The Goals of a Collaborative Approach
According to the NAEYC, the goals of a collaborative approach to home/school/community involvement should be to increase learning and reduce the achievement gap that still persists in our society (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). One of the core considerations of DAP is the need to understand sociocultural family contexts as essential to developing curriculum and experiences that are meaningful and relevant. Curriculum should be “clearly defined for, communicated to, and understood by all stakeholders, including families” (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 20).
Engaging the entire family, particularly fathers, is a very high priority today. As Glenn Olsen and Mary Lou Fuller (2008, p. 11) have stated, “Educators are experts in . . . the education of children, and parents are the experts on their children. However, because past experiences have given either parents or teachers disproportionate power in the relationship, both now have to learn to work as a team.”