Perspectives of early childhood teachers on parent–teacher partnerships in five European countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT Societal conditions impacting on parenting have radically changed during the past two decades. There is variation between and within societies depending on social, cultural, political and economic factors. Today, Early Childhood and Care (ECEC) services play an increasingly important role in supporting families with young children during birth to the age of compulsory education. Accordingly, the collaboration between families and early childhood professionals has emerged as an essential topic of educational research and professional development. The International Parent–Professional Partnerships (IPP) research study focuses on the contemporary challenges of the parent–teacher partnerships in early childhood education from a cross‐cultural perspective. The purpose of the research is to examine parent–teacher partnerships in ECEC services in Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Portugal by looking into the national contexts and comparing these findings with each other. The research utilises both...