Making Partnerships Work: Proposing a Model to Support Parent-Practitioner Partnerships in the Early Years

Abstract

Building on Froebelian principles that highlight the importance of family and community, this study explored the importance of collaboration and communication as part of a two-way dialogue. The aim was to identify the key characteristics of a model that would encourage interest and commitment to partnerships from both parents and practitioners. The idea of such partnerships has a solid theoretical background and is supported both rhetorically and by legislation by the Department of Education. However, research has shown that practice often falls short of the ideal, due to reasons such as the managerial discourse that constructs parents as potential consumers and the challenges faced when performance is prioritised over creativity. As part of the study, we employed a mixed methods approach and encouraged parents and practitioners to work together by participating at two sessions with families and children. The sessions provided parents and practitioners with space and time to explore the issue of working in ‘partnership’. After careful consideration of ethical issues, data were collected using pre and post-session questionnaires with all participants, as well as face to face interviews with some of them. Findings indicate that both parties need to invest time and recognise that ‘effective partnership’ is a two way process which requires engagement and dialogue to be able to develop meaningful relationships of trust. The findings were used to develop the ‘CAFE' partnership model which incorporates those elements considered important to facilitate the development of partnerships between practitioners and parents. The CAFE model addresses the gap in the literature in terms of unpicking the key features of a partnership approach, as captured through the lived experience of both parents and practitioners. It also contributes to deepening the understanding of the applications of Froebelian principles in contemporary contexts and the ways in which they can encourage high quality early childhood development and education. Future research should explore how this model could be used to evaluate existing practice and guide the development of current partnership policies and approaches.

How involved are parents in their child's early years setting's food decisions and practices?

“…Much of this is contained with the ‘communicating’ aspect of involvement ( Epstein, 2010 ), where parents asked for there to be more two-way or meaningful communication on food and nutrition, a finding that supports other studies ( Dev et al., 2017 ; Johnson et al., 2013 ; Kambouri et al., 2021 ; Luecking et al., 2020 ). Dipti and colleagues, in their study on engaging parents to promote nutrition and health in pre-school EYS, identified a range of barriers to communication, including parents being too busy to talk to providers, and providers unsure of how to communicate about nutrition without offending parents ( Dev et al., 2017 ).…”

“…Practitioner guidance on strategies to promote healthy eating are available in the UK, including ways to better involve and engage parents ( Action for Children 2017b ), and to support the development of parent practitioner partnerships in EYS ( Kambouri et al., 2021 ; PACEY ). Action for Children's ‘Eat Better, Start Better’ guidelines on food and drink in early years settings have ‘best practice around involving and engaging parents’, suggesting (a) all staff are able to share the EYS's approach to healthy eating with parents/carers and children; (b) families and children are consulted and encouraged to give feedback about the meals and snacks offered; (c) family and children's involvement in decision-making is included in the EYS self-evaluation’ and (d) families are encouraged to participate in food activities to support development of healthy cooking skills (Action for Children, 2017a , 2017b ).…”

Relationship between partnership and the sustainability of institutionalized child care in Lira City, northern Uganda

“…Another study done by Leite et al (2004) on community innovation and networking in Canada revealed that partnership by networking promotes the development of the organization through the enhancement of economic, social, political, and cultural capabilities; the creation, provision, and use of community-oriented learning opportunities; and the development of community-oriented cultural content, open source software, learning tools, and broadband infrastructures. These findings supported the Forebelian principles that highlight the importance of family and community, Postulated by Kambouri, (2022). The principle shows that partnership significantly contributed in enhancing community development.…”

Using Qridi Program to Promote the Cooperation Between Teachers and Parents

“…The theoretical frame of the study forms research about different programs to promote the cooperation between teachers and parents (Kapsalis et al, 2019), the partnership between teachers and parents (Jose, et al, 2020;Kambouri, et al, 2021), cooperation and collaboration between teachers and parents (Malik, 2021;Halpner, et al, 2021).…”