Working parents’ perspectives and involvement in their young child’s learning using the Initiating Parent Voice

Abstract

Parent involvement in a child’s early education is of crucial importance because of the prominent role parents play in their child’s life (Smith, 2013). This research has looked at how parents in full-time employment currently see their involvement in their child’s early childhood education and how their participation could be enhanced with the use of the ‘Initiating Parent Voice’ (IPV). IPV is a form, which presents a photograph of the child busy with a specific learning interest at the early childhood education and care centre, prompting dialogue between the child and the parent. This provides an opportunity for written feedback to the centre about the learning interest before a learning story may be written (Whyte, 2010) thus giving the parent and the child an extra opportunity to contribute their voice to centre planning. In this qualitative research project I have explored the use of the IPV form with fifteen parents who were in full-time employment and whose child attended one of five longday education and care centres. I drew on a multiple case study design as described by Yin (2009), using interview data, documentation of the children’s learning and the documented Initiated Parent Voice forms. For the analysis of the study, post-structural and interpretive paradigms were employed (Cannella, 1997, Foucault, 2002; 1977). Furthermore Activity Theory was employed to investigate collaborative activity, taking into consideration data obtained through additional interviews with the managers of the centres (Engeström, 1987). The collaborative activity between the parent and the child opened up possibilities for a greater understanding and appreciation of the child’s learning by the parent and increased opportunities for learning for the child. The IPV provided a specific focus, which enabled the parent to find time in their busy schedule and be engaged with the child in the ‘here-and-now’. Opportunities for the child-parent dialogue to build on the child’s learning interest at the centre were afforded by the return of the IPV to the centre manager. Possible reasons for not taking up these opportunities are included in the discussion. Research findings indicated parents themselves prefer dialogue about the learning to take place on a regular basis (Whyte, 2015a).