Early Childhood Education - Article Example

Early Childhood Education Key Concepts Peterson (2007) investigated the teachers’ and principals’ practices and challenges in fostering new immigrant parent involvement in their children’s education. Previous literature suggests that there is strong relationship between parent involvement and educational achievement of children. It is for this reason that educators make use of different methods to involve immigrant parents in their children’s education. The research indicates that the involvement of parents varies according to families’ ethnic and language backgrounds, their socioeconomic status, and their formal education. The article also offers recommendations for educational institutions for enhancing parent involvement including hiring bilingual administrative and teaching staff; providing cultural awareness training for teachers and principals; making available translation services for written communication going home and verbal communication in formal and informal meetings of parents and school personnel; and integrating bilingual and multicultural materials in regular classroom instruction. The results from the survey and the interview suggested that facilitate communication between immigrant parents, their children, and school personnel (Peterson, 2007). Dean (2001) studied the myths attached to cross-cultural through analyzing a case of two African-American boys living with their great aunt. The article talks about different approaches that help in the explanation of the actions of the two boys and their aunt. Firstly, the modernist perspectives suggests that the clinicians should have a better understanding of the culture and traditions of the individuals they are treating so that they can integrate their perspective with their own to make the treatment more effective. Secondly, the postmodern perspective talks about the cultural aspects brought in by the clinician herself into the family. The article suggests that clinicians should understand and overcome the personal biases and prejudices that they might harbor against people belonging to different cultures. The sociopolitical perspective indicates that the clinicians emphasize more on the social context of the situation which meant they should understand the social environment of the individuals. Thus, the study suggests that for a clinician to be effective, he/she needs to understand the cultural differences and learn about the overall situation (Dean, 2001). Research Questions 1. Do barriers faced by new immigrant parents influence their involvement in their children’s education? 2. Do the school personnel have a significant impact on the involvement of new immigrant parents in their children’s education? 3. Does understanding of cultures help clinicians in designing effective treatments? 4. Does cultural bias among clinicians influence clinicians’ view of the clients? The ability to offer effective and quality help to individuals from diverse cultures is becoming increasingly significant to clinicians from all disciplines (Peterson, 2007). In order to provide people with the highest quality of services not only in the clinical setting but also in an educational setting, one has to understand culture and its functions in human behavior and society (Tharp, 1989). On the other hand, gaining complete understanding of someone else’s culture is questionable because no one can become an expert on someone else’s culture (Goldberg, 2000). Therefore, the clinicians or the instructors must consider the client or the student as the expert in their own culture and should adopt a position where they seek knowledge and try to comprehend what life is like for the client or the student in the environment they live in (Dean, 2001). Diversity in an educational environment allows teachers to meet the educational needs of students belonging to different cultures (Bowman, 1989). This provides both the teachers and the students with the opportunity to interact with individuals from different backgrounds and broaden their knowledge regarding different cultures of the world (Bowman, 1989). Furthermore, it also helps in the development of respect and patience towards other cultural beliefs and attitudes (Bowman, 1989). In order to improve the learning and adjustment of the students belonging to different cultures, parental involvement is extremely vital (Epstein & Sanders, 2000). The reason behind this is that researchers have found a significant relationship between involvement of parents and children’s academic achievement (Epstein & Sanders, 2000). Furthermore, numerous researchers recommend schools to facilitate parents in developing a home environment that is conducive for learning, respond to communications from school, become a part of their children’s education in various activities related to school at home, and also incorporate parents’ views and decisions that influence school and their children (Epstein & Dauber, 1991). On the other hand, it is important for the teachers to understand the home environment of the children belonging to diverse cultural backgrounds (Moles, 1993). This is because cultural attitudes among parents regarding various aspects such as authority or the importance of education can have a great influence on the children (Moles, 1993). Similarly, if the teachers are unaware of the cultural backgrounds of the children, both the parents’ and the teachers’ positions might represent cultural differences which might hinder proper growth and development of children (Dean, 2001). This is because children might be confused in deciding the path that they need to follow which might result in behavioral problems (Dean, 2001). Children should be given the liberty to not only practice their own belief systems but also acquire knowledge about other cultures (Tharp, 1989). Similarly, previous literature illustrates that when children do not need to give up their cultural traditions and customs, academic achievement enhances noticeably (Tharp, 1989). Thus, if parents see that their children are not giving up their culture; parents will support the school as a partner in their children’s education (Peterson, 2007). There are different perspectives through which teachers and clinicians indicate the significance of involvement of the significant others in the growth and development of their children both in a clinical and educational setting (Peterson, 2007). Firstly, the modernist perspective suggests that teachers should read about the immigrant families of the students to become better informed about their cultural traditions and customs (Dean, 2001). This will also help them understand the importance family values and education in different cultures (Dean, 2001). If the teacher is aware of the traditions and customs of the immigrant families, he or she can understand and integrate the family’s emphasis on different aspects to improve the academic environment of the children (Dean, 2001). Similarly, the postmodern perspective suggests that the teacher should consider his/her own cultural baggage that he/she brings in the educational and the home environment of the children. This would help them understand the cultural norms and values of the children and get in touch with their own biases. It would also help them overcome the preconceived notions about different cultures the students belong to and become aware of the impact of their identity and beliefs on children. Thus, it would help teachers accept the views of the children and parents regarding their cultural beliefs and become aware of the differences and the similarities between the cultures. Lastly, in regards to the sociopolitical perspective, the teacher can emphasize on understanding the environment that the children live in rather than emphasizing on the social context of the current behavior (Dean, 2001). In conclusion, both teachers and parents should realize the significant role of culture in the growth and development of children. For teachers understanding the cultural values of their students and for teachers becoming involved in their children’s education determines the course of the academic achievement of the children. In addition, teachers should also explore their personal beliefs in order to overcome their biases towards different cultures and fulfill the educational needs of the children. Lastly, parents should involve themselves with the education of their children so that the parents do not feel alienated from their children and the children have a chance to take forth their cultural heritage along the knowledge they acquire in school. References Bowman, B. (1989). Culturally sensitive inquiry. In J. Garbarino & F. Stott (Eds.). What children can tell us. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dean, R. G. (2001). The myths of cross-cultural competence. Families in Societies, 82(6), 623- 630. Epstein, J. L., & Dauber, S. (1991). School programs and teacher practices of parental involvement in inner‐city elementary and middle schools. The Elementary School Journal, 91(3), 291‐305. Epstein, J. L., & Sanders, M. G. (2000). Connecting home, school, and community: New directions for social research. In M. Hallinan (Ed.), Handbook of sociology of education (285‐306). New York: Plenum Goldberg, M. (2000). Conflicting principles in multicultural social work. Families in Societies, 81, 12-21 Isaacs, M. & Benjamin, M. (1991). Towards a culturally competent system of care, volume II, programs which utilize culturally competent principles. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Child Development Center, CASSP Technical Assistance Center. Moles, O. C. (1993). Collaboration between schools and disadvantaged parents: obstacles and openings. In N. F. Chavkin (Ed.), Families and schools in a pluralistic society, (pp. 21‐47). Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Peterson, S. S. (2007). A survey of teachers’ and principals’ practices and challenges in fostering new immigrant parent involvement. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(2), 881-910. Tharp, R.G. (1989). Psychocultural variables and constants: effects on teaching and learning in schools. American Psychologist, 349-59. Read More