Parent partnership in early childhood education can support a healthy developmental trajectory for a child that continues into the schooling period. Parental participation in early childhood education is related to children’s increased achievement, self-esteem, motivation, and wellbeing. Parental participation can decrease the achievement gap between high and low income families, and is associated with the support and maintenance of children’s culture and languages.
Strong parent partnerships enable teachers to develop knowledge of children’s home experiences to support higher quality learning interactions in the setting, and families to develop skills and confidence for enhancing their children’s learning at home. This enables greater continuity between home and the early childhood setting. This is important because discontinuity has a negative effect on children’s development, particularly their behaviour, social competence, language and motor skills.