Parent Involvement in Community Building among Head Start Families

Introduction

The topic looks into the rationale of parents’ involvement in the community building among the Head Start families and the manner in which this is accomplished. This topic in essence has been broadly concealed in one statement but covers four major areas that have to be addressed in the entire discussion. From the topic question, it will not be enough if the discussion did not cover parent involvement in community building, the areas of the community that require building, the influences of the parents getting involved in the community building and specifically refer to the parents of Head Start Pre-school involvement in the community building services. On the other hand, it is pertinent that the role played by the Head Start in community building is discussed.

Head Start Pre-schools are the educational centers that aid in the early childhood development of children beginning schooling. Parents for these children are supposed to closely monitor the progress of their children through getting involved in assisting the children to settle in school. In connection to community building, the parents from Head Start Pre-school are usually invited and taught of the pertinence in encouraging the community to pursuit important care programs like health care services (Benson & Haith, 2009). This is done through teaching programs that are offered by the Head Start Schools. The rationale in the exploration of this subject is vital since it enlightens most parents that are from Head Start programs to realize their responsibility as parents towards their children. The topic is also important because it unveils the work that Head Start is doing towards serving the community and helping parents from these families to deliver to their children as well as the community. The Head Start does not just stop at taking care of the children welfare but provides prenatal and postpartum care to the pregnant women to ensure good health and survival in the community as a whole. 

Literature Review

Considering parent involvement, the topic refers to the responsibilities that parents are charged with towards the progress of their children’s development. For the child to feel that sense of belonging and love from the parents, it calls for the parental sacrifice in all spheres of the child’s developmental stages. In this case, as the child grows up and reaches that age of schooling, they have to seek extra developmental knowledge from the school. As a result, it is usually a big challenge for the children to adjust to new environments after being used to being near their parental care. Similarly, parents fail to adjust to that detachment from their children as they join schooling. This is the reason why Head Start Pre-school involves parents of the children joining the school in the programs that are run by the school. Such parents are given the first priority in opportunities that arise within the school indicating the parents’ qualification. This on the general scale helps maintain that link between the child and their parents (Benson & Haith, 2009).       Talking of community building, this is the ability of the Head Start parents to get involved in the programs that support the progress of communities in such services like health care acquisition. This kind of program is put in place by the Head Start schools to assist parents in encouraging the community to enroll for health insurance programs. In addition to this parents are encouraged to accompany their children to medical and dental examinations for the sake of well being of the children. It should be remembered that tomorrow’s community lies in the younger generation and hence a parental responsibility to look into the rationale of their children’s health. Community building on the other hand entails the provision of information to the society on the important recourses available for their use and offer guidance on the effective way of using these resources to avoid depletion and keep in mind the younger generation.

According to Baltzell & Doughty (1998), Head Start Pre-school programs are charged with the responsibility of educating the parents on the importance of transitional period among their children and offer them with the best solutions forward on how to handle the children so that they move through the changes successfully. For this reason, the Head Start schools have set up programs that aid in the building of relationships with parents as early as possible from the moment their children are enrolled and go on with the provision of opportunities for parental involvement through that period their children will be at Head Start.

When parental skills are improved through training of the parents in the society, they will be serving the community and this is what encompasses the field of community building (Sissel, 2000). By so doing, the parents will be equipped with the necessary skills that are imperative for the educational and developmental needs of their respective children. A morally upright society will be nurtured and this is service to the community. An insight for Head Start is especially on the family legacy services and nutritional education on how best children can be helped to grow healthy. Analysis      The main ideas encountered in the research include the support of Head Start Pre-School to children in their developmental stages and a wider range of varieties and support services to their families. The program gives more attention to the low income earners to ensure that their children access quality education and general success in their lives. The frame work of Head Start begins with the education sector. When children embrace education, all other things fall in place. So as to solve most of the social problems in the community, individuals need to access education which empowers them to behave responsibly in the community.

Another area of interest by the Head Start is under health. The school assists parents together with their children to access quality health programs and services. This includes screening of children to establish major health issues as soon as possible so that a remedy is gotten to the problem at hand. The programs at Head Start understands the uniqueness in every individual especially children with disabilities. This forms the main concern of the Head Start families. What the schools engage in is the training of parents to the diverse approaches needed to help their children and build the community. This emanates from the fact that during the developmental stages of children, they tent to pick up characters through imitation. As a result, parents are trained on how to nature good behavior among their children. The interactive modes form a vital area for the Head Start practice.

Head Start readily welcomes all new parents after the enrollment of their children in the school to incorporate them in training programs that will help in the community service. In addition the skills learnt are to aid in the positive interaction of the children and their parents especially during the diverse periods of transition from the Head Start school to the elementary schools. The programs provide skills that will work towards the coping up with these changes. It is believed that the future of younger generations lies in the education of the children to embrace societal requirements.  The light is shade on the proper utilization of community resources so that they serve the needs of every person equitably and support the upcoming generations. The importance of unity in the larger society is stressed and valuing of the contribution of every person to the well being of the entire society.

Conclusion

As observed, the work has extensively explored the welfare of children as they struggle to undergo a transition in life from homecare to school environment. It is true that this period usually posses a challenge both to the parents and children as they try to adapt to new environments. The role of the Head Start Pre-school is to aid both parents and their children go through this process of change through invitation of parents to be closely involved in their children’s progress in schools. The program does not stop at the parent and children assistance but looks into the challenges facing the community at large and tries to find possible solutions to the same.

Parents in community building will sees to it that they become agents of good morals and encourage ethical issues to be exercised in the community. The parents will get to the extent of helping the children from economically challenged homes to access educational power and transiting from one stage of development to another of these kinds of families. Kincheloe, (2006) asserts that the community is therefore seen as one unity that when it becomes successful, then this should be done as a unity. To build the community, the Head Start family parents get involved in the dissemination of important information about issues affecting the community so that they find possible solutions to the same problems. The parents are therefore used as agents of informing the society of the importance and best approaches that should be embraced in the lieu to cope up with transition in children. This is especially important when the children have to move from the Head Start level to the elementary schooling. The parents are engaged so closely in the school curriculum formation and adjustment to ensure the best knowledge is being passed on to their children.

Summary

The research has looked at the role played by parents in the community building. Their involvement with their children progress at the Head Start school has been of central concern. The paper has also took its survey through the programs that Head Start involves parents so that they can assist in the building of the community which mainly concentrated on the educational strategies to offer information on communal resources and health services. The activities that parents have involved themselves with are major gears towards community building.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis based on the research is parents’ involvement influences community building. This hypothesis has been proven to be right from the research since it has been realized that when parents are involved in their children’s welfare, there is a notable positive impact on the way they react to changes associated with their development in life.           

  Reference:

Benson, J & Haith, M. (2009). Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Early     Childhood. London: Academic Press.Benson, J & Haith, M. (2009). Language, Memory, and Cognition in Infancy and Early     Childhood. London: Academic Press.Sissel, P. (2000). Staff, parents, and politics in Head Start: a case study in unequal power, knowledge, and material resources. New York: Falmer Press.Phillips, D et al. (1996). Beyond the blueprint: directions for research on Head Start’s families    UK: National Academies Press.Baltzell, D & Doughty, S. (1998). Head Start Programs: Participant Characteristics, Services   and Funding. New York: DIANE Publishing.Kincheloe, J. (2006). The Praeger handbook of urban education, Volume 2. California:      Greenwood Publishing Group.Sissel, P. (2000). Staff, parents, and politics in Head Start: a case study in unequal power, knowledge, and material resources. New York: Falmer Press.