How Does Teacher Quality Matter? The Effect of Teacher–Parent Partnership on Early Childhood Performance in Public and Private Schools

Abstract

This study explores how teacher matters in improving early childhood performance in US kindergartens. We find that it is what teachers do rather than the credentials they hold that matters. Different from previous research on the effect of teacher quality on student achievement, this paper first rejected the common practice of using teacher credentials, such as degree levels and certificate status, to measure teacher quality in the context of early childhood education. Based on the 'overlapping spheres' framework, this study then examines the behavioural aspects of teachers; specifically, we focus on teacher's role in establishing and maintaining a good teacher-parent relationship. Our findings suggest that teacher-parent interaction is a positive determinant of student performance. The behavioural aspects of teaching appear to shape the transformation from a mere 'qualified' teacher into a 'quality' teacher, and should receive more attention in future studies on teacher quality.

Teacher Outreach Efforts and Reading Achievement in Kindergarten

“…However, there has not been much research investigating the influence of teachers' outreach efforts on students' learning outcomes; the results of this study provide this previously lacking insight into the relationships between teachers' outreach efforts and kindergarten students' reading achievement at the end of the kindergarten year. The results also support the views of several scholars (e.g., Rathbun & Hausken, 2001;Schulting et al, 2005;Xu & Gulosino, 2006) that there is a meaningful link between teachers' outreach efforts and student achievement by the shared community, including teachers and parents, especially during the kindergarten years.…”

“…As mentioned earlier, however, parental involvement alone is not sufficient without teachers' careful and deliberate efforts. As the transactional model posits, social relatedness and trust among teachers, children, and their families are critical to students' school engagement and academic success-especially during the early school years (Adams & Christenson, 2000;Hughes & Kwok, 2007;Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003;Xu & Gulosino, 2006). This calls for educators to broaden the idea of a quality teacher to one who should be able to establish positive relationships not only with his or her students, but also with the parents; this is particularly true for minority and low-SES populations.…”

“…Although the importance of teacher-parent interaction on student performance has been highlighted, and teachers' outreach efforts are often mentioned as a means of developing positive teacher-parent relationships (Xu & Gulosino, 2006), researchers have not taken a deeper look at students who could be "at risk," such as minority students or students entering kindergarten with lower reading abilities than their counterparts. More research on the relationships between teachers' outreach efforts and student-level reading achievement (especially for young children at risk for academic failure, many of whom are from minority and low socioeconomic status [SES] backgrounds) is sorely needed.…”

“…Similarly, Xu and Gulosino (2006) reported that teacher-parent interaction is a positive determinant of student performance at the kindergarten level based on their study using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K) data to explore how teachers matter in kindergarten students' reading performance. They found that it was not the teachers' credentials (i.e., degree level, certification status) that mattered, but rather behavioral aspects-specifically, teachers' outreach efforts to establish and maintain strong teacher-parent relationships.…”

“…However, parents and families or teachers alone are not enough to achieve such important academic goals. Therefore, providing well-planned reading instructions at school, arranging opportunities to practice reading in and out of school, and connecting with families to support this entire experience should be part of the teachers' role in improving kindergartners' reading achievement (Xu & Gulosino, 2006). However, as McCarthey (2000) noted, there are several barriers to successful home-school connections in relation to early literacy, especially for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, such as the mismatch between the home and school environments, different values about the roles of teachers and parents, and different patterns of discourse.…”