Early Childhood Education

Week 2: Application Assignment Sheet

Reaching Out to Parents and Family Members

Plan

Prepare for your interviews as follows:

• Arrange to interview at least three parents or family members who have infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and/or primary-age children in an early childhood care and education classroom or setting. You may speak with friends, relatives, and/or colleagues. (If you have a young child in an early childhood care and education classroom or setting, you may “interview” yourself as one of the required three people.) If possible, try to speak with parents or family members from a variety of cultures, age levels, demographics, etc. Inform everyone that responses will be anonymous.

• Review the Week 2: Parent/Family Member Interview Form and make a copy to use with each family member you will be interviewing.

Implement

Conduct your interviews as follows:

• Using the Week 2: Parent/Family Member Interview Form, interview each of the people you have chosen about his or her perspective on issues and information related to the responsibility of early childhood programs to the families they serve. Take notes and ask clarifying questions as needed.

Reflect

Reflect on your interviews as follows:

• Review the notes you made during your interviews and consider the knowledge and insights you gained from these experiences.

• Relate your field experience to what you have learned about quality early childhood programs and the role of parent, family, and community involvement.

• Consider:

o How the information you gleaned from the interviews compares with what you have learned in your coursework so far

o Whether the interview responses were similar to and/or different from person to person and if so, why

o The ways in which information you gleaned will help you to be a more effective early childhood professional

o Your thinking with regard to the statement: Children are...