Effective family partnerships in early childhood education and care: an investigation of the nature of interactions between educators and parents

Early childhood education and care in Australia is recognised as playing an important role in determining the long term educational benefits and outcomes for children across their life span. A key determinant of a quality early childhood program is the quality of relationships that educators develop with parents and families as equal partners in the education and care of young children.\ud In 2010 the State of Victoria, Australia, launched a framework for educators working in early childhood settings. This framework identified family centred practice (FCP) as the approach to be implemented by educators in their work with families. FCP has been widely used in early childhood intervention programs since the latter part of the 20th century; however, this approach had not previously been adopted in mainstream early childhood education and care contexts