Ethical Perspectives and the Early Childhood Professional (200-250)

CHAPTER 14 FOSTERINGLANGUAGE DEVELOPMENTTHROUGH SCHOOL–HOMECONNECTIONS

It was a special day at the child–parent center. Today was a parent read-aloud day. Parents were invited to come to their child’s preschool to read storybooks to the children. On this particular day, five parents came. When they entered the room, they were enthusiastically greeted by the children, and each also received a special greeting from his or her own child. A few minutes later, the children had selected the books they wanted to have read and grouped themselves around each parent reader. For the next half hour, the five parents (along with the two teachers) read stories to the children.

Opportunities for parents to participate in their child’s classroom, such as the read-aloud program described in the opening vignette, are just one of the ways to foster and encourage language development through school–home connections.

Children’s families play a critical role in their language and literacy development. It is important for early childhood teachers to establish connections with each child’s family unit and parental figures so that the lines of communication and mutual respect are strong. The “teacher provides the bridge from school to home” (McCaleb, 1997, p. 191). In this chapter, specific strategies and approaches for enhancing school–home connections will be described. Through your implementation of these strategies and approaches, you will encourage parents and family members to support and facilitate the language development of their children.

The ways in which teachers invite and engage parents in communicating with them and the school are critical to establishing positive connections. When teachers want to develop connections with children’s homes, they must acknowledge and anticipate the diversity of the family units that may be involved rather than assume that all children come from families that are nuclear and traditional in membership. For some children, the family unit is composed of their birth parents and siblings. Other children’s family units may be composed of one parent and/or one or more extended family members. Other children may live with their grandparents or with adoptive families. Still other children are in foster care. For the purpose of this chapter, the term parent will refer to a primary caregiver of a child, with the understanding that this primary caregiver may be a birth parent, a stepparent, a foster parent, an adoptive parent, or an aunt, an uncle, or a grandparent who has assumed the parental role for the child. The primary caregiver role may also be shared between two parents or other family unit adults.

GOALS FOR ESTABLISHING SCHOOL–HOME CONNECTIONS

Establishing positive school–home connections has the potential to significantly facilitate children’s language development and other areas of development. Teachers should keep four general goals in mind when establishing school–home connections:

· 1. Increasing the teacher’s/school’s awareness and understanding of the child’s home/family environment

· 2. Establishing a learning community

· 3. Increasing parents’ awareness of their role in their child’s language and literacy development

· 4. Increasing parents’ awareness of the classroom’s curriculum

Each of these goals contributes to the strength of school–home connections (Lilly & Green, 2004).

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Increasing the Teacher’s/School’s Awareness and Understanding of the Home Environment

Children benefit from being able to make smooth transitions each day between home and school. The key to strong school–home relations, according to Vandergrift and Green (1992), is to know the parents well and to have a wide variety of options for parental involvement. When there are distinct cultural and linguistic differences between the home and the school or when a family experiences specific stresses (e.g., poverty, unemployment, divorce), children’s ability to transition smoothly between home and school may be impaired. By becoming more familiar with the issues that your children’s families face, you can more effectively address the needs of children in transitioning between home and school each day.

Children must see their school and teacher as valuing and respecting their home and family culture. Children’s self-concepts are influenced by their perceptions that the larger society values and respects their home cultures. When there are significant differences in language and literacy between home and school, the school needs to concentrate more on bringing families into a closer relationship with the school (Diamond & Moore, 1995). Benefits of this closer relationship with families include children’s stronger sense of self-identity and worth (Allen & Marotz, 1999; Lim, 2012).

Teachers’ understanding of children’s home/family cultural environment may be reflected in their implicit judgments of parents’ levels of competence as parents (Elicker, Noppe, Noppe, & Fortner-Wood, 1997). Teachers need to avoid making culturally or economically biased judgments of parental competence based on a lack of understanding of the child’s cultural–social home environment. They need to keep the lines of communication open and avoid stereotypic judgments. Teachers need to be respectful of the values and traditions of the families in which their students live and “guard against cultural and class arrogance” (Salinger, 1996, p. 71). Teachers should also avoid assuming that homogeneity exists among families of similar cultural or linguistic backgrounds because variations among families are likely to exist (Piper, 1993; Tutwiler, 2012).

When effective school–home communication is fostered, parents and teachers become partners in meeting the educational needs of children. To develop a partnership with parents, teachers must create effective ways of communicating with the family from the first day of attendance. School systems must develop ways to continually involve families in the life of the school in a wide variety of activities of varying participation.

Establishing a Learning Community

One way for you to involve families is to focus on developing a learning community. This learning community is manifested in your early childhood classroom and in the nature of the relationships you establish with children’s parents and homes.  Learning communities  are characterized by mutual respect, cooperation, collaboration, and frequent, effective communication.

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Mutual respect.

One aspect of a learning community is mutual respect. Parents need to be assured that their children’s teachers are knowledgeable and compassionate. Teachers need to see parents as competent and need to understand their cultural perspectives. When there is frequent respectful communication with parents and when communication serves to inform parents of activities in their children’s classrooms, parents are more likely to see their children’s teachers as competent and welcoming. The availability of a translator to facilitate communication with parents who do not speak English is also an indication that the school respects and accepts the family’s home language. In learning community classrooms, children are treated with respect and are encouraged to treat each other with respect.

Two important aspects of showing mutual respect involve observing confidentiality regarding family information and active listening. Confidentiality should be observed with respect to personal information about family relationships and other family matters (Cataldo, 1983). Such information should not be communicated to other staff or to other parents unless there are justifiable professional reasons for sharing the information.

Actively listening to parents involves listening closely to what they are saying and observing their nonverbal cues for additional meaning. According to Wilson, Douville-Watson, and Watson (1995), “Active listening involves objectively listening, in a non-defensive way, for the deeper message [of the parent]” and responding by giving feedback to the parent that clarifies the parent’s message rather than judging or criticizing what the parent just communicated (p. 46). Through a teacher’s active listening, parents feel that their opinions, ideas, and values are respected.

Cooperation and collaboration.

Learning community classrooms emphasize learning activities that occur in small groups (McCaleb, 1997). In these groups, children learn how to share, how to focus on common goals, and how to contribute to the learning task. This type of activity is not developmentally appropriate (or manageable) in infant and toddler classrooms or, to a certain extent, even in preschool classrooms. However, early childhood teachers who view cooperation and collaboration as a long-term goal for children’s development can begin to encourage cooperation and collaboration through encouraging sharing and showing empathy and concern for each other.

When a partnership is created between the school/teacher and parents, one result is often a mutual sharing of educational goals for the children. Teachers become aware of specific learning goals parents might have for their children and vice versa. This partnership between school and home does not develop overnight or even after a few months. It is a result of long-term efforts in establishing and maintaining communication between school and home. The school–home relationships established when children are first enrolled in day care, preschool, or kindergarten programs may set the tone and expectations of the parents involved for years to come. Parents who feel welcomed into their children’s first schools and who experience positive communicative relationships with their children’s first teachers are more likely to continue to be more involved in their children’s education.

Frequent communication.

Learning communities are characterized by frequent and effective communication. In the classroom, this means that the teacher and the children engage in frequent informal conversations as well as instructional, more formal dialogue that occurs during teacher-directed activities. The learning community that encompasses school–home connections also has regular, frequent communication with parents. It is important that the communication occur not only from teacher to parent but also from parent to teacher.

Increasing Parents’ Awareness of Their Role

While most parents understand their role in supporting and caring for their children’s physical and emotional development and well-being, they may not be fully aware of their potential role in their children’s intellectual and language development.

Research studies have found a strong relation between the language and literacy activities engaged in at home and children’s subsequent emergent literacy behaviors (Baghban, 1984; Bergin, Lancy, & Draper, 1994; Heath, 1983; Jordan, Snow, & Porche, 2000; Nord, Lennon, Liu, & Chandler, 1999; Taylor,1983; Teale, 1986). There is evidence that parents should begin reading to their children in early infancy. Allison and Watson (1994) reported that “the earlier a parent began reading to their child, the higher the child’s emergent reading level was at the end of kindergarten” (p. 68). In their research, Allison and Watson noted that some parents began reading to their children at birth.

Teachers can facilitate increasing parents’ awareness by sharing with parents the importance of talking with their children, listening to them, reading to them, and reading with them. Teachers should also encourage parents to enhance children’s conceptual development through activities at home and in the community. Additional suggestions for supporting parent–child activities will be introduced in a later section of this chapter.

Increasing Parents’ Awareness of Classroom Curriculum

According to Piper (1993), “parents who understand what the teacher is doing and why are more likely to be supportive of what happens in the classroom” (p. 298). Teachers can enhance this awareness by communicating regularly with parents through informal conversations, open houses, and newsletters. Specific suggestions for these activities will be included in a later section of this chapter.

FACTORS INFLUENCING FAMILY/PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

In addition to being aware of the characteristics of effective school–home relationships, teachers need to understand specific factors that may influence whether a family or parent decides to become involved in school–home connections. Figure 14.1 summarizes four factors that influence family/parental involvement.

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FIGURE 14.1 Factors Influencing Family/Parental Involvement

Parents’ Own Experiences in School

Parents’ memories of their experiences in school often have an impact on their level of comfort in attending school events and teacher conferences and in participating in their child’s classroom (Coleman & Churchill, 1997; Jalongo & Isenberg, 2004; MacDonald, 2012). If their past experiences as a student were positive, they are more likely to feel comfortable at their children’s school and in monitoring their child’s schoolwork at home. Parents who did not experience success when they were in school may avoid contact with their child’s teacher and school administrators because they associate school with negative feelings of failure, inadequacy, or low self-esteem. They may feel unable to help their children with their homework. When required to come to school for a conference, these parents may be defensive and uncommunicative. Particularly if the parents lack literacy or language competencies, it may be difficult for them to facilitate the necessary language and literacy competencies for their children’s development. In these instances, the classroom teacher needs to focus on welcoming these parents so that they feel comfortable in the school.

It may be necessary to provide for someone to act as a translator for parent conferences with non-English-speaking parents; however, the translator should not be an older child in the family or an older student because that places both parents and the student–translator in a difficult situation. The teacher needs to help parents understand in what ways they can help their children at home, even if they are limited in their own language and literacy competencies.

While parents who have been successful in school usually have a positive orientation to school–home connections, they may also have unrealistically high expectations for their children’s achievement, placing pressure on their children to perform, be “above average,” and even be “gifted.” In these instances, the classroom teacher needs to share with parents developmentally appropriate expectations and emphasize the importance of facilitating children’s enthusiasm for learning and their curiosity rather than simply their performance of rote information or attainment of high achievement.

Cultural Diversity

As cultural diversity increases in classrooms, teachers become more aware of the different cultural orientations that influence parents’ involvement in their children’s education and interactions with teachers. Differences between home culture and 386387school may become evident in several areas, such as holiday celebrations, discipline, timelines, or interpersonal mannerisms such as handshaking or touching (Jalongo & Isenberg, 2004). In some cultures, the school and its teachers are highly regarded as the experts; this orientation may discourage parents from “interfering” with teachers because education is thought to be the sole responsibility of the school. Parents with this orientation may also feel that all learning, or “schoolwork,” should be done at school, under the supervision of the teacher. In these situations, teachers need to work more closely with parents so they understand the school curriculum and their role in enhancing their child’s learning at home. Teachers should clearly establish the learning community partnership with parents in this regard rather than send parents the message that they must be “instructed” by the school and teacher as to what they need to do as parents.

Participation by parents of different cultures in school–home relationships is also influenced by the parents’ perception of the school’s and teacher’s attitude toward their home language or dialect. Specifically, is the home language or dialect viewed as a deficit or as an asset? Will the school and their children’s teachers pressure their children to assimilate mainstream American (i.e., White, middle class) culture (Piper, 1993)? Parents’ participation is also influenced by their perception of how the school and teacher respond to instances of racism that may occur, in the form of name calling, bullying, or social rejection.

Parents’ Work Obligations

The work schedule of parents and family obligations may make it difficult or impossible for parents to be available for daytime classroom visits and conferences. Thus, teachers should not assume that the parents’ absence at a conference or classroom visit means that the parents are not interested in the educational progress of their children. It may mean that they are just unable to leave work at the scheduled time or have responsibilities for caring for other family members. The classroom teacher should provide parents with alternative times or ways to conference about their children’s progress or to visit the classroom.

Parents’ Perceptions of Available Opportunities for Involvement

Parents’ decisions to be involved in their children’s school are related to their own perception of the available opportunities to become involved (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997; Hornby & Lafaele, 2011). If the only opportunities for involvement conflict with their work schedule or if the opportunities require a substantial time commitment, parents may decide that such involvement is not possible. Parents’ perceptions of their own capabilities and talents are also a factor. For example, if their child’s teacher is asking for parents to come to class to read stories to the whole class, some parents may not see themselves as having the literacy and speaking skills needed to feel comfortable in this role. For these reasons, teachers must offer a wide range of opportunities for parents to participate in school–home connections.

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION AND INVOLVEMENT

All opportunities for participation and involvement contribute toward strong school–home connections. The wider the range of opportunities, the more likely a greater number of parents will be able to fit some school involvement into their busy schedules.

Types of Interaction in School–Home Connections

School–home connections involve three types of interactions. The first type is social participation of parents at the school through informal conversations with teachers, visiting the classroom, attending school events, or a combination of these. The second type of interaction occurs when parents engage in at-home learning activities that support the school curriculum. The third type of interaction occurs when parents participate in classroom activities, assisting the teacher in conducting specific learning experiences.

These types of interactions represent a continuum of involving parents from minimal involvement in social events to at-home activities supporting the curriculum and their child’s learning to direct and active involvement in classroom learning activities. While this is a continuum, teachers should avoid expecting or assuming that involvement of parents in the classroom learning activities is the ultimate goal of establishing school–home connections. Instead, the main goal of establishing positive school–home connections is the enhanced learning and development of children. Furthermore, longitudinal research suggests that individualized connections—one-on-one relationships between the teacher and parent—may be more beneficial than focusing only on establishing parent involvement through group activities of parents (Seitz & Apfel, 1994; Seitz, Rosenbaum, & Apfel, 1985, cited in Powell, 1998).

ENCOURAGING PARENTS TO COME TO SCHOOL

When parents are encouraged to visit the school or classroom, they become more familiar with their children’s teachers and the classroom curriculum.

Informal Conversations and Social Events

The initial step in creating a partnership with parents is to encourage parents to come to the school and to attend school events. At early childhood centers and most kindergarten classrooms, teachers and parents are in daily contact as parents bring their children into the school and pick them up at the end of the day. In these daily contacts, teachers can communicate in an informal way with parents, sharing information with parents about their children, the curriculum, and other important news.

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A teacher’s greetings to parents should be enthusiastic and friendly but brief because the teacher must usually greet many individuals. These brief conversations with parents are a good time to mention classroom projects or other events. When time permits, a teacher can also mention the purpose of such activities so that the parents are aware of the educational value or focus in the activities and can continue the focus at home. For example, “Today, we’re taking the children on a walk to the park. We’re going to be talking about color words.” Parents might then talk with their children at home (or on the way home) about different colors.

If it is necessary to discuss a child’s problematic behavior or developmental issues, it is important to set up a private conference. It is inappropriate to discuss a child’s personal situation within hearing of other parents or school personnel who may be nearby. In this way, you are showing parents that you respect their family’s and child’s privacy.

Parent–teacher rapport is also enhanced when teachers can provide the opportunity for parents to visit the classroom for a longer time. This may take the form of a parents’ day or parents’ night where parents participate in learning activities with their children. Such participation is critical to parents’ understanding of the process of learning and their child’s active involvement in classroom learning activities. During these classroom visits, there are no “conferences” regarding student performance or development because the purpose of the classroom visit is simply to become more familiar with the curriculum, the children’s daily activities, and their child’s teachers. Some early childhood classrooms call these events “Bring Your Family to School,” with the children serving as “tour guides” for their guests.

Other school events, such as student performances in music or drama, provide ways in which parents can be encouraged to come to school and be part of the school community. To encourage parent attendance, it is important that these events be held when parents are not working and that all members of the family and extended family be made welcome.

When teachers greet parents from families in which English is not the primary language, they must keep in mind that face-to-face communication may be the most difficult form of communication for these parents. Face-to-face communication requires that a response be formulated quickly, which in turn requires a high level of language fluency (Tabors, 1997). Thus, teachers should carefully word their questions and comments to parents to facilitate comprehension and encourage conversation. Teachers who take the time to learn the social greetings of another language, such as “Hello. How are you?” and “I’m glad to see you,” enhance their rapport with parents. Parents who speak a different language will see the teacher’s willingness to learn some of their language as an indication that their language and culture are accepted and valued. (See Appendix for basic greetings and expressions in different languages.)

Open Houses

The purpose of a school’s open house is for all classrooms to share with parents the activities and content of the curriculum. Some open houses involve only classroom displays; others include a short, formal presentation by the classroom teacher on the 389390rationale or purpose of various aspects of the curriculum. Teachers should focus on explaining the process of learning as well as the products that come from the processes. At this time, teachers can also emphasize the role that language contributes to lifelong learning and the role of oral language in the development of literacy competencies.

Open houses are not a time to focus on the specific difficulties of individual children. The focus of teacher–parent conversations should be on the positive aspects of children’s participation in the classroom. Any children’s work that is displayed should not have grades or evaluative comments or marks. Many teachers have found that parents enjoy having a guest book to sign and being given the opportunity to leave a note for their child in the child’s cubby or desk. Children are delighted to find a note from their parents the following day.

Some schools encourage children to attend the open house with their parents and serve as guides, explaining the displayed schoolwork and activity centers. To facilitate this experience, open houses may be scheduled to give each family time and space to see all aspects of the learning environment.

Conferences

Several times a year, teachers set up specific times to meet with parents to discuss their children’s progress. At the initial conference, teachers should focus on establishing positive rapport with the parents as this first meeting sets the tone for future communication (Diss & Buckley, 2005). In addition, teachers should encourage parents to do most of the talking at this first conference. This will give teachers a chance to learn parents’ perspectives on school and their child.

If parents do not understand English sufficiently, a translator must be present. If possible, the translator should be another educator and not an older student or older sibling in the family because confidentiality is an issue in conducting individual conferences (Swiniarski, Breitborde, & Murphy, 1999).

During subsequent conferences, teachers share with parents descriptions of students’ performance or examples of their work, explaining how the work was evaluated. The focus is on children’s strengths and achievements, along with areas in which growth and development are needed. Parents should be asked for their interpretations of what teachers shared with them and how it corresponds with their children’s behavior and performance at home. Teachers then need to describe to parents what they can do at home to enhance their children’s learning, keeping in mind that parents may have time constraints or may be limited in their own literacy and language skills. Teachers should not overwhelm parents with extensive lists of what should be done at home but should instead focus on a few possible activities that parents and their children can engage in, such as those described in this chapter, in the section “At-Home Learning Activities,” and in Figure 14.2. If a parent requests additional information, the teacher should conscientiously follow up the conference by contacting the parent with the requested information.

When a teacher is concerned about the learning difficulties a child may have, an important first step is to document those situations through the use of anecdotal 390391records and work samples or other informal, performance-based measures. Before approaching parents with a request for further testing or referral, the teacher should also ask other teachers in similar classrooms or support professionals to unobtrusively observe the child’s learning interactions in the classroom. The classroom teacher should also consider possible curricular or program modifications to determine whether that alone might address the learning difficulty.

FIGURE 14.2 Tips for Parents in Supporting Children’s Learning at Home

Other Ways of Communicating with Parents

In addition to face-to-face contact with parents as they visit your classroom and school for open house, conferences, and special events, you can also communicate with parents via newsletters, home visits, and telephone calls or email.

Newsletters.

The purpose of sending home a biweekly or bimonthly newsletter is to share with parents news from your classroom or school. A newsletter may contain information about school policies and upcoming events and an overview of curriculum and general child development (Bundy,  1991 ). Newsletters should be kept short, only one or two pages, and be reader friendly. DeMelendez and Ostertag ( 1997 ) offered four guidelines:

· 1. Use simple, clear language

· 2. Avoid using figurative language when parents represent different linguistic or cultural backgrounds

· 3. Use attractive, colorful paper

· 4. Organize the newsletter with clear headlines and sections

The tone of the newsletter should be conversational rather than academic. It is also useful to consider using a bulleted format instead of paragraphs. Professional jargon should be avoided. Form letters from commercially prepared curricula or books should also be avoided because such letters are impersonal and will not enhance school–home communication. When newsletters focus on upcoming curriculum or related events, parents are encouraged to reinforce the curriculum through their family’s visits to the local library, area museums, or other family activities, such as picking apples, traveling, and doing home projects. In linguistically diverse classrooms, newsletters should be made available in other languages for homes in which English is not read.

Newsletters should be shared with children in the classroom prior to being sent home (Salinger, 1996). This sharing offers several benefits. Children become aware of the basic information in the newsletter so they know why it is being sent home. This also encourages the older children to read or “emergent read” the newsletter. Children are also more likely to encourage their parents to read the newsletter if they know what information it contains.

Home visits.

Some early childhood programs have found home visits a beneficial way to establish school–home connections (Bundy, 1991; Diss & Buckley, 2005; Wolfgang & Wolfgang, 1992). Others have experienced resistance from families who considered such visits an invasion of privacy (Maxim, 1993). Successful home visits focus on the opportunity for the teacher to introduce herself to the child and parent in the familiar surroundings of the family home. The visit should last only 15 to 20 minutes and, if possible, should be scheduled within the two-week period prior to the child’s first attendance in the school/center. The visit should clearly focus on becoming socially acquainted with the child and parent. No personal questions should be asked of the parent about the family or the child. Instead, the teacher should share with the child and parent information about herself or her classroom and planned learning activities, such as “We’re going to read stories about animals and then plan our trip to the zoo.”

Telephone calls and email.

Teachers need to let parents know how to contact them at the school. Many school systems have phone-message or email systems that allow parents to leave messages for their teachers, indicating the best time to reach them. It is important for teachers, then, to respond to parents’ questions or messages as promptly as possible. Teachers may make introductory telephone calls to parents early in the school year to establish communication with each family (Berger, 2004). These calls should be short and positive, focusing on introducing the teacher and classroom curriculum. While sending return email messages may be a very convenient way of responding to parents, face-to-face conversations or live telephone conversations are more effective when an extended conversation or dialogue is needed.

When teachers contact parents who may not be fluent in English, they need to realize that phone conversations may be a difficult form of communication for the parent. This is because the entire communication takes place auditorily and lacks the comprehension-enhancing nonverbal communication that takes place face to face, involving gestures, facial expression, body language, and other aspects of the conversational context. Telephone conversations also involve an instant response, which requires a higher level of language fluency. For this reason, teachers may find face-to-face conversations more effective with parents whose primary language is not English. In addition, it is much easier to include the services of a translator in a face-to-face conversation than in a telephone conversation.

AT-HOME LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Parents’ conversations with their children from birth on significantly affect their children’s development of language, as do their literacy-related interactions with their children at home and in their community (Pappano, 2008). While teachers may encourage parents to engage in specific at-home learning activities with their children, it is important that parents not be overwhelmed with a long list of “should do” activities. Much of the success of at-home activities depends on the parent’s appropriate selection and implementation of the activities. If a given activity is not developmentally appropriate for the child, it will not benefit the child and may even negatively impact future learning or development. A relaxed, playful atmosphere is critical for at-home activities. Teachers also need to recognize the importance of including extended family members in opportunities for at-home activities (Au, 1993).

The focus of this section will be on the general ways in which parents can be encouraged to facilitate language and literacy development throughout the early childhood years. These general ways involve three basic communicative processes: conversations, modeling, and collaborative sharing. In each of these processes, parents are focusing on their children’s individual zone of proximal development and providing the supportive scaffolding needed for development. (See Figure 14.3 for a list of recommended resources that provide more specific activities and experiences.)

Conversations

Parents of young children can facilitate their children’s language development through the informal conversations that occur each day while doing errands or while riding in the car or on a bus (Nardi, 1992–93) or while engaged in activities at home, such as gardening, preparing food, eating together, or caring for a pet. Storybook sharing provides not only opportunity to develop an awareness of books but a context for talking about illustrations and using language to share ideas and stories. These conversations provide critical experiences for children in learning how to communicate. Researchers have documented connection between parents’ conversations with their young children and later emergent reading and writing (Hart & Risley, 1995). Through the patterns of interaction, such as eye contact and shared reference, verbal mapping, questioning, linguistic scaffolding, mediation, adult-to-child speech, children’s language development is facilitated and encouraged. Children benefit from these conversational opportunities at home because the conversational topics are based on prior experiences shared with family members, and conversations can be longer and involve more “turns” than conversations in a classroom setting.

FIGURE 14.3 Recommended References for At-Home Language/Literacy Activities

Conversations in non-native-English-speaking families.

Cultural factors sometimes influence parents’ conversations with young children. The “good behavior” standard in some cultures does not encourage children to initiate conversations or to ask questions (Pappano, 2008). Parents may also be concerned that their children learn English and speak only English when talking with them; however, because the parents are not fluent in English, their language interactions are limited in vocabulary and complex grammar (Espinosa, 2008). Instead, parents should provide opportunities for their children to continue to develop competencies using their home language in singing, reading, telling stories, and conducting conversations in their everyday activities. A strong foundation in their first language provides a foundation for learning a second language.

Suggestions for parents.

When you are talking with parents about the importance of engaging their children in conversations, you need to take into consideration the developmental level of the children’s language (e.g., the one-word stage, the telegraphic stage) and the interaction strategies that are most appropriate for that developmental level. Some basic ideas for parents in enhancing conversations with their children include the following:

Conversations about books and shared reading enhance children’s developing language competencies.

· • Start a conversation with your child by establishing eye contact and shared reference.

· • Wait for your child to take a turn, responding to what you have said.

· • Listen actively and patiently as your child talks or responds nonverbally.

· • Use language that your child will comprehend.

· • Respond to your child’s questions and interests.

· • Use gestures and pointing to add meaning to your speech.

· • Encourage child-initiated conversations by responding to your child’s spontaneous comments and questions.

Top of Form

Modeling

Parents show children how language is used every day as children accompany them on their errands and around their homes (Hannon, 1992). For example, children may see their parents using oral language to ask for information, to tell stories, to 395396make appointments, or to find and purchase particular products. Similarly, children see their parents using print in the environment as they engage in reading to locate information in the telephone book, place an order at a restaurant, worship in religious ceremonies, locate a particular store in a shopping mall, follow a recipe, or assemble a bookshelf. When parents use writing, they are showing their children the way to produce written messages. Children may see their parents paying a bill by writing a check, writing a message in a greeting card, filling out a job application, using a word processing program on a computer, or making a shopping lis

When parents include their young children in literacy-related events, they are modeling ways of interacting with written language.

Collaborative Sharing

When parents and children collaborate in a particular activity, a supportive scaffold is often created that provides further facilitation of language development. For example, when parents share storybooks with their children, children can be encouraged to participate in the story reading at their own level, perhaps through conversations about the illustrations, echo reading, or pretend reading. Sharing cooking tasks while following a recipe demonstrates the value of written language. Shared tasks also provide an opportunity for parent and child to engage in focused conversations on the task at hand, whether it be planting a garden, cleaning out a cupboard, washing a car, or making the list for weekly grocery shopping. While the shared task needs to be developmentally appropriate for the child, the critical aspect is the sharing and joint focus of the conversation between parent and child.

In two areas of family life, the collaborative sharing process may not always occur: watching television and using a computer. Both activities can be engaged in individually and inherently foster verbal passivity. Without parental monitoring, these activities can gradually dominate home life. Some parents find that watching television is an easy way to occupy young children’s attention. This is dangerous because television is not interactive. Similarly, in some homes, using the computer may be an individual activity. This is especially true in homes where parents have provided a computer for their child’s room. However, parents can facilitate language development at home through encouraging a more interactive approach to television watching and computer use in several ways.

Shared tasks, such as carving a pumpkin, provide rich opportunities for conversation and vocabulary development.

Parents can use the many informative and entertaining programs on television as the focus of extended conversations and related activities. A particular television program might be followed up with a trip to the library or a museum, along with reading or writing activities. By monitoring what children are watching and even watching television with them, parents can use television as a starting point for a wide range of language-facilitating activities.

Parents can encourage a more interactive approach to using a computer by purchasing software that encourages joint participation of two or more people and by locating the computer in the room where family members gather for shared activities. Similarly, parents can facilitate language development by engaging their children in conversations based on information obtained through the software or through Internet sites. Related reading and writing activities can focus on a topic initially explored via the computer.

Not all parents can respond to teachers’ encouragements to engage in at-home learning activities. Although computer use at home is increasing, many families do not have access to computers at home due to financial limitations or personal choice. Likewise, in some homes, few literacy-related materials are present. Allington and Cunningham (1996) reminded teachers that “all parents cannot read to their children” (p. 5), and some may struggle daily to physically care for their children in providing sufficient food, clothing, and housing. Allington and Cunningham also contended that the school curriculum needs to be developed and implemented in such a way that, when parental education and resources are lacking, children will not be placed further at risk. Thus, while at-home learning activities can facilitate language development, teachers need to acknowledge the realities some parents face and take them into consideration when developing the classroom curriculum and establishing school–home connections.

IN-CLASS PARTICIPATION

Benefits from parents’ in-class participation include the parents’ learning about classroom activities and the teacher’s receiving some assistance in conducting activities. In some instances, the presence of their parents increases children’s feelings of social confidence and comfort in the classroom (Tabors, 1997).

In some respects, in-class participation by parents is the highest level of parent involvement because it may involve a significant commitment in terms of time and talent. That said, teachers should avoid selectively paying more attention to parents who participate in classroom activities. Parents are quick to pick up on verbal and nonverbal cues that reflect a sense of respect, favoritism, or lack of respect from the teacher. With the increasing demands of work and other commitments, teachers may find few parents who are able to become involved in classroom activities. For those parents who can make the commitment to participate in their child’s classroom learning activities, a wide variety of potential ways to become involved are available.

When encouraging parents to become involved, teachers need to share with parents the following types of information regarding their involvement: frequency of participation, opportunity for orientation and specialized training, special talents 398399needed, and specific responsibilities. Some teachers have found it valuable to prepare brief descriptions of the specific volunteer assignments and to plan for volunteer orientations and training (Pryor, 1995).

Parents who make a commitment to participate in classroom activities on a regular basis, such as one or more times a week, might be invited to assist students in one of the classroom learning centers, work with individual students at the classroom computer, assist the librarian in helping students locate storybooks, and read books to children as they visit the library area.

Parents who are limited to participating in the classroom activities on an occasional basis might be invited to assist with a holiday party, chaperone a class field trip, assist with class plays or puppet shows, give a book talk, demonstrate a particular craft or skill, or read stories to children on an individual or group basis.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PARENT PROGRAMS

Parent involvement refers to the wide range of possible avenues for participation in the school classroom, from parents attending social events and informal parent–teacher conversations to facilitating learning at home to becoming involved in classroom learning activities. In contrast, parent programs involve more specific arrangements and detailed organization. In many instances, specific parent programs have a strong “parental education” component and may even be mandated by the particular early childhood program, such as federal, state, or grant-funded programs (e.g., Head Start, Child–Parent Centers, or EvenStart at-risk early childhood programs). Enrollment of children in these programs may require a specific level of involvement from their parents.

Successful programs have these characteristics in common:

· 1. A range of clearly communicated and organized opportunities encourages parent participation and involvement. Early in the year, parents are given information on the ways in which they can become involved in their child’s classroom and the opportunities they will have to participate in social events and interactions with their child’s teacher and school.

· 2. All levels of parent participation and involvement are valued. Parents are welcomed warmly and respectfully, whether to attend an open house, parent conference, or potluck supper.

· 3. Teachers are sensitive to parents’ needs and life situations. Special events for parents and families are scheduled to accommodate as much as possible their individual time constraints and life situations. Translators are arranged for parents who lack fluency in English. 399400Younger children are welcomed, or babysitting services are provided to facilitate parental participation or attendance at scheduled parent meetings or conferences.

· 4. Teachers foster an atmosphere of mutual respect (Morrow & Young, 1995; St. George, 2010). Parents are treated with respect for their cultural background and individually as partners in the classroom’s learning community.

· 5. Parents are part of the planning and decision-making process (Galen, 1991; Rasinski, 1995). When possible, parents are included in the planning and decision-making process regarding parent involvement activities through the involvement of the school’s parent–teacher organization, local school council, or other parent-based group.

EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL–HOME CONNECTIONS

One successful parent program that was implemented in an inner-city child–parent center involved inviting parents to visit their child’s preschool classroom once a month for an hour-long group “read-in” (Otto & Johnson, 1996). Parents who came selected a book from the classroom library, sat down in a child-sized chair, and were quickly joined by one or more children ready for the book sharing. The classroom had a large collection of big books, which facilitated enjoyment of the parents’ reading by a group of several children. The classroom teachers also participated in the read-in. This program incorporated a classroom lending library and recognition for children who took books home to share with their families. Parents took turns in the classroom, helping to check books in and out. Some of the parents decided that it would be good to have special book bags for children to use and made arrangements to make a book bag for each child. Most parents went on to personalize their child’s book bag with additional decorations or their child’s name. The classroom teachers noted an increased interest in taking books home to read and also observed children’s excitement and pride when their parents came to participate in the read-in.

Project EASE (Early Access to Success in Education; Jordan et al., 2000) included opportunities for parents to become involved in book-related activities with their kindergarten children at school every week. In addition, parent education sessions were held. Parents engaged their children at home in book sharing activities. The purpose of this program was to increase language and literacy interactions that would enhance language development. Follow-up studies of the children involved in Project EASE documented significant gains in vocabulary, story comprehension, and story sequencing.

Teachers can also collaborate with school librarians and administrators to offer family literacy events. Chance 2010 describes a collaborative program that involved 400401teachers and a librarian along with strong administrative support. This program welcomed siblings and extended family members to daytime and evening literacy-related activities. Storybook read-aloud techniques were demonstrated by the teachers and librarian in two groups; one for Spanish-speaking parents and one for English-speaking parents. Then families participated in four different activities some of which were closely related to the read-aloud books. Refreshments followed. In addition, families were encouraged to visit the school library to check out books each Friday.

SUMMARY

The classroom teacher plays a critical role in establishing and maintaining positive school–home connections. While parent involvement and communication may be encouraged in many ways, each teacher needs to find out what works best for the families represented in his classroom. Throughout these efforts, it is important for the classroom teacher to focus on establishing mutual respect with parents and providing an opportunity for a wide range of activities that facilitate school–home communication. When this is done, everyone benefits—the children, their parents, their teachers, and the school.

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