Child, Family, and Community: Family-Centered Early Care and Education

by Janet Gonzalez-Mena

Written in an accessible style for all those who work with young children or will, the author asks the reader to think of the child in the context of the family and community. Reorganized and updated, the book continues to examine developmental theory, but now with a greater emphasis on Bronfenbrenner's theory of ecological development, discussed in Chapter 1, and more on the importance of contexts of development woven throughout. The book goes beyond encouraging mere parent involvement to how to develop a true collaboration and working relationship through good communication. It also continues to have strong coverage of cultural diversity and present personal examples and vignettes. The text explores many hot-button issues of the day such as supporting self-esteem, discipline, attachment, coping with separation, teen parents, child-abuse, children with ADHD, shy children, aggressive children, conflict resolution, problem solving, and gender issues. Full of real life examples and personal insights, the book is designed and written for not just teachers, but caregivers, child-care workers, and parents. All readers are expected to reach into their own experience, knowledge, ideas and insights to make sense of the new information in the text in the context of their own lives.

Genres: Education, Parenting, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2008

Reviews

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this textbook for my Child, Family, and Community education class. Learned some great things. However, it is slightly outdated and I wish our teacher had chosen a more updated and interactive book.

[Ariel Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of an Early Childhood Education course. It was an easy read & shared some important information. However, there were many heavily biased arguments that I didn’t feel were necessary to the text.

[Jackson Humphreys · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for class. It was helpful in some areas, but I have definitely read other books on child development that cover the same points and more. There were also some opinions that were biased, and it spoke very frequently on how the White majority in this country (USA) can be a hindrance rather than simply speaking about the need and responsibility of educators to be culturally inclusive of all of the families that we work with. All races and people groups have their pros and cons, and the high esteem given towards the nuclear family dynamic should be appreciated rather than vilified (which this book did). There are definitely biases that are systemic in our country that need to be addressed, but they can be addressed without speaking negatively against the cultural norms that have existed in America for years, the ones that are not harmful. The book wants us to embrace multiculturalism while also passive-aggressively attacking the predominant culture that exists in American society. My largest gripe about the book was simply its inferiority to other books that I have found more beneficial to my understanding of how interacting with and understanding children should entail, as well as the interactions and responsibilities educators have with the families of their students. Such as Positive Child Guidance, by Miller.

[Hannah]

a bit outdated in some aspects but ultimately a helpful guide to working with families for the prosperity and success of the children in our care

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars (needs updating)

[Cadence Messenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a class. The length of chapters struggled to keep my attention

[Margie Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, not your same ole' boring textbook.

[Mills College Library]

649.1 G643c 2009