Kevin J. Swick

Characteristics of kindergarten teachers who promote parent involvement

The need for parent involvement in early childhood education has been accepted for many years. The concept of teachers as key figures in this process implies that there are certain skills, attitudes, and behaviors teachers must possess to effectively implement the parent involvement paradigm. The study reported here attempted to determine whether there were characteristics particular to kindergarten teachers who were highly supportive of parent involvement. Through an assessment of current literature, specific teacher attributes were isolated for study. A questionnaire was used to determine teacher attitudes and behaviors related to parent involvement. Findings suggest that there are characteristics particular to teachers who are deeply involved in the parent involvement process. Many kindergarten teachers are supportive of the concept but not convinced of their obligation to carry it out.

Service-Learning in Teacher Education: Building Learning Communities

(2001). Service-Learning in Teacher Education: Building Learning Communities. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 74, No. 5, pp. 261-264.

The Dynamics of Families who are Homeless. Implications for Early Childhood Educators

those who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; have a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. (cited in Heflin, 1991, p. 1)

Nurturing Peaceful Children to Create a Caring World the Role of Families and Communities

Kevin J. Swick is Professor and Nancy K. Freeman is Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia. Nurturina Peaceful Children To Create a Caring World The Role of Families Com m u n i t ies and W ith the constant reminders of wars and other human degradation going on in the world, education for “caring” is more critically important than ever to our future (Noddings, 2002). Televised accounts of the war in Iraq leave most caring people devastated. Civilian and military deaths and casualties challenge people’s faith in a peaceful and meaningful future. Clearly, love and peace must be a priority for everyone. Although less intense than war, the everyday abuses carried out by the thoughtless, the cruel, and the antisocial also convey the urgency for more “caring education” across all cultures (Elshtain, 1999). Violence occurs in many forms, including physical, psychological, social, and verbal. Recent research on the impact of this violence on children during their early years should prompt a call to action for all citizens. Indeed, without caring intervention, children’s brains will be physically altered not only by the violence they personally experience but also by the violence they observe (Groves, 2002). We know, for example, that exposure to stress can elicit physiological responses, including the release of cortisol, the steroid hormone that plays a role in suppressing the immune system and slowing physical growth (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000). Cortisol release associated with stress has been shown to change brain activity and, eventually, alter the structure of the brain itself. Most at risk is the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in learning and memory. Additionally, exposure to cortisol affects other regions of the prefrontal cortex, particularly in ways that make it difficult for children to accurately interpret and respond to social situations-it colors their interactions with both peers and adults (Gunnar, 1998). This means that constant exposure to violence may elicit hyper-responsive syndromes. Children tend to overreact to all stimuli because they have not learned how to differentiate helpful behaviors from those that are harmful (Lally, 1997). The early years of life are the most responsive time in which to nurture a caring and loving approach to life (Swick, 2001). And the most powerful message that children receive about caring is how they are cared for themselves during the earliest years of life (Kitzrow, 1998).

SERVING AND LEARNING ATA UNIVERSITY LABORATORY SCHOOL: STUDENTS FROM BIRTH THOUGH ADULTHOOD BENEFIT WHEN SERVICE LEARNING IS INTEGRATED INTO THE PRESERVICE CURRICULUM

Service‐Learning (S‐L) pedagogy is attracting increased attention in teacher education. This article describes the implementation of S‐L in the preservice early childhood curriculum, which placed students in a birth‐5 years setting. It identifies a continuum of learning to care, which begins in infancy, as caring capacities emerge, through to adulthood, when preservice teachers learn from experienced mentors how caring characterizes their interactions with learners of all ages. Students’ journals indicate they believe S‐L experiences contribute to their personal, academic and professional development. Carefully implemented S‐L experiences validate students’ caring interactions, give them first‐hand experiences with young children during which they can apply theoretical constructs, provide experiences which help them clarify their own career goals, and make them feel better prepared to manage instructional and classroom management dimensions of working with young children.

Creating a Caring Community: The University of Arkansas Nursery School Experience

The seven dimensions of establishing a caring community at the University of Arkansas Nursery School are described. Key components include empathetic teacher–child and teacher–parent interactions, celebration of differences, and a responsive classroom environment.

On Board Early: Building Strong Family-School Relations

likely to maintain this involvement in the childs later schooling. The main goal of On Board Early was to strengthen parents in their role as their childrens primary teachers and to engage them in family-school experiences that strengthen their childrens success. By strengthening parent and family involvement, the belief was that children (and their families) could better experience success in various school activities and interactions. This goal of increasing family and child competence is especially critical in the selected schools in Baltimore County because they are experiencing the effects of major social and economic change. Like many communities, Baltimore County, Maryland is affected by the disappearance of once thriving blue-collar industries. Increased unemployment, undereducation, family stress, and increasing cultural diversity are producing a need for more responsive early childhood education strategies. School and community leaders believe in parent and family involvement as a means for instigating changes that can lead to healthier and more successful children and families (Comer, 1991; Rich, 1987).

Improving Teacher Communications: Focus on Clarity and Questioning Skills

(1985). Improving Teacher Communications: Focus on Clarity and Questioning Skills. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 13-15.

Cultural sensitivity: How important is it for effective home visits?

The implementation of home visits as a technique for involving parents has recently resurfaced. This educational trend has received additional emphasis as the nation attempts to meet the national education goals — particularly the first goal, which states, “By the year 2000, all children will enter school ready to learn.”

Meeting the Continuing Education Needs of Foster Parents.

Adult and continuing education personnel have a history of attempting to meet the needs of diverse groups of individuals who otherwise would not be served. Community colleges, for example, have recently become involved in designing and implementing various types of parent-oriented education programs. In addition, some colleges and universities have provided leadership in initiating parenthood education courses in public junior and senior high school settings. These efforts have proven to be beneficial in meeting the needs of many parents, future parents, and family-support team members.