TY - JOUR
T1 - Professional development to support parent engagement
T2 - A case study of early childhood practitioners
AU - Brown, Jill R.
AU - Knoche, Lisa L.
AU - Edwards, Carolyn P.
AU - Sheridan, Susan M.
N1 - Funding Information:
The development of this paper was supported by a grant awarded to Drs. Susan Sheridan and Carolyn Pope Edwards by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)—National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE); and the Department of Education (ED)—Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The opinions expressed herein are those of the investigators and do not reflect the funding agencies (Grant #1R01H00436135). Appreciation is extended to the early childhood practitioners, coaches, and researchers who provided their time and insight to this project. The authors also thank Jessica Dempsey for her help with data analysis and coding.
PY - 2009/5
Y1 - 2009/5
N2 - Research Findings: This qualitative case study describes early childhood practitioners' (ECPs) perspectives on their professional development as part of a large federally funded school readiness intervention project as they experienced the processes of professional growth and change in learning skills related to promoting parental engagement in children's learning and development. A total of 28 ECPs participated in this study over 2 assessment periods across 2 academic years; 12 ECPs were interviewed twice, for a total of 40 interviews conducted and analyzed. Practitioners worked within the context of Early Head Start, Head Start, and Student Parent Programs in local high schools, all located in a midwestern state. The study intended to (a) discover practitioners' understanding of a parent engagement intervention, including their perspectives on the professional development and supports received; (b) assess how the parent engagement intervention was experienced by ECPs; and (c) discern how self-reported attitudes and behaviors of practitioners toward work with families changed as a function of the professional supports they received. Qualitative analyses of interview transcripts revealed 3 primary themes contributing to ECPs' experience with and understanding of the professional development model to support parent engagement: Self-Perceived Changes in Confidence and Competence in Enhancing Parental Engagement, Relationships as Supports for Change, and Practice: Time Pressure and Paperwork Woes. Practice or Policy: Lessons learned and implications for the implementation of future professional development models are provided. Findings inform other early childhood professional development efforts being implemented in the context of rigorous, research-based programming, particularly those intending to support parent engagement.
AB - Research Findings: This qualitative case study describes early childhood practitioners' (ECPs) perspectives on their professional development as part of a large federally funded school readiness intervention project as they experienced the processes of professional growth and change in learning skills related to promoting parental engagement in children's learning and development. A total of 28 ECPs participated in this study over 2 assessment periods across 2 academic years; 12 ECPs were interviewed twice, for a total of 40 interviews conducted and analyzed. Practitioners worked within the context of Early Head Start, Head Start, and Student Parent Programs in local high schools, all located in a midwestern state. The study intended to (a) discover practitioners' understanding of a parent engagement intervention, including their perspectives on the professional development and supports received; (b) assess how the parent engagement intervention was experienced by ECPs; and (c) discern how self-reported attitudes and behaviors of practitioners toward work with families changed as a function of the professional supports they received. Qualitative analyses of interview transcripts revealed 3 primary themes contributing to ECPs' experience with and understanding of the professional development model to support parent engagement: Self-Perceived Changes in Confidence and Competence in Enhancing Parental Engagement, Relationships as Supports for Change, and Practice: Time Pressure and Paperwork Woes. Practice or Policy: Lessons learned and implications for the implementation of future professional development models are provided. Findings inform other early childhood professional development efforts being implemented in the context of rigorous, research-based programming, particularly those intending to support parent engagement.
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U2 - 10.1080/10409280902783475
DO - 10.1080/10409280902783475
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:68249089470
VL - 20
SP - 482
EP - 506
JO - Early Education and Development
JF - Early Education and Development
SN - 1040-9289
IS - 3
ER -