Introduce
What do we mean by family engagement?
In its broadest sense, family engagement consists of ‘partnerships between families, early learning and childcare settings, schools and communities’, not only to raise awareness of the benefits of engaging in their child’s education, but also to ‘provide them with the skills to do so.’ (Emerson et al, 2012, p7)
This term is used to refer to the shared responsibility of early years settings, community agencies and professionals who are committed to engaging families to actively support their children’s learning, wellbeing and development.
Family engagement plays an important role across a child’s life but has specific benefits in the early years. Working alongside families is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ and there is no instruction manual which can define the best approach for your setting or role. Engaging families involves a set of constantly changing interactions and relationships among families, services, child-care and education settings, and communities. Effective family engagement is important in multiple settings such as nursery, family support agencies, pre-post natal support and the wider community.
In this course we refer to ‘parents’ as encompassing the role of any primary caregivers who have parental responsibilities. A person with ‘parental responsibilities’ refers to someone with the rights and responsibilities that parents have in law for their child. Individual family units will comprise a wider range of people who might also contribute to a child’s learning, wellbeing and development.
Develop
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory provides a valuable framework for understanding the complex factors that influence child development and family engagement. The theory suggests that a child’s growth and wellbeing is shaped by the interplay of multiple environmental systems, from the immediate family to broader societal influences. This is represented in the diagram below:
Image source: toddlePlay
Reflect
Stop and Reflect: Let’s start by considering what we mean by the term ‘family’. Remember that each child and family that you work with, will all have their own definition and experience of family.
– Write or draw thoughts or images that you relate to ‘family’.
– What patterns or themes do you notice?
– How have your own experiences shaped your thoughts or definition?
– What else might have influenced you?