The purpose of this study is to describe how a parent's partnership with professionals progresses and evolves throughout the service provisioning process. Using a phenomenological ethnographic approach, the lived reality of a family is depicted as the parent walks through different stages of the Individualized Family Service Plan process over a 6-month period. Data concerning parent–professional interactions were obtained via observation notes and document reviews whereas data regarding parent perceptions were collected through multiple individual interviews. Overall, the parent conveyed her satisfaction with actual services especially regarding the professionals’ knowledge and parental advocacy. However, the parent also indicated frustration with the early intervention planning process and “obligated” partnerships with providers. In particular, the providers’ lack of sensitivity was noted, and greater emotional and psychological support was suggested. The overall process of developing partnerships with professionals can be excessively intrusive to the family's lives. Future research directions are offered as a contribution for the development of improved policies for early intervention programs regarding family-centered practice, utilizing the perspectives of families.

We investigated whether center-based care has a positive impact on children's development in comparison to in-home care or activity programs, such as music, physical, play, and sensory experience classes. Using nationally representative data gathered from 2,078 families with children in South Korea, whom we monitored from birth to the age of 2 years, we utilized linear regressions and a propensity score matching method to examine the impact of center-based care on the children's development. Results suggested that participation in center-based care positively affects only the child's development of gross motor skills, whereas in-home care and activity programs showed a broader positive influence on children's development, such as their communication and problem-solving skills. The benefit from center-based programs was much smaller compared to that of other care arrangements. On the basis of these results, we suggest the use of various forms of publicly funded childcare services, including more active utilization of in-home care, with service quality assurance measures. We expect our investigation to provide possible directions for childcare policies across cultures.

This paper aims to examine the genealogy of family-centredness in early childhood intervention. In particular, it deconstructs the procedural requirements, such as the completion of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), which has operated to serve the notion of family-centredness. Employing a poststructuralist lens, the paper contends that the current knowledge/belief is constructed and institutionalized by the dominant groups, such as policymakers and professionals, and their discourse. Families are normalized with discursive practices to believe that their participation perfects the rules set by powered social institutions with knowledge and power; hence, they are at the centre in the practice of services and provisions. Blinded by the normalized discipline, the historically absented position of families in the construction of social structures has perpetuated through the existing practices. Thus, this paper offers a critical reflection on the understanding of multiple discourses. In particular, both service providers and families should be able to question the process of service provisioning, when necessary. By critically viewing the current case, the development of quality early childhood intervention programmes and family-centred practices might be purported across countries.