FROM COOPERATION TO
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN PARENTS
AND PRESCHOOL TEACHERS
The 17th EECERA Annual conference
Pirjo-Liisa Poikonen
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
(M. Kontoniemi, H. Rasku-Puttonen, M-K. Lerkkanen, A-M.
Poikkeus)
Background

International research has consistantly
found that good staff-parent relationships
in early day care centers and schools
benefit children, staff, and parents
(e.g.Fantuzzo, McWayne, Perry & Childs 2004; Christenson
2004)

Finnish national guidelines (2000, 2003)
emphasize parents involvement in early
childhood education and partnership
between parents and teachers

The transition to school is a period in
which social supports are particularly
important: successful transition plays an
important role in later school success (e.g.
Dunlop & Fabian 2002; Dockett & Perry 2003; Johansson
2002)

Finnish national quidelines (2000)
emphasize smooth transition from
preschool to school and cooperation
between teachers
Partnership
consious commitment
 combines the knowledge and experience
 create a common strategy for supporting
the child
 cooperation between parents
 staff have the primary responsibility for
employing the partnership approach

The aims of the pilot study
What kind of experiences parents
have about cooperation between
preschool teachers and other
parents?
 What kind of cooperation do
preschool teachers and parents
emphasize in the transition from
preschool to school?

Design and Methods
First Steps pilot study: 139 preschool
children and their parents and teachers
(mothers N=107, fathers N= 94, teachers
N=16)
 Participants were voluntarily selected from
one municipality
 Data were collected by questionnaires
(structured/open questions) first time at
October and second time at April
 The analysis combines both quantitative
and qualitative approaches

Results 1/2
Parents’ experiences about cooperation

The three-factor solution (using principal
Axis factoring) defined following
constructs:
– Experience of partnership
– Child centered cooperation
– Parents’ competence (perceptions of
cooperation skills and attitudes)
Item content by factor

(parents’ data)
Experience of partnership (Cronbach
alfa: Mothers .63, Fathers .77)
– ’I feel that I can influence the goals and
objectives of my child’s classroom’
– ’I participate in decision-making of the
whole preschool’
– ’I feel that my child’s teacher supports
my parenthood’
– ’I feel that parents in my child’s
classroom support me in childrearing’
 Child
centered cooperation (Cronbach
alfa: Mothers .81, Fathers .75)
– ’I draw up the individual preschool
education plan for my child in
collaboration with my child’s teacher’
– ’I talk with my child’s teacher about my
child’s accomplishments’
– ’I regularly participate in acitivities of
my child’s classroom’

Parents’ competence (Cronbach alfa:
Mothers .62, Fathers .72)
– ’I feel childrearing very stressful’
– ’I feel incompetent when I talk with my
child’s teacher ’
– ’I hesitate to be in contact with my
child’s teacher’
– ’I am not interested in cooperation with
my child’s teacher’
Differences in perceptions and experiences
between mothers and fathers


A statistically significant difference was
found between mothers and fathers on all
the items of child centered cooperation
(p<.001). Mothers cooperated with
teachers in most cases.
A statistically significant difference was
found between mothers and fathers on
one of the items of experience of
partnership ’I feel that my child’s teacher
supports my parenthood’ (p<.001).

Both mothers and fathers had positive
views about their competence in
parenthood and cooperation. A statistically
significant difference between mothers
and fathers was found: mothers were
more interested in cooperation than
fathers (p<.001).
Results 2/2
Cooperation in transitionprocess
 The two-factor solution (using principal
Axis factoring) defined following
constructs:
– preschool-school cooperation (between
teachers)
– child-parent-school cooperation
The most important issues were
(parents and teachers):
’School teacher visits the preschool to talk
to the preschool children about school’
 ’Written records (portfolio) about
individual child’s experiences follow to the
school’
 ’Before school starts preschool and school
teachers held shared meetings with
parents’

Implications and challenges
How to use the diversity of attitudes and
views between parents and professionals
as resource?
 How to identify the partnership readiness
of the parents?
 How to confirm parent’s empowerment?
 How to support collaboration between
parents?



How to take care of practical organization
and arrangements in ways that meet the
wishes of both parties
Equal partnership demands teachers to
change from professional focused culture
to family-focused culture?

The joint aggreement about cooperation
and activities between parents and
teachers is needed in the transition to
school
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION!!