Glenda Allen-Jones is chair of the Early Childhood Department at Southern University at New Orleans.
M ost parents want to be part of their children’s development. According to Marian Wright Edelman, an advocate for children’s rights as well as civil rights, adults sharing the lessons they learned in their lifetime with their children ensures cultural, intellectual and moral traditions are passed from one generation to the next. And sharing love and kindness with children helps them to develop their own nurturing abilities.
Some adults determine how they can be involved in their children’s lives based on how they were parented. The views parents hold on their ability to aid their children also has an impact on their involvement.
Moreover, parents underscore the need for early childhood educators to understand the demanding lives families lead. Although, all parents may not face similar situations as the ones shared in this article, all parents can identify with the challenges and rewards parenting can bring.
Those who work in early childhood programs, as well as schools at all levels of learning, are better informed by listening and learning from the families they serve.
Providing multiple opportunities to engage parents is essential, and parent involvement should not be limited to what occurs at school. Opportunities for involvement increase the chances family members will find something that matches their interests and meets their needs, according to a 2004 article in Educational Leadership by Joyce L. Epstein and Karen C. Salinas.
Children want to know their family members care. They express pride in sharing their day at school and displaying prized projects. Children also progress in social/emotional development when adults talk with and listen to them.
Parents involved in educating their children are at times influenced by a perceived inability to impact change in their child’s education. In addition, opportunities and invitations made by school staff can shape parental involvement.
The research is rich with definitions, guidelines and examples of parental involvement. However, many of these lack parents’ perspectives on what involvement means in their children’s lives.
In a series of interviews, a group of parents at a Head Start center in Chicago defined parent involvement. Parents were interviewed and asked to share their thoughts on how to encourage parental involvement, and shared information about multiple avenues for involvement that had been available to them at the center.
Their thoughts, even though specific to the center, can translate to wisdom for all levels.
Parent voices and tips
Parents say they want hospitable and friendly staff. Involvement makes parents feel good and enhances their self-esteem, and they feel comfortable in centers where the staff greets them in a friendly manner.
Imagine walking into a center and being greeted with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Imagine being asked pleasantly to wait one moment until the director is free to talk with you and being shown to a comfortable seat while you wait. How would you feel in this center?
View early childhood centers, in fact view all of your facilities, with fresh eyes and answer the following question:
• What do parents see when they arrive?
• Are they greeted pleasantly and asked how someone can help them?
• If staff members are busy, do they acknowledge the parent and indicate they will be with them in just a moment?
• What sights capture their attention while they wait in your reception area?
• What pictures do they leave with in their mind?
Parents also want staff to demonstrate a positive attitude during their interactions. Parents feel welcome at schools that celebrate the idea that “families are important.” Staff should express an interest in the needs of the family and hold them in high regard. Displays of diverse family configurations within the center underscore the message that all families are welcome.
Father and advocate
Jeffery is a single dad raising two children. He often volunteers at the Head Start center where his 4-year-old daughter is a student, and was named National Head Start “Father of the Year.” He expressed the importance of parental access to center resources this way:
“[Help from the Head Start staff] is a key piece. They don’t force it. They ask you what are you doing now and what would you like to be doing. They collaborate. The whole Head Start team works together. They ask you open-ended questions. There are plenty of resources available that parents are not aware of, and the Head Start program is good for getting parents connected with these resources.”
Mother and advocate
Angela is a single mom with one daughter in Head Start. She works two jobs and wants to return to school to complete a nursing program. Lack of a good role model in her own childhood forged Angela’s determination in providing better for her daughter.
Angela says she wants to be the best mom, often volunteers at the center and became the president of the policy council. She describes parental involvement this way:
“I believe in reading to [my daughter] because I am a reader. I love reading. I believe in playing with her, doing activities with her. You know, just your usual EDLS (everyday living skills). Teaching her the importance of cleaning, bathing, taking care of herself, brushing her teeth, eating nutritious foods. Health is very important because there are so many obstacles in the way that cause people to get sick and they don’t even know why.”
Angela’s guidance of her daughter’s development is consistent with other parents who seek to define parental involvement in their terms. Reading books, attending religious services, teaching life skills, spending time at the center, loving and being with their children away from home and at home are ways parents define involvement.
Father and mentor
Gerald reflects on the growth and development of his now-grown children. His daughter and son attended Head Start centers. He has been active in Head Start for many years and shares one example of his family’s involvement:
“I sometimes go back and think of things I have done with my children. I think about things I would have liked to have seen or done or, even more so, encouraging other people in what they can do with their children. One of the things I am most proud of is that we have always attended church together. The children were born in the church; they were christened. And just to watch and look at the pictures of them growing up in the church and now to watch them grow up and take their roles in the church as young leaders … that has been very inspiring.
“To see my children kind of understand, to see them kind of get it, to understand the kind of rules that we had as parents. To see them finally realizing that it is not just about us or it is not just about our family. We must share ourselves with others to help other people. To see all of that now coming to a point where I can see them understanding it and beginning to say, ‘Yes, I am going to keep that in my life.’”
Gerald addressed the issue of providing positive experiences, being a role model and helping children evaluate the choices they make in their lives.
Now that his children are adults, he continues to work as a child development specialist at the Head Start center, supporting other parents.
Involvement tips
Consider you are new to the neighborhood and you must visit a center or a school to enroll your child. Your heart is pounding because English is not your native language and you worry someone will laugh at you for making mistakes while speaking.
Parents appreciate centers and schools that promote diversity in staff and displayed materials. Parents whose native language is not English may require translator services. All families want to see artwork and pictures reflective of themselves. Programming should be planned for the interests of both mothers and fathers.
• A needs assessment could be administered to families to garner input regarding parent workshops. In addition, effort should be devoted to learning about the cultural representations of families within the area.
Parents consider involvement one of the keys to success for their children. Parents believe they are their child’s first teacher.
• Hosting a curriculum night would be an example of commitment to assisting parents in helping children at home.
Parents offered additional suggestions for parent involvement activities. These were as simple as providing modest meals for families attending events and setting up a child care service for younger siblings at parent meetings or conferences. Parents responded in heartfelt ways. Their definitions only touch the surface of an expanding definition of the practice and the study of parental involvement.
Parents reported they are excited and happy about their involvement. They felt welcomed, encouraged and supported at the Head Start center where these interviews were conducted. Teachers and administrators prioritized family involvement as the cornerstone of their work and this commitment was evident.
Parent input was solicited continually as a way to involve families in making decisions that impact their lives. Staff and administrators worked together to connect with and provide support for the families and children they serve.
Isn’t that the environment that you want for your early childhood center or school?
References
Glenda L. Allen-Jones, “Our lives, our stories: A study of parental involvement,” unpublished dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana, 2004
Marian Wright Edelman, “The measure of our success: A letter to my children and yours,” Boston, Beacon Press, 1992
Joyce L. Epstein and Karen Clark Salinas, “Partnering with families and communities,” Educational Leadership, 2004
Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey, Joan M.T. Walker and Howard M. Sandler, “Parent’s motivations for involvement in their children’s education,” School-family Partnerships for Children’s Success, New York, Teachers College Press, 2005
Background on Head Start
Head Start is a federally funded early childhood program that began in 1965 in response to then-President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. Edward Zigler, working collaboratively on the formation committee, promoted Head Start as a means to help young children who lacked access to early education opportunities.
Urie Bronfenbrenner was instrumental in providing the ecological approach to child development as a lens to view working with families. The ecological approach to child development underscores the importance of the child’s family and community when considering how to achieve gains that will continue during the child’s development.
The premise of Head Start is to help young children living in improvised settings by focusing on them and their families providing access to comprehensive services. Head Start provides services in the areas of education, parent involvement, disability services, health services, and social services.
Historically, parental involvement in Head Start has been one of advocacy for the children, families and the programs. Early on, parents faced some resistance to their participation in Head Start. Bessie Draper became the first parent- program specialist in 1966 on the national Head Start staff. She helped to define parental involvement using the term “maximum feasible parent participation” to provide structure for participating parents in Head Start. The focus of involvement in Head Start has expanded over the years to focus on grandparent and father participation.
References
Jennifer Birckmayer, Janette Cohen, Isabelle Jensen and Denyse Variano, “Supporting grandparents who raise grandchildren,” Young Children, 2005
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.), “Adventures in parenting: How responding, preventing, monitoring, mentoring and modeling can help you being a successful parent,” Washington, D.C., National Institutes of Health, 2001
Edward Zigler and Susan Muenchow, Head Start: The Inside Story of America’s Most Successful Educational Experiment, New York, Basic Books, 1992