What do you think about working in a family-centered program?
SUMMARY The chapter started with a look at why this book is called the Child, Family, and Community and considered Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model as part of the reason: because children always come in a context. You can’t ever consider a child without thinking of the family in which that child is embedded, which is why family-centered approaches to early care and education programs are so important. The chapter also looked at the history of family-centered education, which included some of the challenges pro- grams face when creating partnerships with families. More ways to look at family-cen- tered approaches were also discussed and included family systems theory and the whole-child concept, which means that though you can tease out particular domains of growth and development, like physical or mental, everything is always intertwined. That led to a discussion of school readiness and Marlow’s hierarchy of needs. Though discussions of culture appeared regularly in each section labeled “lens,” the term culture didn’t get a subheading until the end of this chapter. That’s typical of the way culture exists—all the time, every day, but when you are embedded in it, you don’t recognize that it’s there. To end, the chapter introduced Erikson’s theory of psycho- social development which will use his stages as well as themes of culture though the next five chapters, when once again culture shows up in the chapter title.
WEBSITES Harlem Children’s Zone The Harlem Children’s Zone provides comprehensive support to children, from early childhood through college prep, by focusing on issues of education, family, and community and health.
Kids Count Data Center The Kids Count Data Center is a source for data on child and family well-being in the United States.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is often considered the nation’s leading voice for high-quality education for children from birth through age eight. They provide many resources for professionals about family-centered care and education.
FOR DISCUSSION 1. What do you think about working in a family-centered program? Do you have
any experience with that approach?
2. What do you see as the benefits and challenges of a family-centered approach?
3. Thinking about your own life using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, can you draw a picture of the various layers of context in which you grew up? Label each layer and provide three influences in each layer.
4. What are your memories of your early care and education? Consider that the term covers programs serving children and families from birth to third grade. To what extent was your family involved in your out-of-home care and education?
5. What is your understanding of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Do you know someone who you would consider has reached the highest levels?