Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Family and Teacher Collaborations and Social Intervention as Pillars of Early Childhood Education

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Amber L. Brown

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education Program, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, TX 77058, USA
Interests: family engagement; early childhood interventions; executive function; play; teacher efficacy; play-based pedagogy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue aims to explore collaborations between early childhood teachers' and families and the impact of these collaborations on the social/emotional development of young children. To this end we are interested in receiving papers on innovative and impactful collaborations between families of young children and their teachers and the various ways these collaborations enhance the social/emotional development of children and meet the needs of families. Knowing that supporting and collaborating with families is absolutely critical for healthy social/emotional development in early childhood education, papers are welcomed that explore the various ways early childhood teachers form relationships with families, offer social and emotional support to families, and share knowledge of children’s social/emotional development.

Papers that explore ways teachers collaborate specifically with families that live in communities with limited resources, to build bridges to needed services, offer fun educational activities for teacher and children, and boost families’ resilience are welcome. Papers that explore both classroom-based, community-based, and home-based collaborations between families and teachers are also encouraged.

In this Special Issue, Contributions have to follow one of the three categories of papers, article, conceptual paper or review, of the journal and address the topic of the special issue.

Dr. Amber L. Brown
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

teacher/family collaborations
teacher/family engagement
teacher/family relationships
family social support
social/emotional development

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 286 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Family–Teacher Relationships and Child Engagement in Early Care and Education

by Hillary R. Lewis, Shannon T. Lipscomb, Bridget E. Hatfield, Roberta Weber, Beth Green and Lindsey Patterson

Societies 2023, 13(3), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13030067 - 12 Mar 2023

Viewed by 2347

Abstract

Young children’s positive interactions with teachers and peers in early care and education (ECE) settings support the development of their social and academic skills. Identifying malleable factors that contribute to children’s positive engagement in these interactions is important in supporting early development. The current study examines one potential malleable factor that could be bolstered through supports for families and teachers alike: family–teacher relationships. We investigate associations between three specific domains of family–teacher relationships and children’s engagement in ECE, so that findings are specific and relevant to intervention. We examine data from Oregon’s Quality Rating Improvement System Validation Study; a diverse sample of 492 preschool-aged children in center-based ECE participated. Children’s engagement was directly observed; parents reported their perception of family–teacher relationships. Multilevel models examined the associations between family–teacher relationships and children’s positive engagement with teachers and peers in ECE classrooms. Results indicate a positive significant relationship between practices and children’s positive engagement with teachers. Although this association was not causal, it suggests that teachers who collaborate and communicate with families, respond to family feedback and cultural values, and demonstrate a family-focused concern may help children engage more positively with teachers. Findings are discussed, limitations addressed, and future directions provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family and Teacher Collaborations and Social Intervention as Pillars of Early Childhood Education)