Assignment 3: Field Research – A Parent’s Perspective vs A Teacher’s Perspective
Throughout your textbook, there are perspective inserts related to different topics that showcase how parents and teachers are viewing particular family engagement issues and/or barriers. (See pp. 7,10, 12, 15, 17, 32, 35, 44, 47, 48, 54, 52, 64, 82, 84, 92, 94, and 98)
Read through these to get a feel of the many issues and barriers facing early childhood educators in the realm of family engagement.
1. Spend about 30 to 60 minutes interviewing a parent from a family other than the traditional nuclear family. Ask about specific challenges and/or positive experiences they face when trying to participate in family engagement activities at their child’s preschool or childcare center.
2. Spend about 30 to 60 minutes interviewing a teacher at a preschool or childcare program. This person doesn’t have to work at the center where the above parent sends his/her children to school, but the type questions and focus of the interview should be the same topic which is what are the challenges and/or positive experiences do parents face when trying to participate in family engagement activities at their child’s preschool or childcare center.
1. Write a three-page paper reporting on the results of your interviews including your own perspective following the interviews. Include the following:
a. Cover page
b. Page one – Interview with a parent
c. Page two – interview with a teacher
d. Page three – self-interview
e. Reference page
e. Format your write-up for each interview with the categories modeled in the textbook: Description (background of person being interviewed, date, time, place of interview, and occupation); Challenges (what challenges does the interviewee identify as being barriers to family engagement); Strategies (what strategies does the interviewee identify that they used to address the challenges); and Results (what outcomes does the interviewee report).
f. Format your self-interview with the model as above. But, you must be more reflective and report how you now view the topic (challenges, strategies, results) now that you’ve interviewed the topic from two perspectives.
g. Include a reference page that includes your textbook and one additional source.
h. Write your paper using a basic APA 7th edition format. (cover page, two pages for the body, reference page, double space, 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1 in margins on all sides)
