Introduction to the Family Engagement in Early Care and Education Learning Series

Introduction to the Family Engagement in Early Care and Education Learning Series

Narrator: How can you strengthen your relationships with the families of children in early care and education settings? Explore the Family Engagement in Early Care and Education Learning Series. Find out about effective practices in partnering with families to support children's healthy development and learning.

Family engagement is an interactive process that brings early childhood professionals, family members, and their children together to build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility that requires mutual respect for the roles and strengths that families and professionals have to offer. Family engagement means doing with, not doing to or for, families. It means inviting parents with their children and educators to work together toward goals that families choose for themselves and their children.

The Family Engagement in Early Care and Education Learning Series offers six learning modules. As you complete these, you will learn about ways to integrate strengths-based practices and attitudes into your work with families and children; form mutually respectful, goal-oriented relationships with parents that strengthen children's school readiness and family well-being; create safe and welcoming environments for families; examine your own perspectives about family engagement; and affirm the importance of families, cultures, languages, strengths, and interests.

Module topics include using relationship-based practices in your work; exploring children's behavior as communication; partnering with families to enhance children's development and learning; engaging fathers; sharing child assessment data; and responding to developmental concerns about children. These modules were developed by the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement and the EarlyEdU Alliance.