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Final Project

All students are expected to complete a final project consisting of an interview with a parent who has a child who has attended an early childhood program.  Guiding questions for the interview are listed below.  In some aspects you may need to define some terms and explain some items based on information you learned this semester.

After you interview the parent you will summarize the interview, connect information you obtained in the interview to information you learned in this class (include in-text citations citing your textbook and a reference page listing your textbook), and provide your reflection on the interview including how you would use the information you learned from it in your work with young children and their families.

The final project should be at least seven pages long, excluding the cover page and reference pages. Your submission should use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and be presented in APA format (running head, page numbers, double spaced, 12 pt. font, one inch margins all around, and proper in-text citation formatting), with a cover page and reference page.  Make sure and cite your textbook and any other sources of information you use to formulate your paper and use in-text citations throughout your paper to show from where you obtained information.

Your final project must be submitted as an attachment to the assignment area and must be in Microsoft Word or Word for Mac word processor or converted to an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).  If you use a word processor other than a Microsoft Word, please ensure that you have a way to convert your final project to one of these acceptable formats. In addition to submitting your final project to the assignment area, you will also be required to upload your final assignment to Chalk and Wire.  Additional information regarding this requirement will be provided as it becomes available.

This project gives you an opportunity to gain a parent’s perspective on issues that were covered in this class related to their child’s experience in their early childhood program.  Obtaining a parent’s perspectives on these issues will provide significant enrichment to your learning experience as it relates to this material.

Do not wait until the last minute to start this project!  This is not a project that can be accomplished successfully in a week or weekend.

This final project is worth 100 points and you are allowed one attempt. Click the assignment title to attach your Word document. Include "Assignment #1" and your name in the file name to ensure you receive credit for submitting your assignment (Final Project_john_smith.doc).

You can check if your assignment was successfully submitted by accessing your My Grades page. Your assignment should be in “Needs Grading” status, which means it is ready to be accessed and graded.

Parent interview guiding questions:

1.  To what extent has your child’s early childhood program used a family-centered approach? (You may have to define “family-centered approach” for the parent).  How has the presence or absence of a family-centered approach benefited or detracted from your interactions with the center and your child’s experience there? (Course Learning Objective 1).

2.  Describe the social influences (ie: family, peer, teachers, other adults, church family, media, etc.) that have had the greatest impact on your child. How have these influences impacted your child?  How influential has your child’s early childhood program been?  (Course Learning Objective 2).

3.  At what age did your child enter care outside of your home?  What if any impact did that transition have on your child’s attachment to you?  How did the early childhood program help you and your child adjust to that transition?  What could the program have done to improve that process for you and your child? (Course Learning Objective 3).

4.  When your child was a toddler, how did you address their power and control issues?  How did your child’s program address those issues?  Describe how the staff worked with you.  How could that process have gone smoother for you and your child?  (Course Learning Objective 4).

5.  How important was play in your child’s program?  Describe how your child’s program encouraged initiative in your child.  If problems with aggression arose in your child or others in the program, how did the program address it?  Did you feel as if you and the teachers were partners with you in addressing these issues?  How could the program have improved yours and your child’s experiences in these areas?  (Course Learning Objective 5).

6.  How well has your child’s program solicited your feedback regarding what you want for your child and been responsive to yours and your family’s needs as they relate to your child?  How important has it been for you to give your feedback and be actively involved in decisions related to your child’s care?  What could your child’s program do to improve yours and your child’s experiences with regard to your child’s care and learning?  (Course Learning Objective 6).

7.   Describe your family’s culture and how well your child’s program has aligned with your family’s goals and values.  How well have you and your child’s program communicated about issues of culture, goals, and values.  Have you faced any significant conflicts regarding these issues with your child’s program and if so, how were those conflicts handled?  How could they have been handled better?  (Course Learning Objective 7).

8.  Describe how your child’s program has addressed guidance issues.  Have their approaches to guidance aligned with yours?  Have you learned new approaches from them or have they learned new approaches from you?  How well have they worked with you around guidance issues?  What are some ways they could have worked with you better?  (Course Learning Objective 8).

9.  Describe your parenting style.  Are you a permissive, authoritative, or authoritarian parent? (You may have to define these types for the parent you are interviewing).  Have you learned any parenting techniques or skills from your child’s program and if so, what techniques of skills have you learned?  Has your child’s program been a resource in this area?  If so, how have they been a resource?  If not, what could they have provided that would have been helpful for you?  (Course Learning Objective 9).

10.  Describe your child’s self-esteem.  Has your child’s program had an impact on their self-esteem and if so, what type of impact has it had?  What have you observed your child’s teachers doing that promoted self-esteem?  What could your child’s program do to better address the self-esteem needs of the children in the program? (Course Learning Objective 10).

11.  What are your beliefs about gender roles?  How does your child’s program address gender roles?  For instance, do they encourage all children to play with all types of toys or do they encourage girls to play with “girl toys” and boys to play with “boy toys”.  How do you feel about how your child’s program addresses gender roles?  How does your child like the program’s approach to this issue?  (Course Learning Objective 11).

12.  Do you feel that your family is successful? (Describe the characteristics of a successful family for the parent you are interviewing).  What aspects of your family do you think work well and what aspects of it do you think need improvement?  What stresses does your family face and how have you addressed them?  Do you feel that your child is resilient?  If so, what do you think has contributed to their resilience?  If not, what has interfered with their ability to be resilient?  Has your child’s program promoted resilience in your child and if so how have they done that?  (Course Learning Objective 12).

13.  How would you rate the quality of your child’s program?  Which variables in your child’s program are most important to you?  Which variables are most important to your child?  How would you rate the quality of the partnership you have with your child’s teacher?  How could that partnership be improved?  (Course Learning Objective 13).