50 Strategies for Communicating and Working with Diverse Families

by Janet Gonzalez-Mena

Overview

50 Strategies for Communicating and Working with Diverse Families, 3^rd edition by Janet Gonzalez-Mena is unique in its practical approach to improving teaching skills of early childhood educators by offering the most practical strategies for partnering with families to support, enhance, and maximize the quality of care and education of young children. It presents a plethora of ideas for creating the trust necessary for true collaboration between families and the early childhood professional, and guides on how to develop useful programs that include all families and individuals. Extensively revised, it reflects the most current themes, trends research and ideas in the field today, making it the most diversity-centered text on the market for courses covering diversity and the relationships between teachers and families in early childhood education classrooms and centers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780133090277
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	12/22/2012
Series:	Practical Resources in ECE
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Janet Gonzalez-Mena is Retired Faculty in Child and Family Studies, Napa Valley College, Napa California, where for 15 years she was on the full-time faculty until her retirement in 1998. Not only has she taught in the California community college system for 36 years, but also Gonzalez-Mena’s career includes being a preschool teacher in a bilingual program, child care director, and coordinator of a pilot program of therapeutic child care for abused and neglected children. A prolific author, her textbook achievements include: Child, Family, and Community, 6^th ed. (Pearson, 2013); Infants, Toddlers and Caregivers, 9^th ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2012); Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Society, 6^th ed., (McGraw-Hill, forthcoming); and Diversity in Early Care and Education: Honoring Differences, 4^th ed. (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2008). Janet also co-authored Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Infants and Toddlers (National Association for Education of Young Children, 2011). Currently self-employed as a consultant in early care and education, she also finds the time to write for Young Children and Exchange, and occasionally for publications in Canada and New Zealand.

Table of Contents

Section 1: Welcoming Everybody

Chapter 1: Appreciating All Kinds of Families

Chapter 2: Working with Immigrant Families

Chapter 3: Including Families of Children with Special Needs

Chapter 4: Creating an Antibias Environment

Chapter 5: Respecting All Families, Including Those with Same-Sex Parents

Section 2: Partnerships with Families

Chapter 6: Building Partnerships

Chapter 7: Removing Barriers to Partnerships

Chapter 8: Minimizing Competition with Parents

Chapter 9: Supporting Attachments

Chapter 10: Considering Authority

Chapter 11: Focusing on Family Strengths

Chapter 12: Helping Parents to Be Advocates for Their Children

Chapter 13: Encouraging Parents to Become Advocates for All Children

Chapter 14: Creating a Sense of Community

Section 3: Honoring and Working with Diversity

Chapter 15: Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Differences

Chapter 16: Establishing Culturally Responsive Education and Care

Chapter 17: Working with Conflicts Around Education and Care Practices

Chapter 18: Considering Cultural Differences in Guidance and Discipline

Chapter 19: Working with Families Around What You Believe Are Harmful Practices

Chapter 20: Thinking about Differing Ideas Related to How Children Learn

Chapter 21: Managing Conflicts

Section 4: Family Participation and Education

Chapter 22: Considering Family Participation

Chapter 23: Including Families in the Classroom or Center

Chapter 24: Focusing on Fathers and Grandfathers

Chapter 25: Taking a Transformative Approach to Parent Education

Chapter 26: Working With Families Around Holiday Issues

Chapter 27: Exploring Parents' Role on Decision-Making Boards and Councils

Section 5: Communication

Chapter 28: Creating Environments for Communication

Chapter 29: Empowering Self and Others

Chapter 30: Communicating Through Writing

Chapter 31: Holding Ongoing Conversations with Families

Chapter 32: Looking at Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures

Section 6: Meetings and Conferences

Chapter 33: Meeting with Families for the First Time

Chapter 34: Thinking About Meetings in General

Chapter 35: Holding Conferences

Chapter 36: Considering Cross-Cultural Conferences

Chapter 37: Talking with Families when Concerns Arise

Section 7: Working with Parents around Specific Issues

Chapter 38: Helping teh Child Enter the School or Program

Chapter 39: Maintaining Home Languages

Chapter 40: Easing Children Through Transitions

Chapter 41: Brining Nature into Children's Lives

Chapter 42: Addressing Obesity with Nutrition

Chapter 43: Dealing with Media Issues

Chapter 44: Maintaining Stability During Divorce

Chapter 45: Coping with a Death in the Family

Chapter 46: Finding Community Resources and Making Referrals

Section 8: Challenging Conversations

Chapter 47: Working with Parents Who Constantly Complain

Chapter 48: Working with Family Members Who Appear Hostile

Chapter 49: Talking with Families About Behavior Changes

Chapter 50: Referring Families for Abuse or Neglect