Reconceptualizing Family Engagement as an Improvisational Practice: Lessons from Pre-K Teachers' Practices During...

Area of Science:

• Early Childhood Education
• Sociology of Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented disruption to educational norms, prompting discussions about reimagining educational futures.
• Scholars suggest the pandemic as a critical juncture to move beyond traditional practices and foster more equitable educational systems.
• Pre-kindergarten (pre-K) education, crucial for early development, faced unique challenges in maintaining family-teacher engagement during the pandemic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced family-teacher engagement in pre-K settings.
• To explore how emergent teaching practices during the pandemic can inform post-pandemic educational approaches.
• To conceptualize family engagement as an improvisational practice, drawing from improv theory.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interview study involving 25 public pre-K teachers in Michigan.
• Analysis of teachers' reflections on their experiences teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Application of improv theory principles to understand and frame teaching practices.

Main Results:

• Teaching during the pandemic was conceptualized as an improvisational practice, highly responsive to family needs and circumstances.
• Three key themes emerged: supporting families with novel "offers," ensuring learning accessibility, and building collectivity through family partnerships.
• Pandemic-era practices revealed innovative avenues for conceptualizing and implementing family engagement.

Conclusions:

• The pandemic served as a catalyst for developing more responsive and collaborative family-teacher engagement strategies in pre-K.
• An improvisational framework, informed by improv theory, can guide future approaches to family engagement in early childhood education.
• Lessons learned from pandemic-induced pedagogical shifts offer opportunities to create more just and effective educational environments.