Synopses & Reviews
This practical text is designed to meet the needs of administrators, as well as current and practicing teachers across all grade levels who are trying to create effective partnerships with families. It provides an overview of modern families and their complex roles, to sensitize teachers to the diversity and needs of families they will encounter. The text fully discusses both the benefits of creating productive partnerships and the barriers that teachers must work beyond. Practical and effective communication strategies are described, with abundant examples. Emphasis is placed on current developments in the field of early childhood education, legislative mandates in education, and position statements from professional organizations. A discussion of No Child Left Behind and updated NAEYC Code of Ethics accreditation standards for programs and for teacher education supports this emphasis.
Review
"[This book offers] a very thorough presentation to promote the inclusion of parent and community involvement within the early childhood setting."
Review
"This is an excellent text book with great resources."
Synopsis
This practical book is an indispensable guide for home-school-community collaborations. It meets the needs of current and practicing teachers, as well as administrators, who are trying to create effective partnerships with families. An overview of modern families and their complex roles sensitizes teachers to the diversity and needs of families they will encounter. The book also fully discusses both the benefits of creating productive partnerships and the barriers that teachers must overcome. Abundant examples clarify the book's practical and effective communication strategies. Current developments in the field of early childhood education are emphasized, including legislative mandates in education, professional standards of the field, and strategies for working with families of students with diverse learning needs.
About the Author
Carol Gestwicki was an instructor in the early childhood education program at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, for over 30 years. Her teaching responsibilities have included supervising students in classroom situations as they work with families. Earlier in her career, she worked with children and families in a variety of community agencies and schools in Toronto, New York, New Jersey, and Namibia (South West Africa). She received her MA from Drew University. She has been an active member of the NAEYC for many years, including making numerous presentations at state and national conferences. She has been a Fellow in the Early Childhood Leadership Development Project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and she has been associated with the T.E.A.C.H. Model/Mentor program. Her other publications include more than two dozen articles about child development and family issues and scripts and design for 14 audiovisual instructional programs. She has three other books on topics in early education published by Delmar Learning: Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Curriculum and Development in Early Education, Fifth edition (2013); Essentials of Early Education (1997); and Authentic Childhood: Exploring Reggio Emilia in the Classroom (2002). Currently, she writes a regular column titled "Grandma Says" for Growing Child.
Table of Contents
Section I: INTRODUCTION TO FAMILIES. 1. A Day with Two Families: Diversity of Experience. 2. Families Today. 3. Parenting. Section II: TEACHER-FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS IN EARLY EDUCATION. 4. What Is Family Involvement? 5. Benefits and Barriers to Teacher-Family Partnerships. 6. Foundations of a Successful Partnership. Section III: METHODS FOR DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS. 7. At the Beginning with Parents and Children. 8. Informal Communication with Families. 9. Parent-Teacher Conferences. 10. Families in the Classroom. 11. Parent Education. 12. It Takes a Village: Teachers, Families, and Communities. Section IV: MAKING A PARTNERSHIP WORK. 13. Working with Families from Diverse Backgrounds. 14. Working with Families in Particular Circumstances. 15. Working to Resolve Challenging Attitudes and Behaviors Appendix: Home Visits with Parents and Children.