Abstract
The present study explores the perceptions of teachers about the engagement of immigrant and non-immigrant parents in preschool. Data were drawn from a larger evaluation study of a government initiative for preschools in Germany, which was designed to foster inclusive pedagogy and parent cooperation. In these analyses, teachers’ perceptions of the engagement of immigrant parents and non-immigrant parents were rated for each parent group, on a 10-item measure, to identify how teacher ratings varied for the different parent groups. Data from 1397 preschool teachers, employed across 203 preschools, were analyzed using multilevel modeling. This statistical approach takes account of the clustered nature of the data. Teacher ratings of engagement for immigrant and non-immigrant parent groups differed between preschools. Most variability in the ratings could be ascribed to preschool characteristics. In preschools, in which staff held a shared understanding of dealing with cultural diversity and in which the director of the preschool had a multicultural mindset, teachers perceived engagement of parents more positively, especially for immigrant parents. Overall, the findings identified the importance of self-efficacy for inclusion and more positive beliefs about multiculturalism among preschool teachers. Such qualities are important for working with all parents. However, unfavorable social structures, such as those found in disadvantaged areas, may present major challenges for parent cooperation and engagement.
Highlights
Participation by immigrant children in early education programs has been shown to support learning across various developmental domains (Ulferts and Anders 2016; Van Huizen and Plantenga 2018)
This study explored how teachers in preschools rated the engagement of parents from immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds in the work
Parent engagement is an important aspect of the family-preschool partnership that considers how parent interact with the preschool and the teacher about children’s early education and how they communicate and cooperate
Summary
Participation by immigrant children in early education programs has been shown to support learning across various developmental domains (Ulferts and Anders 2016; Van Huizen and Plantenga 2018). Effective communication between parents and preschool teachers is seen as the basis for parent engagement in children’s learning at home and at preschool. Such engagement is an important component of preschool quality. Differences in teachers’ perceptions of engagement with parents who do, or do not, have an immigrant background are examined. We investigated if there are differences in these perceptions of engagement and if these differences can be explained by the personal characteristics of teachers or whether it is the characteristics of preschools that can help to explain any differences in teachers’ perceptions, according to parents’ immigrant background
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