A parent interacts with her child and the child’s teacher in a preschool setting, highlighting teacher-parent engagement.

Engaging Parents

5 Ways to Boost Parent Involvement

Encourage parents to play an active role in preschool activities and extend children’s learning with these strategies.

ABOUT OUR EXPERT

CHRISTINE SOO

Ms Soo is an ECDA Fellow and Lead Senior Lecturer at the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC). She is committed to sharing her knowledge, skills and experiences through mentoring and teaching.

“Underpinning effective family engagement are mutual trust, respect and shared responsibility for children’s holistic development,” says Ms Christine Soo, an ECDA Fellow and faculty member at NIEC. “When educators attest to this, families feel supported and empowered. They are motivated to be more involved and participatory in experiences that matter to their children.”

Ms Soo offers insights into how educators can partner parents to support children’s holistic development.

1

IDENTIFY PARENTS’ INTERESTS

A woman speaks to children in a classroom, representing parent involvement in preschool activities. Parents will be more inclined to take part in preschool activities if they have an interest in or are knowledgeable about the topic.

Draw on parents’ interests or expertise to involve them as resource persons. This could be in areas such as art, cooking and storytelling, or for planning and organising preschool and community events.

2

SHARE FUN CURRICULUM IDEAS

Suggest activities for parents to do with their children to extend their learning beyond the classroom. For instance, provide take-home numeracy kits or reading packs for parents’ use, or propose projects that parents and children can jointly work on.

3

FOSTER TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION

An illustration depicting a group of teachers and parents discussing ways to engage parents in preschool activities. Open lines of communication allow both educators and parents to understand their children better.

Apart from scheduled parent-teacher conferences and newsletters, find out how parents prefer to communicate. Some may prefer face-to-face conversations or video calls, while others may opt for text or email updates. This approach facilitates regular, two-way communication about their children’s development and progress.

4

UTILISE COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND SERVICES

A family collects litter on the beach, as an example of how parents can extend children’s learning beyond the classroom. Community events such as beach cleanups can provide experiential learning opportunities for children as well as family bonding moments.

Look for relevant community events or programmes for families to participate in, or those that strengthen children’s learning and development. Parents are more likely to consider programmes that are free and conveniently located near their neighbourhoods.

5

DEVELOP PARENT LEADERS AND REPRESENTATIVES

Encourage parents who are interested and have relevant skills to lead Parent Support Groups. Invite them to represent the parent community in your centre’s planning or organising committee for preschool activities.