Working With Parents and Families in Early Childhood Education : Routledge : 9780367256531 : 0367256533 : 31 May 2019 : This book reports initiatives to listen to parents and families, to ascertain what families believe and do as they seek to engage collaboratively with their children's educators, and what educators and educational systems might do to facilitate and/or establish barriers to such engagement. Parental engagement in children's learning and development has many positive benefits. However, in the current environments of accountability and performativity which are pervading early childhood education in many countries, the opportunities for parents and other family members to be part of the development of respectful, collaborative relationships with their children's early childhood educators are becoming more and more restricted. Many educators feel forced to choose between curriculum outcomes and parental engagement, as both involve their time. There is a danger that the vo