Assessing the Home Environment to Promote Infant-Toddler Learning Within Everyday Family Routines

Parent agency in promoting child learning: Family perceptions of focusing on family strengths during early childhood assessment and planning practices

“…Family capacity-building focuses on both relational practices—practitioner beliefs, attitudes, and approaches that create a trusting, collaborative family-practitioner relationship—and participatory practices – behaviors that expect full family engagement in decision-making over the course of intervention (Dunst and Espe-Sherwindt, 2016). Strengths-based interventions appreciate family strengths and then build on those strengths by encouraging new family competencies to meet developmental goals (Boavida et al, 2014, 2016; Brown and Woods, 2016; Dunst et al, 2014b; Keilty, 2020; Kuhlthau et al, 2011; LaForme Fiss et al, 2014; Palisano et al, 2012). Through this process, families are reinforced in their ability to help their child learn, increasing parenting sense of confidence and competence and, subsequently, quality parent-child interaction and positive child outcomes (Boyce et al, 2017; Dunst et al, 2012b; Schertz and Horn, 2017; Trivette et al, 2012).…”

“…Through this process, families are reinforced in their ability to help their child learn, increasing parenting sense of confidence and competence and, subsequently, quality parent-child interaction and positive child outcomes (Boyce et al, 2017; Dunst et al, 2012b; Schertz and Horn, 2017; Trivette et al, 2012). The purpose of this study was to inform assessment and planning practices by understanding families’ perceptions of deeply exploring one particular type of family strength, the strategies (“the what”) they use to promote their child’s learning and development, including their thought processes (“the why”) around those strategies (Keilty, 2020; Keilty and Galvin, 2006).…”

“…responsive interaction strategies) and physical environment features (i.e. arrangement, materials, adaptations), whether or not the interventionist thought the strategies were effective for the particular child or the interventionist's perception of why the family was using a specific strategy (Keilty, 2017(Keilty, , 2020. These observations allowed the interventionist to see the actual context of families' lives and how they already help their children learn.…”

Using DEC-Recommended Practices to Support Virtual Classrooms and Remote Learning

“…Another key consideration for instructional and interactional opportunities is families’ ability, availability, and resources in supporting the preschoolers’ engagement with learning activities. Understanding the home environment allows educational staff to better promote young children’s learning within home routines; thus, assessing families’ needs and priorities early and continuously can ensure that teachers provide the right level of support to match families’ individual needs (Keilty, 2020). Families may receive a lot of information regarding their child(ren)’s educational services, and it might be especially heightened now.…”