Parent-centred partnerships: early childhood educators addressing barriers to building reciprocal partnerships with parents

As a multicultural and multilingual society, the population of children and families attending Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse. In this chapter we consider the effectiveness of parent-centred partnerships in early childhood settings in supporting the educational development and health of young children from culturally and linguistically diverse families. This chapter discusses the findings from a study conducted with culturally and linguistically diverse families in four early childhood settings in NSW, Australia. The chapter focusses on the use of practitioner inquiry as an approach that enabled educators to rethink the way they engaged families in a partnership space, particularly those from non-western cultures. This chapter highlights that when educators actively and purposefully reflect on their relationships and interactions with families, and take targeted action to disrupt existing practices, there can be a shift in their views. From positioning families as the challenge in the relationship, this reflexive approach can lead to a reciprocal recognition of families as contributors.