Early childhood education is guided by a variety of standards. In 2010, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) formulated the initial standards to regulate professional preparation in the context of early childhood education. The purpose of this paper is to discuss Standard Two as one of the 2010 NAEYC Standards for Initial Early Childhood Professional Preparation, which is important to improve skills in developing family and community relationships and to provide the questions to interview an early childhood professional regarding the aspects of the selected standard.
Summary of Standard Two: Building Family and Community Relationships
Standard Two is focused on the idea that the developed relationships of educators with families and communities are extremely important to create a supportive environment for children. The engagement of parents and communities in the process of education allows addressing diverse characteristics of families, improving the communication between families and educators, and involving relatives in the process of the child’s development (The National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2010, p. 1).
This standard is important to be selected among others because the family and community engagement is an important aspect of early childhood education, and more attention should be paid to this area. Moreover, to become a good professional and an advocate for children’s interests and needs, it is important to understand the aspects of their daily life (Colker, 2008, p. 2). Therefore, it is necessary to communicate with parents regularly, report on the children’s progress, involve parents in the class and home activities, and organize the community entertainment events to support children and contribute to their development.
Questions to Interview an Early Childhood Professional
To interview an early childhood professional regarding the aspects of Standard Two, it is possible to propose five questions. The first question is “How can I organize the communication with families to learn more about their daily life?” This question is important because an inexperienced educator can enhance abilities in protecting the interests of children referring to the answer (Garbacz, McIntosh, Eagle, Dowd-Eagle, & Hirano, 2016).
The second question is “What strategies allow learning more about diverse families?” This question is significant to enhance the overall knowledge regarding the standard. The third question is “What do you mean under ‘reciprocal relationships’?” The answer to this question contributes to understanding elements of supportive relationships (Feeney, Galper, & Seefeldt, 2008). The next question is “What are the typical strategies to involve parents in the class and home activities?” The answer to this question can present the working strategy to improve family engagement. The final question is “What should I do to involve the community in development activities?” The question is important because community engagement is a more challenging task than family engagement is.
Contact Information and Explanation for the Request
To contact the early childhood professional, it is necessary to use the following information: (1) the e-mail address (2) the phone number. The first e-mail asking the interviewee to participate in the conversation should include the following statement: “The family and community engagement plays a key role in early childhood education. The purpose of this project is to discuss Standard Two: Building Family and Community Relationships as one of the 2010 NAEYC Standards for Initial Early Childhood Professional Preparation in the context of its importance to the practice. The discussion is based on five questions regarding the application of this standard to praxis.”
Conclusion
The paper has provided the discussion of Standard Two: Building Family and Community Relationships, the justification for its importance, as well as questions to gain the answers from the early childhood professional. The next step in this field is contacting the selected early childhood professional to guarantee responses to provided questions. The final stage is the analysis of the received answers from the perspectives of enhancing the current knowledge in the area and developing the required skills.
References
Colker, L. J. (2008). Twelve characteristics of effective early childhood teachers. Web.
Feeney, S., Galper, A., & Seefeldt, C. (2008). Continuing issues in early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Web.
Garbacz, S. A., McIntosh, K., Eagle, J. W., Dowd-Eagle, S. E., & Hirano, K. (2016). Family engagement within schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 60(1), 60-69. Web.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2010). 2010 Standards for initial early childhood professional preparation. Web.