: Decision Making

Name of type-Decision Making Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives. Influence on learning and development Awareness of representation of families in school decisions. Understanding that student rights are protected. Specific benefits linked to policies enacted by parent organizations and experienced by students.

Epsteins Types of Involvement: Decision Making

School and community idea for cultures Include parent leaders from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and other groups in the school. Offer training to enable leaders to serve as representatives of other families, with input from and return of information to all parents. Include students (along with parents) in decision-making groups.

Epsteins Types of Involvement: Collaborating with the Community

Name of type- Collaborating with the community

Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development.
Influence on learning and development-

Increased skills and talents through enriched curricular and extracurricular experiences.
Awareness of careers and of options for future education and work.

Specific benefits linked to programs, services, resources, and opportunities that connect
students with community.

Epsteins Types of Involvement: Collaborating with the Community

School and community idea for cultures Solve turf problems of responsibilities, funds, staff, and locations for collaborative activities. Inform families of community programs for students, such as mentoring, tutoring, business partnerships. Assure equity of opportunities for students and families to participate in community programs or to obtain services. Match community contributions with school goals, integrate child and family services with education.

References
Berk, L. E. (2013).Child development. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. CAplan,J., (1998), Critical Issue: Constructing School Partnerships with Families and Community Groups, http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/famncomm/pa400. htm

Epstein, J.L., Coates, L., Salinas, K.C., Sanders, M.G., & Simon, B.S. (1997). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

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_Involvement(2).pdf.