Barriers and Bridges: Caregiver and Early Childhood Educator Relationships and Communications

This qualitative study explored the association of barriers and bridges in relationships and communication through the framework of parent involvement proposed by Epstein and Sanders (2006), focusing specifically on the ultimate step of collaboration between school and community. “Students learn more and succeed at higher levels when home, school, and community work together to support students’ learning and development” (p. 87).Purposeful recruitment and selection were based on interviews with participants who have a preschooler currently enrolled at the preschool in which the study occurred currently or in the past school year. In addition to parents and caregivers, the participants included employees who were currently working at the preschool in the study or have in the past year. While based on convenience sampling, the study participants were representative of the student population and participants based on racial backgrounds, age groups, and income levels in order to allow for a greater range of application of the findings. The focus of the study was to determine parents' perception of the preschool in regards to communication and feeling welcomed, as well as their understanding of their child’s development, specifically in regards to kindergarten readiness. It also placed an emphasis on educator perception and ways to engage a broader audience in terms of parent participation and to empower educators to employ problem-solving and data-supported decision-making skills to overcome barriers and build bridges to strengthen communication and relationships. For the purpose of this study, barriers are defined as any obstacle that inhibits relationships or communication between home and school which could inhibit engagement. Bridges are defined as connections or links to facilitate and support communication between home and school in order to make engagement somewhat easier. Bridges and barriers could be real or perceived. The bridges that were shared include in-person contact with the teacher at drop-off and pick-up, special events, meeting the teacher at the open house, porch visits prior to the start of school, newsletters, the annual art show, and weekly posts on the private classroom social media platforms to bring the classroom to the parents. Barriers that were shared by participants include lack of transportation, lack of interpreters, and conflicting work schedules. Findings shared by parents included feelings of satisfaction concerning updates about their child and how the day went, but as far as information on the development of their child and how learning is aligned with the curriculum- most parents reported that was not shared. Parents made the comparison between the differences in daycare and preschool and placed greater value on preschool. Overall, most parents reported being satisfied with the communication they receive and the progress of their child for kindergarten readiness.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Kansas

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Cavaness, Amanda Marie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• DeLuca, Thomas A

• Education
• Early childhood education
• Communication
• Involvement
• Kindergarten Readiness
• Preschool
• Relationships

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright held by the author.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:18242

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/39043