The influence of simulations on family engagement – prospective early childhood educators’ perceptions

ABSTRACT

Nurturing experiences in preparation for prospective early childhood educators’ work with families during their training are critical for establishing empowering relationships. This article details a qualitative case study of 77 prospective early childhood educators engaged with the Parent, Family and Community Engagement Simulation. An electronic questionnaire exploring their beliefs regarding the use of the simulation was conducted at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain). The results demonstrate the simulation can be a very effective classroom technique to provide students with the necessary competencies to engage with families effectively and promote school readiness. These results also suggest that the simulation provided important insights into how successful partnership occurs and how to strengthen relationships, helping students to reflect on the importance of family involvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Simulation
• teacher preparation programme
• family engagement
• head start
• early childhood

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jesús Paz-Albo is the Graduate Program Director of the MA in Educational Management at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. His research interests focus on educational technologies, teacher education and educational leadership.

ORCiD

Jesús Paz-Albo Prieto http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7517-7124