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CHAPTER 8
Chapter 8 True/False Questions
Circle T if the statement is true; circle F if the statement is false.
T F 1. When family members seem to be unresponsive, the teacher would be wise not to
continue to offer suggestions for home-based participation.
T F 2. Mr. Reif sent home a newsletter to the parents of the kindergarten children that included
a simple, but detailed description of what a parent conference usually looked like and
included some sample questions that he might ask the parents and other question that
parents might ask him. It is likely that first-time parents would feel welcome and more
comfortable than in one where this is not done.
T F 3. A parent must participate in the classroom regularly in order to be really involved.
T F 4. Family participation has been linked to more complex child language skills, greater
problem-solving abilities, increased academic performance and other positive
outcomes.
T F 5. Close contact with families leads to family identification with the program, and
appreciation of teacher efforts.
T F 6. Substantial numbers of teachers assume that family members are unable, uninterested, or
unwilling to engage in meaningful involvement and do not expend efforts to make this
happen.
T F 7. Professional teachers and administrators do not tend to blame family members for the
behavior of children in school.
T F 8. Parents rarely blame the schools for lack of children’s success.
T F 9. Teachers may feel a lack of trust when parents are better consumers of educational
services and when they become policy makers.
T F 10. School personnel welcome fathers and generally make extra efforts to involve non-
custodial fathers in most programs for young children.
Chapter 8 Multiple Choice Questions
Circle the best answer.
11. Which of the following is an effective type of family involvement in early childhood
education?
a. School provides family members with idea for helping children learn at home.
b. Family members attend workshops or other programs for their own education or training.
c. Parent newsletters
d. Family members take decision-making roles on advisory councils or on other
committees.
e. All of them
12. What is characteristic of effective family involvement?
a. The program should plan the events that require all families to be involved in the same
ways, at the same time, or to the same degree.
b. Once you build a trusting relationship between programs and families, it is not necessary
to maintain contact.
c. There is a match between what programs are designed to accomplish and what families
need as well as between the strategies implemented and those to which family members
feel receptive.
d. All of them
13. How can you promote family involvement?
• Provide calendars that describe simple daily or weekly learning activities that families can try
at home with their children.
• Restrict your family contact to formal conversations between family members and program
personnel.
• Make available a toy-lending library for family use that includes a variety of appropriate
educational materials.
• a & c
• All of them
14. Which of the following is less likely to achieve an effective two-way communication
between the program and the families?
a. Create a notebook that family members and staff communicate as it is sent back and forth
between the child’s home and the program.
b. Carry out home visits to get to know children and family members in the home
environment.
c. Structure family conferences to emphasize collaborations between members and teachers.
d. Send home a regular newsletter.
15. Why don’t parents participate in some early childhood programs?
a. They may misunderstand what professionals say and do.
b. They may feel unwelcome in the environment because of their own school experience.
c. Teachers often place a low priority on parental involvement because they believe it is
fruitless.
d. All of the above
16. Mrs. Lederhosen was busy at her desk when Josh’s mother came into the room. She looked
up at this stranger and said, “Do you want something?” Josh’s mother, who was cleanly but
poorly dressed asked, “How is Josh doing in school?” Mrs. Lederhosen responded with a
succinct report, indicating that Josh was quiet and did not bother anybody. She added that he
could pay attention better during group time than he had been. Then she looked at her watch.
Josh’s mom nodded her head and left. She did not return to school again. Who should be held
accountable?
a. The mother, because parents should be expected to call ahead for appointments.
b. The mother because not attending other functions indicated her lack of interest.
c. The teacher was responsible because her responses were unfriendly and indifferent.
d. The teacher because she knew so little about Josh.
17. Which childcare center will have the greatest amount of parental participation?
a. The center where regular first Tuesday of the month parent meetings are held.
b. The center that has staff committed to parent involvement and trained for effective
interaction with family members.
c. The center that promotes big name specialists in child development.
d. The center that has mostly families with two parents.
18. Which of the following alternatives are the least likely reason family members do not get
involved in young children’s programs?
a. Most adults are disinterested in the children’s education.
b. Adult family members may feel that they don’t have the skills to participate meaningfully.
c. Some adults are rebuffed when they are limited to menial skills and fund raising.
d. Family members may be asked to participate when they have other commitments.
19. Three-year old Samantha clung to her mother and cried vigorously every morning when she
was brought to the St. Mary’s Childcare center. Ms. Brines began phoning Samantha’s
mother after she had settled down to play after having discussed this strategy with the family
in advance. What Characteristic of effective family involvement is this?
a. Collaboration
b. Variety
c. Intensity
d. Individuation
20. Ms. Novak was timid and wary of talking to teachers. She did not attend the group meetings
of parents for the classroom because she did not want to look foolish. Mrs. Schurig
telephoned her from time-to-time talking about the progress that Abraham was making.
What characteristic of effective family involvement is this?
a. Collaboration
b. Variety
c. Intensity
d. Individuation
21. Michael Schrotenboer, a non-custodial parent, was interested in the reading level of his son
Josh during this first-grade year. He phoned the school in the middle of November only to
learn that the parent conferences were just over. Mrs. Kundel, Josh’s teacher arranged for
another conference the following week. What characteristic of effective family involvement
is this?
a. Collaboration
b. Variety
c. Intensity
d. Individuation
22. Mrs. Lachance organized her family centered childcare facility to provide a space for parents
to sit and relax as they picked up their children. She developed a coupon sharing opportunity
and library on child rearing. There was either a monthly breakfast or potluck in the evening
in addition to bimonthly phone calls or opportunities for conferences. One Saturday a year
she arranged for a gym day at the center. What characteristic of effective family involvement
is this?
a. Collaboration.
b. Variety
c. Intensity
d. Individuation
23. Why provide the parents of very young children who are in a program for the first time with
a guide for participation in a parent conference?
a. So the teacher will know what to expect parents to ask.
b. To increase the likelihood of parents attending and feeling comfortable enough to ask
questions.
c. This strategy is unnecessary because if the parents have been to school, they should know
it already.
d. The teacher will have control of the situation.
24. What is the least appropriate step in preparing for the parent conference for a second grade
child?
a. Invite the family to come on an evening and time so that the parent can confer with all the
teachers in the building if that parent has more than one child.
b. Set up a comfortable space with adult sized chairs and paper to make notes of things you
agree to do.
c. Arrange the books that the child is using so that the parent can look at them while waiting
and your record book so that you can read off the report typically sent to the parent.
d. Outline key ideas you want to share with the parent, making sure positive or pleasant
experiences the child has had in the classroom are reported.
25. Ms. Silwa offered the parents an opportunity to express their concerns about the childcare
program in a semiannual parent forum designed specifically for that purpose. What principle
of establishing relationships with the families did this support?
a. Show genuine interest in family members by listening carefully and responding.
b. Make personal contact with families.
c. Focus on family strengths.
d. Treat family members with consideration and respect.
26. Which of the following are considered family strengths that are supported by research?
a. Firm control of behavior at home and church attendance.
b. Stability of family routines and reasonable expectations for the children.
c. A parent who volunteer regularly and works fund raisers.
d. Permissive attitude toward electronic media and homework.
27. Why are men less likely to participate in their children’s early education?
a. Men often feel ambivalent and uncomfortable in the classroom.
b. Interaction styles of men are quite different from those of women and teachers may be
hesitant to involve them.
c. Men who work full time have less time for school involvement than women who work
full time.
d. A and C
e. A and B
f. B and C
Chapter 8 Short Answer Questions
Give a short, concise answer to each statement.
28. Explain what parent-teacher partnership or collaboration means.
29. If a large proportion of family members want to be involved in their youngster’s education,
why is parent involvement still a problem?
30. What characteristics of parent involvement can be varied?
31. Why should the teacher take the time to send home a one or two line note about the child’s
successes?
32. What kind of content could be included in a classroom level newsletter and why would that
type of content be important to share?
33. Describe how your interaction with a family whose child has a disability would differ from
one that has a typically developing child.
Chapter 8:
Short Answer: Give a short, concise answer to each statement.
