Exploring the importance of parental engagement in early childhood education, this book delves into research and practices in 25 countries to bring students, researchers, teachers and policy-makers insights into working families around the world. The incorporation and consideration of parental engagement and involvement in early childhood education are a new phenomenon to many countries. Yet, increasing research recognises the importance of parental engagement and involvement in early childhood education services, and the role both parents and teachers play to support children's learning and development. Using a range of materials from curriculum to policy documents, Garvis et al. demonstrate differences in practices and terminologies pertaining to the topic and provide an international perspective on the importance of parental involvement and engagement in early childhood education services.
The content covers a range of countries as well as countries beyond an 'Anglo-Saxon' perspective. The different policy settings across these countries highlight how countries work with, and involve, parents differently, which is useful for jurisdictions where early childhood education is a developing aspect of a country's education system. Looking at cultural influences, partnership approaches, parental collaboration, institutional dominance and child involvement in parent meetings, the content offers readers real understanding of parental engagement and involvement in different settings.
The readership includes students in early childhood education, and researchers, teachers, policy makers, and general members of the public interested in parental engagement or involvement in early childhood education across the globe.
About the Author: Susanne Garvis is Professor of Education (early childhood) and Chair of the Department of Education at Swinburne University of Technology. She has extensive experience in early childhood research and has worked at both Australian and Swedish universities on national and international projects. Her particular focus is quality improvement and policy development.
Sivanes Phillipson is Professor of Education at Swinburne University of Technology. She is the Routledge Editor for the Evolving Families Series, which focuses on issues, challenges and empirical best practices surrounding evolving families that impact upon their survival, development and outcomes. Sivanes has over 100 publications to her name including books, peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. She has authored and co-authored/edited eight published books focusing on teacher education and parent engagement, with the latest four books published with Routledge.
Heidi Harju-Luukkainen is Professor of Education and Vice Director of Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. She also works as a professor of Education at Nord University, Norway. She holds a Ph.D. degree in education, special education teacher qualification and a qualification in leadership and management from Finland. She has published more than 200 international books, journal articles and reports as well as worked in multiple projects globally. Harju-Luukkainen has worked at top ranked universities in the USA like UCLA, USC as well as in many Nordic research universities. She has developed education programs for universities, been a PI of PISA sub-assessments in Finland and functioned as a board professional.
Alicja Renata Sadownik, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (Bergen, Norway). She received her Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the University of Gdansk (Poland). Since the last six years her research focuses on childhood(s), early childhood education settings and parental cooperation in the context of migration and socio-cultural diversity. Her works have been published in journals such as European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, and Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood SAGE Journal, among others. She is also one of the editors of "Young children in the world and their rights 30 years with the UNCRC" (Springer 2021).
