Assignment: What Early Childhood Professionals Need to Know About Contemporary Families and Why
Today’s families share many similar characteristics but differ significantly in a wide assortment of others. As an early childhood professional working with young children and their families, what do you need to know about contemporary families that will support your efforts to build meaningful and effective partnerships? This assignment involves exploring impacts of contemporary society on families, how conceptual models of families can inform your work, and the effect of risk and resilience factors on families of young children. Understanding the ways families are unique and complex, as well as consistently taking into consideration that families want the best for their children, will help you develop responsive and respectful partnerships to help children truly flourish.
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
For this Assignment, you will write a three-part research paper that includes the following:Part 1: Contemporary Families (4–5 pages)In Part 1 of your paper, you will:
- Explain impacts of contemporary society on family configurations, roles, and functions in relation to your work with young children and their families. Consider the following questions to inspire your thinking and inform your work:
- What societal changes are impacting families? How are some contemporary family configurations changing and why? How might demographic changes—both nationally and locally—affect young children and families?
- How are traditional family roles and responsibilities evolving due to these changes?
- How might these changes affect the development and well-being of young children?
- How do the increased diversity of family configurations and the increase of demographic family diversity inform your work as an early childhood professional?
- Describe the bioecological and family systems conceptual models for understanding contemporary families in relation to your work with young children and their families. Consider the following questions to inspire your thinking and inform your work:
- How do these conceptual models promote understanding of family structures, family interactions, family functions, and families within the context of communities?
- How does awareness of these conceptual models aid early childhood professionals in supporting young children and their families?
Part 2: Family Risks and Resilience (2–3 pages)Explain:
- Factors that affect risk and resilience in families
- Ways these factors affect families
- Why understanding risk factors, as well as factors that mitigate risk and promote resilience, is so important for early childhood professionals
Note: Be sure to include examples from your experience and/or the resources you cite.
Part 3: Impacts on Professional Practice (2–3 pages)
- Explain how what you have learned affects your work with children and families.
Note: Use the Graduate APA Course Paper Template Download Graduate APA Course Paper Template. Though this template includes an abstract, you do not need to include one in your paper. Be sure to cite at least three or four evidenced-based sources to substantiate your thinking. Draw on the required and optional resources listed in this module and/or additional credible, current resources you identify in the Walden Library or from other sources.
Assignment Length: 8–11 pages
submission information
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