Family Partnership Plans

Family and community involvement enhance the learning experiences ofchildren. Early childhood administrators realize that there are cultural,economic, and other factors that break down communication and limit the waysfamily and community members can participate in programs for young children.They must be willing to learn how to meet diverse needs and establish trustingrelationships with families and communities. Surveying parents and families atthe beginning of the year will help you better understand the challenges andbarriers they face. You will learn more about their parenting styles, views,values, and preferred ways to be contacted and involved in their child’slearning and development. Data from the surveys will help you create a plan forfamily and community involvement in your early childhood program.

For the Unit 9 Assignment, you will analyze four completed family surveyslocated in the Course Documents area of the course and compare the surveyresults to research-based theories of family systems and approaches to familyand community involvement. You will use this information to create a familypartnership plan for each of the families surveyed. The family partnershipplans will be created to represent the specific viewpoints of the families forthe purpose of increasing family and community involvement in your earlychildhood program.

You will use the Family Partnership Plan Template included in the CourseDocuments area of the course to complete the following components of the Unit 9Assignment:

Part 1: Analyze the Family Survey Data

For Part 1 of the Assignment, you will analyze four completed familysurveys, which are included in the Course Documents area of the course, to gaina better understanding of the needs and challenges diverse families face fromthe viewpoint of the families themselves. You will include your summary of youranalysis of each family’s needs, challenges, parenting styles, values, andpreferred ways to be contacted and involved in their child’s learning on theFamily Partnership Plan Template provided.

Part 2: Compare Survey Results to Research-Based Theories &Approaches

For Part 2 of the Assignment, a 3-4 page expository essay should be writtenusing Standard English, complete with citations and references. The essayshould be written using standard paragraph structure and 12-point Times NewRoman font. It should also follow all other APA formatting and citationguidelines and include separate title and references pages.

You will compare the survey results to research-based theories of familysystems and approaches to family and community involvement. For each familysurveyed, describe which family system is represented and which research-basedapproach or modified approach to family and community involvement will workbest for the family. This expository essay should be original and insightful.

Part 3: Create Family Partnership Plans

Based on your analysis of the family surveys and comparisons ofresearch-based theories of family systems and approaches to family andcommunity involvement, complete the chart included in the Unit 9 AssignmentTemplate to create family partnership plans for each of the families surveyed.Your plans will include communication, involvement, and various support strategies.

Please use 12′ font, APA format 6th addition.