Democratizing Home Visits in Early Childhood

• In Event: Roundtable Session 52
  In Roundtable Session: Parent Involvement in the Early Years

Abstract

Early education scholars have argued for teachers to establish relationships of reciprocity and mutual trust with families to better support learning for young children. Teachers can be encouraged to reshape their perceptions of students and families by reconceptualizing home visits to learn more about the families they serve. In this paper, we examine what happens when teachers conducted ethnographic home visits to learn about children’s funds of knowledge. Findings show how the hegemonic structure of schooling and traditional teacher roles dominated the teachers’ experiences, which is challenging to disrupt. We conclude that when strong boundary lines and socially agreed upon roles are unsettled, there is potential to transform teacher-family relationships and develop an asset-approach to working with families.

Authors

• Kristin Lyn Whyte, Northwestern University

• Anne Karabon, University of Wisconsin - Madison