The role of partnership practices in strengthening parental trust

ABSTRACT

Partnerships between parents and preschools (PPP), including parental trust as a key element, are crucial for child development. This exploratory study examined the type and intensity of partnership activities to which parents were invited and their contributions to parental trust, as well as preschool and teacher characteristics that predicted these activities. A total of 891 teachers and 728 families from 162 German preschools participated in the study. Path analyses showed parents reported higher levels of trust in preschools that offered a greater number of partnership activities for participation and decision-making as well as for parental education. In addition, results indicate that preschool and teacher characteristics, such as ethnic composition and professional competencies, predicted the type and intensity of partnership activities. Consequently, training programmes should make use of these results to enhance preschool teachers’ competencies with regard to PPP, and thereby to strengthen parental trust.

KEYWORDS:

• Parental trust
• early childhood education
• partnership activities
• preschool invitations

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all participating children and their parents, the educational professionals, as well as all students engaged in data collection for their most active cooperation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approvals

This work was reviewed by the Ethics Committee of the University of Bamberg, Germany, and an approval granted (No. 2022-03/11)

Notes

1 In Germany, persons who are not capable of work receive unemployment benefit in the form of cost-of-living assistance. In addition, children from low-income families receive financial assistance to improve their opportunities for educational and social participation, so that they can better develop their abilities regardless of their parents’ financial means. The package comprises various forms of assistance (e.g., free preschool meals).

2 Time given to the professionals to engage with activities that are not directly related to the pedagogical work with children. Indirect pedagogical work includes for example documentation work, teamwork, administrative activities, planning the daily schedule, and planning and organizing parent-friendly activities and events.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth.

Notes on contributors

Theresia Gabriele Hummel

Theresia Gabriele Hummel is a Research fellow at the Department for Early Childhood Education at University of Bamberg, Germany. Previously, she worked as a research fellow at the Department for Early Childhood Education at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research interests include the quality of early childhood education and parent-preschool-partnerships.

Franziska Cohen

Franziska Cohen is a Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Education Freiburg, Germany. Previously, she worked as a postdoc researcher at the Department for Early Childhood Education at the University of Bamberg. Her research focuses on the cooperation between parents and educators and digitalization in early education.

Yvonne Anders

Yvonne Anders is a Professor of Early Childhood Education at University of Bamberg, Germany. Previously, she worked as a Professor at the Department for Early Childhood Education at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research focuses on the effects of the quality of early childhood education and international comparison analyse.