Partnership with families in early childhood education: New Zealand's policy and professional content

Aspden, K., McLachlan, C., Cherrington, S., Tyler-Merrick, G. ORCID: 0000-0002-7493-0724, McLaughlin, T. and Phillips, J., 2019. Partnership with families in early childhood education: New Zealand's policy and professional content. In: S. Phillipson and S. Garvis, eds., Early childhood education and care in the 21st century. Vol. II, Teachers' and families' perspectives in early childhood education and care. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9781138303942

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Abstract

Effective, authentic and meaningful relationships between early childhood teachers, parents, caregivers and extended family members is positioned as a central tenet of the Aotearoa/ New Zealand early childhood curriculum framework, Te Wha ̄riki. The introduction to Te Wha ̄riki declares the critical importance of such relationships. “Each child is on a unique journey. They come into the world eager to learn and into family, wha ̄nau or ‘aiga’ 1 that have high hopes for them. Teachers, educators and kaiako 2 in ECE settings work together in partnership with the family to realise these hopes” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 6). This chapter explores the way in which partnership with parents/ wha ̄nau is embedded as a core aspiration for early childhood education (ECE) in Aotearoa/ New Zealand, and how partnership with parents/ wha ̄nau is enacted in ways that are individually, contextually and culturally appropriate. It further explores how shifts in funding and policy have infl uenced both initial teacher education (ITE) for student teachers and continued provision of professional learning and development (PLD) opportunities for teachers, recognising that ITE and PLD are key drivers in teachers’ development of beliefs and practices in relation to engagement and partnership with parents/ wha ̄nau. In presenting the current policy and practice landscape in the Aotearoa/ New Zealand context, implications, challenges and possibilities for future practice are highlighted.

Item Type:	Chapter in book
Creators:	Aspden, K., McLachlan, C., Cherrington, S., Tyler-Merrick, G., McLaughlin, T. and Phillips, J.
Publisher:	Routledge
Place of Publication:	Abingdon
Date:	2019
ISBN:	9781138303942
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	10 Apr 2019 13:34
Last Modified:	31 May 2021 15:18
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/36225

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