Introduction
There is a world of difference between early growth and development in early childhood, even early adulthood, and a lifetime’s experience. Between 0 and 8 years of age is, in human development, the most exceptional window period of growth and development in a child’s life from which all future learning is based. Getting it right at this point will have a huge impact on the future: better learning in school leading to higher educational attainment with enormous social and economic benefits to societies. Research has shown that good-quality ECCE programs reduce dropout and grade repetition while improving learning achievement in later stages of education.
Shaping the development with the efforts of Parents and Teachers
Education involves a multilayered interaction between the parents and the teachers. The parents serve as the recognized curriculum for children from birth up to about 3 or 4 years of age. By structured learning experiences through teachers in a classroom environment, both play an important role in the development of a child; be it cognitive, social, emotional, or physical development, providing a nurturing environment with reliable support networks and positive interactions will create the foundation for learning and success.
I. Contribution of Parents in Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE)
1. Parents as the first teachers
It has been very clear that positive parenting adds to the formation of all children’s cognitive, social, as well as problem-solving abilities. Incorporating positive parenting shapes their reactions and molds them into much-better humans. Interaction and stimulation are very important in early stages. It is all about identifying problems and handling situational-based problems to pick out and foster traits of discipline, time management and effective problem-solving in very simple home routines.
2. Socio-Cultural Development
Children observe spousal interaction and argument resolution within the family. It teaches them a whole range of good values that they carry and which become increasingly important while growing up. The child learns how to relate himself to others, cooperation and team spirit, the selection of good friends, and much more.
3. Physical Development
It is certainly beyond achieving milestones that have set age parameters for such things. Learning about health, exercise, teamwork, nutrition, and proper living conditions is done through journal play. Knowledge from their parents can help children build a good habit of exercise and diet so that they grow naturally. Parents must understand that children become what they have seen.
4. Mental Development
Parenting styles enable a child to learn innovatively, embrace failure and overcome it, learn self-discipline, embrace feedback, and understand the concepts of reward and punishment. It determines how they react to stimuli, thereby shaping their minds.
5. Spiritual Development
Understanding religion, prayer, with right and wrong as technically meaningful, empathy, correct ethical values, valuing parents, and building goal-setting help free spirit in children. Be there to support your children in becoming more accepting and in understanding the purpose’s good and greatness. Do not impose a specific religion on them; let them explore spirituality in their own way.
II. Contribution of Teachers in Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE)
1. Beyond the Classroom Walls
Teachers are not limited to classrooms; rather, they are the architects of dreams and cultivators of potential. Concerning books and lessons, teachers emerge to create mentors and adjust the emotional, social, and intellectual landscapes of the children they guide.
2. Cultivating a Love for Learning
A teacher’s greatest challenge is to stimulate a love of learning that lasts beyond the formative years of education. It is not merely in the infusion of knowledge but rather a desire to change one’s attitude toward curiosity about inquiry and to kindle the adventurist spark that learning affords that will grow.
3. Modeling Positive Behavior
Teachers present themselves as the living embodiment of their students’ ideals, attitudes, and behavior, which are used by the young under their care as the basis for their own moral and ethical development. Thus, teachers influence the moral character and good conduct of the young under their sphere.
4. Individualized Attention
Teachers recognize and appreciate that every child is unique. Individualized attention enables teachers to identify both strengths and challenges of children and tailor the teaching approach accordingly so that no child is going to be denied access to reach their full potential.
What does the Parent-Teacher Relationship in ECCE Result?
1. Open Communication
Communication is the magic word! When parents and teachers can work together and communicate freely with one another, they can understand each other’s perspectives, concerns, and goals for the child better. Whether through parent-teacher meetings, emails, or phone calls, open channels of communication keep the doors of support and collaboration open for the child’s education.
2. Shared goals
Both parents and teachers want to help a child grow, learn, and stay healthy. They challenge each other to make a school and home an environment where each child finds individualized treatment with encouragement to cultivate their independence, curiosity, and love of learning.
3. Respect and trust
The ECCE teachers recognized the knowledge, skills, and distinct perspectives parents brought into the mix. Parents were trusted to make informed decisions regarding their child and their knowledge, and contributions toward their children’s education were sought and valued.
4. Parent education
The Early Childhood Care and Education institutions always give parents ample opportunity for gaining and mobilizing knowledge. These may include workshops, seminars, and parent-teacher conferences. Parents will also familiarize themselves with the philosophy and methodologies of ECCE, know what is being done to encourage their children towards learning, and work directly with teachers to facilitate children’s learning, growth, and development at home.
5. Building Trust
Trust is the foundation of any relationship intended for growth. If teachers and parents trust one another, their combined efforts toward the best possible development of the child will be more fruitful. Beyond being an assent, trusting relationships bind security and stability around children because they feel assured that their teachers and parents are also working toward the same goal of success for them.
6. Supportive learning environment
The educator makes attempts to build a learning atmosphere that is supportive and inclusive and fosters a sense of welcome, value, and respect for the parents. They encourage parents to become part and participate in school life through volunteer possibilities and special events, providing the parents sense of community and belonging.
7. Making Consistency
Consistency is necessary for early childhood education! By ensuring that parents and the teacher communicate toward common expectations and routines that are followed at home and in the classroom, a level of stability and predictability can be created for the child. Consistent messages and reinforcement of learning concepts will also serve to strengthen the child’s understanding and retention of new information.
Challenges Faced in ECCE Partnership
While there are benefits of the parent-teacher partnership in the holistic development of children, one must wonder about those children left behind due to various reasons. Levelup believes that no problem is insurmountable. Understanding the barriers put forth, we have a perfect solution for a smooth learning journey.
1. Parents busy with work schedules
Time, or the lack thereof, can affect parental involvement. Work commitments and busy lifestyles limit what parents can participate in with regards to an ordinary school life for their children. Parents’ evening and school events are not accessible to several families because of rigid and inflexible work schedules. PTAs and volunteering at school, therefore, become impossible for parents and caregivers who are short on time. Taking time off for many families tends to be a financial burden. Parents who work hourly positions can never afford to take time off to come into school. And many parents or caregivers work night shifts or are unable to access their emails and take a call during work hours.
Solution – 1. Consider online review meetings and parent evenings to maximize attendance.
2. Virtual meetings can allow parents and staff to converse via video call, from home or on the go, thus getting work done around their other commitments.
3. Parents’ level of English language proficiency
Interacting with the school and participating in school activities can be somewhat intimidating to parents; especially those who speak English as an additional language (EAL). These parents and caregivers, who are often less confident, can become very reluctant to any engagement in their children’s education. Besides, school communications, such as newsletters, emails, and text messages, may become inoperative for them. With a limited ability in English, he/she cannot facilitate the process of engagement with EAL parents and guardians in the sphere of education. Such great language barriers can inhibit parents from supporting homework greatly, and parents can complete homework but may do so off the cuff or just misinterpret instructions. Supporting learning at home could be tough workable for these parents.
Solution – 1. Work closely, openly, and cooperatively with families so that the best way to facilitate parent communication can be broken down for parents who have English as a second language.
2. Introduction of parent slang communication in their native language may well be a way to improve parent-teacher communication.
3. Any other language that a parent is familiar with to put forward their thoughts.
4. Negative school experiences
Negative school experiences bruise parents; hence they often are reluctant to involve themselves in their children’s educational experience. They may feel distant, alienated, and even distrusting of the teachers or schools. In such a situation, some parents who have not been successful at school may sometimes lack the skills or confidence to support their children in their learning at home.
Solution – 1. Find out and familiarize with families and parents generally who lack much confidence.
2. Open the floor for dialogue at review meetings or parents’ evening and assure them that your objective is to work together.
5. Limited access to technology
Homeschooling during school closures was a challenge for every parent. And those who did not have adequate access to digital devices or high-speed Internet found the going especially tough. Simply put, the pandemic magnified an already existing digital divide. A few possible solutions are: 1. Bridging the digital divide is complicated, but there are small things you can do to foster inclusion. 2. One such idea may be minimizing the need for home connectivity; when selecting content, try to ensure that it can all be downloaded and that some materials can be stored on mobile devices. 3. Another could mean ensuring notes of anything important to be easy to refer to any time, anywhere.
Conclusion
At this home, a solid working partnership between parents and teachers within the ECCE program framework is very vital, where parents, through their active support, help in a child’s learning at home; teachers nurture their children in these early years within an environment conducive to an effortless transition from home to school, thus maximizing the child’s potential during the early years. This partnership provides consistency in routines, reiterates positive reinforcement, and seeks a common understanding of a child’s individual needs and learning milestones.