Levels

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT

Lesson 31: Parental participation in the ECE programme

Levels of parental participation in early education

Ira Gordon (1969a) has conceptualized parent’s possible involvement in early education at several different levels.

1. Parents as an audience (passive role-conferences, newsletters etc)
2. Parents as a reference (active role-insights and perspectives on their child)
3. Parents as the teacher of the child
4. Parents as volunteers in the classroom
5. Parents as trained or paid aides
6. Parents as participants in the decision making process.