Parent Engagement in ECECWhy is it important; What is it; Can we improve it?

Dr. Catherine Wade

Principal Research Specialist & Psychologist

Parenting Research Centre & University of Sydney

Paper presented at the Queensland Early Education and Care Conference June 2016, Brisbane.

What is a parenting research centre?

Acknowledgements

Parenting Research Centre: Dr Gina-Maree Sartore, Dr Michelle Macvean, Dr Catherine Wade, Derek McCormack, Dr Arno Parolini, Faye Forbes, Tracey Phan, Durga Shrestha, Anastasia Pourliakas, Ben Devine, Cathy Bent, Jessica Falkiner, Dr Robyn Mildon, Dr Erica Neill, Tracey Phan, Durga Shrestha, Faye Forbes, Fiona Shackleton, Catherine Murphy, Melinda Polimeni, Cathy Bent, Tony Gates, Warren Cann…

Centre for Community Child Health: Maria Fong

Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY): Neil Stafford & Dr Stacey Fox

Bronfenbrenner’s socioecological model

of influences on the child

Adapted from Siegler, R., Deloache, J., & Eisenberg, N. (2006). How Children Develop (2nd ed.) . New York, NY: Catherine Woods. Available at: https://lifeinstructionmanual.wikispaces.com/References+Page

The science shows the ingredients of

a healthy childhood are consistent.

The most important magic ingredient

is the quality and stability of the

relationships that children have with

the adults in their lives.

Jack Shonkoff, The Age, 3 March 2006

Growing up in Scotland: Cohort of 5,217 children

“While other family factors such as parents’ education

and socio-economic status are also important, the extent

of home learning activities exerts a greater and

independent influence on children’s cognitive

development at three years of age”

Melhuish, 2010 , p.19

Your confidence

Do you, personally feel very or extremely confident at...

Talking with families about children’s success & achievements

Sharing info about a child’s learning and progress

Responding to a family’s request for info or advice regarding their child

Communicating with families about their priorities and concerns when setting goals for their child

Sharing info about child development or behaviour

Encouraging families to be involved in the activities at the service/centre

Greeting families by name

Responding to a families concerns or complains

Communicating with a family from a different culture

_ /9

89

81

76

71

70

69

69

67

52

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Talk with families about children’s success and achievements

Share information about a child's learning andprogress

Respond to a family's request for information oradvice regarding their child

Communication with families about their prioritiesand concerns when setting goals for their child

Share information about child development orbehaviour

Encourage families to be involved in the activitiesat the service/centre

Greet families by name

Respond to a family’s concerns or complaints

Communication with a family from a differentculture

% of educators reporting 'very' or 'extremely' confident

Assessing the evidence

Rating categories

Strong At least two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) AND two meta-analyses or systematic reviews have found the action or behaviour improves learning or development outcomes for children or young people.

Good At least two RCTs OR two meta-analyses or systematic reviews have found the action or behaviour improves learning or developmental outcomes for children or young people.

Emerging One RCT or several longitudinal prospective studies or quasi-experimental studies or a meta-analysis or systematic review has found the action or behaviour improves learning or developmental outcomes for children or young people.

Pending Actions and behaviours that do not meet the above criteria. For example, a single group pre–post design study with no comparison group found improvements in child outcomes; or some studies demonstrate some gains for child outcomes, but other studies show no benefit.

Strong Evidence

= evidence of positive outcomes; - = no evidence; S = strong evidence of positive outcomes; G = good evidence of positive outcomes; E = emerging evidence of positive outcomes; P = pending evidence of positive outcomes

Parent action or behaviour

Literacy Numeracy Young

children

Older

children

Positive parental interactions and

home environment

S G

Reading with the child using rich

explanations, discussion and dialogic

strategies

- S P

4 years

Wo

rds

‘00

0,0

00

50

40

30

20

10

Language experience

Hart & Risley (1995)

Good Evidence

= evidence of positive outcomes; - = no evidence; S = strong evidence of positive outcomes; G = good evidence of positive outcomes; E = emerging evidence of positive outcomes; P = pending evidence of positive outcomes

Parent action or behaviour

Literacy Numeracy Young

children

Older

children

Having aspirations or expectations

for the child’s education

P G

Reading to the child G E

Being involved with the child’s

school

G G

Tutoring child in literacy activities - G P

Emerging Evidence

* May be childcare in the home or in a formal service setting

Parent action or behaviourLiteracy Numeracy Young

children

Older

children

Communicating with the child about

school

- E

Tutoring the child in maths exercises

and basic numerical skills

- E E

Ensuring childcare is of a high quality - - P P

Using gestures to complement speech - - E -

Authoritative/democratic parenting

styles

- - - E

High-quality childcare* - - P P

Adequate sleep routines and duration - - E P

Negative parenting did not result in

good outcomes for children

- - P P

Parents of preschool children...

65% of parents play music to or sing songs with their child every day

57% play with their child in the bath every day

More than 94% play games like finger puppets and peek-a-boo, or used other indoor toys, at least once a week

(sources: EHLS and smalltalk data)

Frequency of family members reading a book to children aged 0–12 years, VCHWS, 2013

Barriers to Parent Engagement

Databases:

• SES

Low parent education

Maternal unemployment

Parent mental health

Cultural background

Focus Groups:

• Time

Inflexible work places

Work commitments

Other siblings

Extra child activities

Lack of knowledge about

how

The National Quality Framework

(1) educational program and practice

(2) children’s health and safety

(3) physical environment

(4) staffing arrangements

(5) relationships with children

(6) collaborative partnerships with families and communities

(7) leadership and service management

Consultations – What works?

18 peak ECEC agencies

6 peak community organisations (SNAICC, COPMI, Noahs Ark)

4 ECEC educator focus groups

3 parent focus groups

265 parents via online survey

318 ECEC educators via online survey

89

81

76

71

70

69

69

67

52

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Talk with families about children’s success and achievements

Share information about a child's learning andprogress

Respond to a family's request for information oradvice regarding their child

Communication with families about their prioritiesand concerns when setting goals for their child

Share information about child development orbehaviour

Encourage families to be involved in the activitiesat the service/centre

Greet families by name

Respond to a family’s concerns or complaints

Communication with a family from a differentculture

% of educators reporting 'very' or 'extremely' confident

coaching

The process of behaviour change

Knowledge & awareness

Beliefs AttitudesBehavioural intentions

Behaviour

EfficacyLegitimacy

Morality

Costs & benefitsSocial & cultural norms

HabitHeuristics

Context / setting

REFLECTIVE

AUTOMATIC

* Model adapted from TNS Social Research in ARACY (2012).

Hoover-Dempsey Model

AdaptabilityLow High

Child’s parenting

needs

StrongWeakAdverse child & contextual factors

eakAdverse parent & contextual factors

Parentin a

context

Parenting Adaptability

Zone ofproximal

development

The resource

The demand

Jump aboard

Your confidence

Do you, personally feel very or extremely confident at...

Talking with families about children’s success & achievements

Sharing info about a child’s learning and progress

Responding to a family’s request for info or advice regarding their child

Communicating with families about their priorities and concerns when setting goals for their child

Sharing info about child development or behaviour

Encouraging families to be involved in the activities at the service/centre

Greeting families by name

Responding to a families concerns or complains

Communicating with a family from a different culture

_ /9

Thank You.

Dr. Catherine Wade

www.parentingrc.org.au

Twitter: @WadeCath