Fostering Classroom Communities

Title of Dissertation: Analyzing parental involvement dimensions in early childhood education

Author: Zeynep Kurtulmus


Kurtulums(2016) Believed that parent involvement with their children’s education also helped with their social skills. There has been a wide spread of research that supports his beliefs. Studies have shown positive effects on a child’s development as well as their academic achievement. Research was done to show the positive side of parent involvement versus no parent involvement. With the research it is able to show why it is important for parents to be involved with their children’s education. Kurtumuls study focused on two parts parents involvement  and parents education. It also involves home visits and school based activities.  The focus of the study was how to increase parent involvement and its quality, For this, dimensions of involvement needs to be known, and parents’ behavior in these dimensions needs to be analyzed ( Kurtulums, 2016).  The dimensions are development based dimension, activity based dimension and involvement based dimension.





The study was conducted in a Turkish early childhood program, about 300 parents with 5 year old’s. Fathers were excluded due to not contributing. The children picked for the study were from independent preschools and public kindergarten. Each parent was given a letter explaining the study One part of the study parents were given a study to obtain their parental involvement. Other parents were interviewed with questions pertaining to activities they do at home and school with their child. After compiling the data it was sent off to be reviewed and the results were given back to the researchers. The data revealed parents scored high when they closely follow what their children learn in school. Praising children when they accomplish a good job was second, followed by talking to their children about their interests. The lowest involvement involved redirecting school based activities to do at home. Parents also scored highest when encouraging children to change an activity when they lost interest. Study showed that while parental involvement was moderate for all three dimensions, the highest involvement was observed for the involvement based dimension ( Kurtulums, 2016). When it involves activity based behaviors parents involvement declines, this is where parents may need assistance on how to remain involved with their children’s activities.



After the readings of this week lesson, it is important that parents are involved with their children’s development and education. During this study it showed that in some areas parents aren’t that involved and suggests developing more research to help parents remain involved in all aspects of their child’s learning process. In my classroom now I make sure to have open communication about what their child is learning in my class. Monthly I do newsletters for the families so they can see what were doing in class and encourage them to do the same at home with their child. By doing this the parents have a blueprint on what their child is learning and encouraging them to continue with the learning and development process.



Reference

Kurtulmus, Z. (2016). Analyzing Parental Involvement Dimensions in Early Childhood Education. Educational Research and Reviews, 11(12), 1149–1153. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1104563&site=eds-live&scope=site

Introduction

Hello everyone, I'm Shakira I live currently in El Paso TX. We are a military family and have been here for 2 years now. We have 6 children and one grandson, we are a blended family. I'm currently completeing the post Masters certificate deciding if I want to continue after it is finished. I currently work at the CDC on post with toddlers, and I was recently promoted to lead teacher of another toddler room. I've worked with children for over 14 years. My main goal is to have my own childcare center when my husband retires in 10 years.

Sharing Your Thoughts

Healthy Prenatal Development

It is important to me to make sure women I encounter know how important it is to be healthy during their pregnancy. Doing the research for the last discussion question had me finding new programs and learning about different resources that are out here for women.

As an Early childhood professional it is my job to make sure I can provide women I see in need this valuable information. Don't be afraid to offer over resources to families because you feel they may not take it. Working in childcare I have encountered numerous families who aren't aware of the many resources out here for them.

Food is a major part of a healthy pregnancy but their is also making sure your stress free and not feel like your alone. When it comes to these issues there is also resources for them to check out to make sure they're not alone and feel like someone is in their corner. Also maintain healthy exercises can prepare you for labor later.

Time Well Spent

These last 8 weeks seem to have flown by, I can't believe we are at the end of our journey. I've learned so much as each week went by.


From the development of my challenge it has made me want to see my plans come together to bridge the gap in communication when it comes to staff and families. I learned many tips and activities to get people engaged when it comes to communication.


Feedback from my fellow classmates taught me to take effective criticism. I'm very thankful for their suggestions and advice to make my capstone more effective.

Developing my Community of Practice was very informative and helped me seek outside resources to help achieve my vision and goals of effective communication within my center.

My long term goal is to continue to help with communication between staff and families, and continue to give quality care to the children in my care. I want to advance in my current center and continue to learn new skills in early childhood that I can take with me and use when I open my own center.

Good Luck to my fellow classmates, and Thank you Dr E. for your feedback as well!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

I have always liked UNICEF ( https://www.unicef.org/), their mission to save children's lives, defend their rights, and help fulfill their potential ( Unicef.org 2018). They offer lots of services to help children in need and have several other organizations that back them. Current job opening is for a Nutrtion Officer ( https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=513156) in Asia, the responsibilities are  The Deployment Officer will work closely with local Government authorities, Ministry of Health and partners in Kurigram. The officer will serve as a bridge between the project and district level by providing technical oversight, coordination, quality, uptake, and sustainability of the project as a key component of broader nutrition and health programming in the district context. Education requirements: University Degree or higher in Informational Technology, Statistics, Economics, Bioinformatics, or a related field is required. This sounds like a great job opportunity to be involved with making sure children get the proper nutrition they need to develop. 


Save the children ( https://www.savethechildren.org/) is another organization I'm fond of. Their mission is to help children around the world in need who suffer from poverty, and not getting the proper education they need. Current job offer is for a global 
Team Leader, Humanitarian Surge Team ( https://recruiting.ultipro.com/SAV1002STCF/JobBoard/7d92e82b-af74-464d-859b-c5b8cba6e92e/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=9a586f37-2570-4654-9f37-969e11bf4bb6) The duties for this job, 

• Assume overall oversight of country-wide or regional emergency response in collaboration with the Country Director.
• Manage large number of multiple grants (across up to 10 sectors), ensuring strict compliance of program activities with Save the Children national and global policies and procedures and with relevant donor regulations and agreements, SPHERE guidelines and the NGO code of conduct.

Education requirements, 

• You have a minimum 7-10 years' experience in area of expertise
• Bachelor’s degree
• Extensive experience of working within a senior management role within a complex  country program in an emergency response or fragile state

This job is very interesting, I don't know how I would do working in a fragile state, I get emotionally attached easily and this could be hard for me. 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ( http://www.oecd.org/about/), Their mission  is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Current job opening, Project Co-ordinator, Partnerships and Networks Unit ( https://oecd.taleo.net/careersection/ext/jobdetail.ftl) responsibilities for this position

• Assist the Head of PNU in ensuring smooth and efficient co-ordination of the activities of the Unit related to communications issues and to the timely delivery of network activities.
• Work closely with the PNU assistant, to ensure co-ordinated follow-up on actions (e.g. requests for inputs from the Director’s Office) and ensure deadlines are met.  
• Ensure backup for the PNU assistant in her/his absence.  
• Contribute to the preparation of reference documents (e.g. Work Programmes).

Education requirements, A university degree in business administration, communications, finance, or related field. This sounds like a fun job, developing activities to help with communication issues is something that caught my attention since my capstone topic is about effective communication.  

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

There have been several organizations that I've found that have held my interest and I wanted to learn more about them. The first organization I'm happy I found out about is Autism Speaks. With the recent diagnosis of my youngest son with Autism I have done countless hours of research on how to make things more comfortable for him. This website is the best I have come across, it has so much information and good advice that I recommend it to anyone I cross paths with. They do currently have an opening for a Autism Response Coordinator
The purpose of this position is to provide Autism Response Team (ART) information and referral services to Autism Speaks’ constituents in a designated geographic region, and to support the Family Services Department in delivering the mission of Autism Speaks. This position works closely with the Autism Response Team Manager and Autism Response Team Coordinators to ensure that Autism Speaks’ information, tools and resources are promoted efficiently and widely throughout the autism community. The requirements for this position:

Education: Minimum Bachelor Degree.

Languages: Bilingual: English/Spanish required.

Experience: Minimum 2+ years’ information and referral, service coordination, counseling, or customer service related background; knowledge of autism and systems of services required.

The second organization I always go back to for ideas, advice, etc is Zero to Three. Being a toddler caregiver there are so many things that I need to understand and have the proper solutions when it comes to caring for the child. They have a listing for Assistant teacher at a childcare center. The job Assists the teacher in providing effective education to students. The requirements: 

1. High school diploma or equivalent required. Bachelor's degree in education or child development is preferred.

2. Proper understanding of field specific terminology

3. Previous experience working with children.

4. Must be skilled in the use of Microsoft Office software. 

The third organization that I love is Paso Del Norte Children's Development Center. They provide lots of resources and classes as well have their own childcare center for special needs children. My son currently goes here for speech and he has had so much improvement. A current opening below 

Paso del Norte Children’s Development Center is a non-profit agency, serving children with special needs. We are accepting applications for:

JOB TITLE:  Registered Behavior Technician DEPARTMENT: ABA Program, Community Resource Center STATUS:  Part-time, hourly SCHEDULE:  Monday to Friday from 1:00pm – 6:00pm

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS:  Must have a high school diploma;  Must be 18 years of age; and  Must meet one of the following educational requirements: o Completed minimum of 12 semester hours of college coursework in psychology, education, social work, behavioral sciences, human development or related fields, AND is currently enrolled in a course of study leading to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by an accredited college or university; o Completed a minimum of 48 semester hours of college courses in an accredited college or university;   Must have a minimum of one year’s experience providing services to children diagnosed with autism and/or developmental delays. 
 

JOB SUMMARY: Provide applied behavior analysis therapy to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The RBT will implement individualized treatment plans; teach language, social, and adaptive skills; manage problem behaviors and ensure child’s safety at all times; conduct preference assessments; provide parent training; participate in individual/group supervision; provide feedback to supervisor; and collect treatment data. 

https://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us
https://www.zerotothree.org/
https://pdnchildrens.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Here in Texas there are several organizations that have caught my eye, the first Paso Del Norte, caters to children with special needs. My son goes here for speech therapy they also have other services that they provide to all income based families. This center has been a life saver for my family because we didn't know how to handle my son's recent diagnosis to Autism. The staff has helped us out tremendously and we are forever grateful for them. They currently have openings for Speech-Language Pathologist, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, or Early Intervention Specialist with a local ECI program.
https://pdnchildrens.org/


The second organization is Parent Coordination Network, it helps families who are searching for special education resources within the community. The Parent Coordination Network is committed to ensuring that parents of students with disabilities receive accurate and timely information to assist them in making informed choices in their children's education. They currently do not have any openings for employment at this time.
https://www.texasparent.org/contact


The third organization is Ft Bliss MWR, It is a network that provides all kinds of services for the military families. They have so many programs its hard to list them all, The MWR has many openings, from their CDC, to the post exchange stores. I currently work for the MWR and couldn't be any happier, it is a great company to work for and I can't wait to move up within the company.
https://global.armymwr.com/us