Working with Parents and Families in Early Childhood Education

This book reports initiatives to listen to parents/families, to ascertain what they believe and do as they seek to engage collaboratively with their children's educators, and responses. It was originally published as a special issue of the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal.

Introduction 1. Parents' play beliefs and engagement in young children's play at home 2. 'She thinks her toys don't understand Romanian': family engagement with children's learning during the transition to school 3. Would it really matter? The democratic and caring deficit in 'parental involvement' 4. 'Remote parenting': parents' perspectives on, and experiences of, home and preschool collaboration 5. An observational assessment of parent-teacher cocaring relationships in infant-toddler classrooms 6. Chinese and German teachers' and parents' conceptions of learning at play - similarities, differences, and (in)consistencies 7. How educators define their role: building 'professional' relationships with children and parents during transition to childcare: a case study 8. Parental involvement in Finnish day care - what do early childhood educators say? 9. How do early childhood practitioners define professionalism in their interactions with parents? 10. Written communication with families during the transition from childcare to school: how documents construct and position children, professionals, and parents