3.2 Building partnerships: Learning and working together

Children’s relationships influence their well-being, development, and learning. Trusting, loving, two-way relationships with adults and other children in their families and in the community are essential to early learning and to the sharing of knowledge from one generation to the next. Consistent, secure, responsive, and respectful relationships with caring adults are vital to children’s well-being. (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2008, p. 15)

Since young children’s learning and development take place in the context of social relationships, responsive relationships are of central importance in their early learning experiences. Young children make sense of the world around them through interactions with other children, their parents and other family members, educators, and members of the community in which they live. All of the relationships in which children engage affect their learning and, in particular, their sense of belonging and well-being. Positive, respectful, and reciprocal relationships therefore provide children with a strong foundation for their continued development.

Collaboration at all levels is also of central importance in children’s learning. In the Kindergarten program, collaborative inquiry is carried out by all involved – children, educators, parents and other family members, and members of the community who have an interest in children’s learning. Educators – for example, the principal, special education resource teachers, the school librarian, and the Kindergarten educators – collaborate in various ways to ensure that all children receive the support they need. Kindergarten educators also collaborate continually with one another, engaging in critical reflection and inquiry, testing theories, and discussing and questioning approaches.

Children

Children’s responsibilities with respect to their own learning develop gradually and increase over time as they progress through Kindergarten and elementary and secondary school. With appropriate instruction and through experience, children come to see how an applied effort can enhance learning and improve achievement and well-being. Over time and with ongoing practice, children develop the dispositions, strategies, and skills that support learning. As they mature and as they develop the ability to persist, to manage their behaviour and impulses, to take responsible risks, and to listen with understanding, children become better able to take more responsibility for their learning and progress. There are some children, however, who are less able to take responsibility for their learning because of unique challenges they face. The attention, patience, and encouragement of educators can be extremely important to the success of these children. Learning to take responsibility for their achievement and improvement is an important part of every child’s education, regardless of his or her circumstances.

To help children develop their capacity for learning,the educators create a warm and accepting learning environment that supports creative and complex thinking, while also giving the children opportunities "to extend their ideas and actions through sensitive, informed, well-judged interventions and support" (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 43).Through play-based inquiry, children learn about themselves and the world around them. Interactions with other children, with the educators, and with other adults provide a rich social world for children, where they will have varied opportunities to learn through responsive relationships and to experience points of view that differ from their own. In this learning environment, educators support the children in their interactions and inquiries by:

• focusing on the children’s strengths to help them develop a sense of their capabilities and potential (a "growth mindset");
• providing opportunities to develop the skills, strategies, and attitudes connected with the Kindergarten program;
• encouraging children to try new activities;
• co-constructing learning and acting as co-learners with the children;
• scaffolding learning for the children;
• supporting children’s inquiries by providing materials (including cultural materials representing the classroom community) that change as the children’s needs and wonderings change;
• co-constructing the learning environment with the children.

Parents and families

Allowing parents to make choices about what is best for their children is a powerful method of building a good working partnership with families. … A strength-based approach considers the skills, knowledge and resources that parents and families already have and builds upon them. (Best Start Resource Centre, 2010, p. 6)

Parents play an important role in their children’s learning. Studies show that children perform better in school if their parents are involved in their education. By becoming familiar with the Kindergarten program, parents can better appreciate the value of play-based learning and learn about the attitudes, skills, and strategies that their children are developing. This awareness will enhance parents' ability to discuss their children’s learning with them, to communicate with educators, and to ask relevant questions about their children’s development. Knowledge of the program will also help parents understand their children’s growth in learning and will enhance their ability to work with educators to improve their children’s learning and development.

Parents are the first and most powerful influence on their children’s learning, development, health, and well-being. Parents bring diverse social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives and are their children’s first role models with respect to learning about values, appropriate behaviour, and ethnocultural, spiritual, and personal beliefs and traditions. It is therefore important for schools and parents to work together to ensure that home and school provide a mutually supportive framework for children’s education.

Parents offer learning opportunities that are based on the deep knowledge they have of their children. Children’s learning and development occur within the context of their daily lives in families and communities. Parents and other caregivers nurture and teach children at home and in the community, supporting the dynamic process of early learning.

Parents are an integral part of the Kindergarten program, and are often present in the school and classroom. Knowing their child as well as they do, parents are able to provide educators with important information that allows the educators to meet the child’s individual learning needs better. At the same time, parents can "learn by watching and listening to educators working with their children – responding to the preferences and observed development of individual children, guiding care routines, negotiating conflicts, extending play opportunities, using teachable moments, and encouraging emerging literacy, informal mathematical thinking and inquiry skills" (Pascal, 2009a, p. 14).

Families bring with them rich knowledge and varied viewpoints about child-rearing practices, childhood, and development. When they are encouraged to share that knowledge, as well as their understanding of their child, with educators, they are often more supportive of their child’s learning (Pascal, 2009a, p. 5). Mutual respect and reciprocal learning between parents and educators can only benefit the children in the program.

It is important to understand that families' level of comfort with the school develops over time. While the goal is to engage parents and family members in the life of the school, it needs to be recognized that some families may be reluctant to engage for various reasons – for example, their own past experience or cultural beliefs may make them see schools as an authority. Families should be able to expect that educators will be culturally aware and sensitive to the school-community relationship and that they will support family involvement in school life. The starting point is a welcoming environment for all parents in all families – "raising their comfort level is a prerequisite to involving them in the program" (Pascal, 2009a, p. 14).

Educators and administrators can nurture family and community involvement by maintaining a warm, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere, one in which the customs, languages, and teachings of the cultures of people within the school community are respected and reflected. When parents and other family members feel comfortable about sharing their children’s home and community experiences and understand the value of their input, they come to view the school more positively and are eager to sustain the high quality of the Kindergarten program.

The principles of ELECT, as well as findings from recent research, highlight the importance of strong, respectful, and reciprocal relationships with families. Creating an environment that welcomes families into the space, inviting their perspectives and providing opportunities for families to participate in meaningful ways (that they are most comfortable with) on an ongoing basis, supports their sense of belonging. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014c, p. 18)

The following resources can provide support for educators when they are talking with parents about their children in Kindergarten.

The following resources may be of interest to parents and are available in a variety of languages.

Information for parents on what they can do to help their children once school starts can be found on the ministry website and other related sites.

Educators

Educators are the key to children’s growth in learning at school. Educators are knowledgeable, caring, reflective, and resourceful professionals who bring diverse social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives to their understanding of children’s development within the Kindergarten program. Educators support children and families in high-quality, intentional, play-based learning environments, using varied learning and teaching strategies and assessment approaches to address individual children’s needs and ensure meaningful learning opportunities for every child.

In Kindergarten classrooms that have an educator team, with a teacher and an early childhood educator, the team members have the benefit of a collaborative and reflective partnership. Educator team members have complementary skills that enable them to create a nurturing and stimulating learning environment that supports the unique needs of each child. While an educator team will reflect the uniqueness of its members, the hallmark of all successful partnerships is an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and open communication.

Teachers and early childhood educators work together^{footnote 1[1]} to plan and implement the program and to maintain a healthy physical, emotional, and social learning environment. They collaborate in observing, monitoring, and assessing the progress and development of the children in Kindergarten and in communicating with families. The teacher ensures that the appropriate Kindergarten Communication of Learning templates are fully and properly completed and processed (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2016, p. 13).

In all Kindergarten classrooms, educators provide numerous and varied opportunities for children to develop and refine their learning strategies, attitudes, skills, and knowledge. They continually engage the children in critical reflection and inquiry, in testing theories, and in discussing and questioning approaches. They use a variety of instructional, assessment, and evaluation strategies to meet the needs of individual children. The learning experiences they provide enable children to make meaningful connections between what they already know and can do and their new learning. Educators reflect on the impact of the learning opportunities they provide to determine next steps in the learning, so that every child can reach his or her full potential.

Strong connections between the home and the school support children’s learning and overall sense of well-being. As a part of good practice, educators communicate with parents about what their children are learning, through ongoing formal and informal conversations, special events, and other means of regular communication (see the previous section, "Parents and Families"). Communication enables parents to work in partnership with the school, promoting discussion, follow-up at home, and learning in a family context.

Kindergarten educators provide children with frequent opportunities to communicate their understanding, practise their skills, and apply new learning. Through ongoing assessment, they give children the specific, descriptive feedback they need in order to further develop and refine their learning. By creating a learning environment that promotes the development of collaborative skills and critical and creative thinking skills, educators also help children become thoughtful problem solvers and effective communicators. Opportunities to relate what they know and can do in Kindergarten to contexts beyond the classroom and the school motivate children to learn and to become lifelong learners.

Reflective educators constantly test traditional views and accepted routines or approaches and consider new ways of thinking about their work. In the same way that children learn by questioning and testing their theories, educators engage in research to explore and test new ideas and adjust their practice to best meet the needs of children and families. In this way, educators engage in both formal and informal collaborative inquiry. Information on the critical function of the educator as researcher can be found in the resource given below.

Principals

The principal works in partnership with educators and parents to ensure that each child has access to the best possible educational experience. The principal is a community builder who plays an important role in creating and sustaining a positive school environment that is welcoming to all, and who ensures that all members of the school community are kept well informed.

The principal is an integral part of the Kindergarten team, working in partnership with the educators, families, and caregivers to ensure that every child has access to the best possible early learning experiences. The principal ensures that the Kindergarten program is being properly implemented in all classrooms and learning environments, and that teaching approaches align with the research-informed, pedagogically sound, and developmentally appropriate practices outlined in this document. The principal also ensures that appropriate resources are made available for educators and children.

Principals play an important role in building a collaborative school environment. They facilitate educators' participation in professional learning communities and other professional learning opportunities that promote partnerships, reflection, and growth, and that enhance continuity of learning and teaching in all areas of early learning programs from Kindergarten to Grade 2.

Principals are also responsible for ensuring that every child who has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is receiving the modifications and/or accommodations described in his or her plan – in other words, for ensuring that the IEP is properly developed, implemented, and monitored.

Principals support and value the development, implementation, and evaluation of coherent programs, and provide leadership in developing a vision and philosophy to guide pedagogy. They create a positive school climate by implementing school-wide policies and practices that respect all educators and children and their families. Principals also ensure that the work environment throughout the school is one in which the practice of both Kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators is valued and supported, and that the benefits of play-based learning and learning through inquiry are recognized and supported.

Working together with the Kindergarten educators, the principal should ensure that open lines of communication exist between the school, families of children in the program, child care providers, and the community. Ongoing communication between all education partners will help to ensure that families see themselves as valued members of the school community and will encourage them to participate in their children’s education.

The local community

Community partners are an important resource for a school’s Kindergarten program. Relationships with community organizations that provide high-quality child care and early years programs for children and families can provide valuable support and enrichment for learning. These organizations can provide expertise, skills, materials, and programs that are not available through the school or that supplement those that are.

Partnerships with such organizations benefit not only the children and their families but also the life of the community. For example, children and families can develop a sense of belonging to the larger community through engagement with members of the local community, and the community can be enriched through learning about the young children and their families who live in the neighbourhood. Community support for children’s engagement with the outdoors in their local environment contributes to the children’s ability to value the natural world.

Schools and school boards can play a role by coordinating efforts with community partners. They can involve community volunteers in supporting and promoting a focus on play and inquiry-based learning both inside and outside the school. For example, community partners can be included in events held at the school, such as meetings or programs to help ensure children’s smooth transition to Kindergarten. Educators may also find opportunities for children to participate in community events, such as programs offered in public libraries, community centres, museums, and provincial parks and conservation areas. Such opportunities are especially beneficial when they support children’s learning in the Kindergarten program, are designed for educational purposes, and provide descriptive feedback to the children. In choosing community partners, schools should build on existing links with their local communities and create new partnerships in conjunction with ministry and school board policies.