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Parent Involvement in US Early Childhood Education: Benefits, Limitations, and Reconceptualizations

  • Chapter
International Handbook of Early Childhood Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

This chapter aims to broaden interpretations of how families in low-income, immigrant, and minority communities in the United States are involved in their early childhood age children’s learning. By examining the benefits and limitations of previous conceptualizations of US parent involvement and studies that employ them, the chapter presents an argument for an expanded, sociocultural approach to involvement that incorporates a range of childhood activities such as play and work at home, at school, and in the community as well as social-emotional learning and childrearing lessons that are facilitated by parents and other adult caregivers. In addition to these contextual variations, the chapter advocates for a conceptualization of US parent involvement that takes into account parents’ cultures, values, and expectations for their children’s learning. The chapter provides implications for research, theory, and practice that give greater consideration to the educational contributions of diverse US families as well as the school practices that support them.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aiken County Public Schools, Aiken, SC, USA

    Angela Pons Clifford

  2. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Marisha L. Humphries

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  1. Angela Pons Clifford
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  2. Marisha L. Humphries
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Correspondence to Angela Pons Clifford .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Marilyn Fleer

  2. Department of Theory & Research in Education, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Bert van Oers

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Clifford, A.P., Humphries, M.L. (2018). Parent Involvement in US Early Childhood Education: Benefits, Limitations, and Reconceptualizations. In: Fleer, M., van Oers, B. (eds) International Handbook of Early Childhood Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0927-7_37

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0927-7_37

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