PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIPS are the most critical for children's social and emotional development and wellbeing. While parent–child relationship support programs are well documented, there are none designed for educators’ use within early education and care settings. To inform development of an educator program, an understanding of educators’ everyday practices, their role in supporting parent–child relationships and children's social and emotional development was sought. Educators reported the importance of parent– child relationships, yet were hesitant to engage with parents. Educators’ knowledge was primarily implicit—drawing on observations and practical experiences to build their knowledge of relationships and social and emotional development—which contributed to reluctance in sharing their knowledge with parents. Educators requested theoretical, evidence-based approaches to build further knowledge and inform everyday practices in supporting parent–child relationships. These findings are critical to the development of an educator-led parent–child relationship program for use within education and care settings.
BraunV., & ClarkeV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
3.
BronfenbrennerU. (1992). Ecological systems theory. In VastaR. (Ed.), Six theories of child development: Revised formulations and current issues. (pp. 187–249). London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
ConkbayirM., & PascalC. (2014). Early childhood theories and contemporary issues: An introduction.London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing.
6.
DayC. (1999). Researching teaching through reflective practice. In LoughranJ.J. (Ed.), Researching teaching: Methodologies and practices for understanding pedagogy (pp. 215–232). London, UK: The Falmer Press.
DunstC. J., & TrivetteC. M. (1996). Empowerment, effective helpgiving practices and family-centered care. Pediatric Nursing, 22(4), 334–337, 343.
9.
Espe-SherwindtM. (2008). Family-centred practice: Collaboration, competency and evidence. Support for Learning, 23(3), 136–143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9604.2008.00384.x
10.
FenechM. (2013). Quality early childhood education for my child or for all children? Parents as activists for equitable, high-quality early childhood education in Australia. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 92–98.
11.
ForryN. D., MoodieS., SimkinS., & RothenbergL. (2011). Family–provider relationships: A multidisciplinary review of high quality practices and associations with family, child, and provider outcomes. Retrieved 3 November, 2016, from www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/family_provider_multi.pdf.
12.
HalgunsethL., PetersonA., StarkD. R., & MoodieS. (2009). Family engagement, diverse families, and early childhood education programs: An integrated review of the literature. Young Children, 64(5), 56–58.
13.
HustonA. C., BobbittK. C., & BentleyA. (2015). Time spent in child care: How and why does it affect social development? Developmental Psychology, 51(5), 621–634.
14.
KingstonJ. K. C. (2012). Tacit knowledge: Capture, sharing, and unwritten assumptions. Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, 13(3).
15.
Klassen-EndrizziC. (2004). We've got to talk: Redefining our work with families. Language Arts, 81(4), 323–333.
16.
Knight-McKennaM., & HollingsworthH. L. (2016). Fostering family–teacher partnerships: Principles in practice. Childhood Education, 92(5), 383–390.
17.
KrátkáJ. (2015). Narrative as a form of sharing tacit knowledge among future teachers. International Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 22(2), 7–16.
18.
LangS. N., TolbertA. R., Schoppe-SullivanS. J., & BonomiA. E. (2016). A cocaring framework for infants and toddlers: Applying a model of coparenting to parent–teacher relationships. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 34, 40–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.08.004
19.
McGillM. (2007). Tapping into the tacit. International Journal of Learning, 13(9), 169–186.
20.
MortensenJ. A., & MastergeorgeA. M. (2014). A meta-analytic review of relationship-based interventions for low-income families with infants and toddlers: Facilitating supportive parent-child interactions. Infant Mental Health Journal, 35(4), 336–353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21451
21.
NiteckiE. (2015). Integrated school–family partnerships in preschool: Building quality involvement through multidimensional relationships. School Community Journal, 25(2), 195–219.
22.
NolanA., & RabanB. (2016). Reflection on one's practice: Research about theories espoused by practitioners – the grand and the personal. In DavidT., GoouchK. & PowellS. (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of philosophies and theories of early childhood education and care (pp. 246–256). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
23.
O'ConnorA., NolanA., BergmeierH., HooleyM., OlssonC., CannW., … SkouterisH. (2016). Early childhood education and care educators supporting parent–child relationships: A systematic literature review. Early Years, 37(4), 400–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1233169
24.
OhlssonJ. (2014). Pedagogic challenges in the learning organization. The Learning Organization, 21(3), 162–174. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-09-2013-0045
25.
PitsoeV. J., & MailaW. M. (2012). Towards constructivist teacher professional development. Journal of Social Sciences, 8(3), 318–324.
26.
RatcliffN., & HuntG. (2009). Building teacher–family partnerships: The role of teacher preparation programs. Education, 129(3), 495–505.
27.
RiskoV. J., VukelichC., & RoskosK. (2002). Preparing teachers for reflective practice: Intentions, contradictions, and possibilities. Language Arts, 80(2), 134–144.
28.
RouseE. (2012). Partnerships in early childhood education and care: Empowering parents or empowering practitioners. Global Studies of Childhood, 2(1), 14–25.
29.
ShannonD., SmithS., & DanaN. (2016). Practitioner research in early childhood education and care: A 21-year review of the literature. Infants and Young Children, 29(4), 312–334.
30.
SinghN. N. (1995). In search of unity: Some thoughts on family–professional relationships in service delivery systems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 4(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233951
31.
SmithS., RobbinsT., StagmanS., & MathurD. (2013). Parent engagement from preschool through grade 3: A guide for policy makers.New York, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty.
32.
SunR., MathewsR. C., & LaneS. M. I. (2007). Implicit and explicit processes in the development of cognitive skills: A theoretical interpretation with some practical implications for science education.New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
33.
TurnbullA. P., & TurnbullH. R. (2001). Families, professionals and exceptionality: Collaborating for empowerment (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
34.
YatesT. (2011). Parents interacting with infants: Strengthening parent–child relationships to support social and emotional development. Zero to Three, 32(2), 25–29.
