Enhancing Parent-Carer Communication in Early Childhood EDET460 Education-Case Overview

Introduction

Parents and instructors are an integral part of children's educational development and effective communication from the parents can support the learning environment for the students. As Barker and Harris (2020), state involving parents and families in the educational process establishes a sense of belonging to the educational institution.  This plan suggests strategies to engage parents and carers while incorporating the academic literature and policies that support effective communication. Here we have two families whose children go to childcare center;

Family A: The Phillips

The Phillips is a family consisting of 3 people led by single parent Alison, who is a dedicated nurse who often works long shifts to support her two children, Alex and Alicent. Alison is always busy and struggles to help her children with homework. Her son Alex, 5, suffers from a learning disability (ADHD), making the coursework challenging for him while Alicent, 4, feels neglected. This lack of family support has worsened Alex’s struggles, and Alison who is always exhausted cannot often engage with her children’s education. The family usually eats convenience food and spends a long time on the screen, which serves as a further distraction from the challenging education.

Family B: The Lee

The Lee family consists of Daniel and Eunji, who work full-time and a part time job have two children, Dino and Mary. They work hard to make ends meet and their busy hectic routines leave no time for academic involvement. Dino, 4 is easily distracted while Mary, has shown sign of anxiety and emotional over reaction on minor inconvenience. The parents are unable to have a work-life balance and thus cannot contribute to their children's educational needs. Communication remains strained within the family and dinners together are becoming less frequent, which has contributed to feelings of disconnect about understanding children's educational needs and challenges and overall emotional well-being.

Parent/Carer Communication Plan:

As an educator, or the staff from the childcare center the communication methods provided must cater for the concerns of both families efficiently.

For Family A:

Due to Alison's long working hours, the institute can issue text message notifications for reminders related to resources. The newsletters provided by the childcare center can have strategies that can provide methods to support Alex's learning process. Further, the childcare center can schedule phone calls to regularly discuss Alex's performances and offer a personalized approach to his issue. Then Alicent can be scheduled to visit the childcare center counsellor so that she can share her concerns. To share this progress, virtual meetings can be arranged to inform Alison of her children's progress.

For Family B:

Since the Lees have a huge screen time, the childcare center can communicate with them by using digital platforms such as the closed Facebook group that provides peer support and resources. The childcare center can organize workshops related to managing stress due to academic pressure for Dino and Mary. Similarly, scheduled phone check-ins will keep the parents informed and involved. The Learning Management System (LMS) of the childcare center will provide track of children’s progress without needing extra timely requirements.