Helping parents reexamine children's emergent writing performance through parent-teacher portfolio sharing conferences

• Published in: Australasian journal of early childhood 2019-12, Vol.44 (4), p.378-391
• Main Authors: Hou, Yu-Ju, Hsieh, Ming-Fang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activity programs; Children; Chinese; Conferences and conventions; Diaries; Early childhood education; Elementary Education; Emergent Literacy; English (Second Language); Evaluation; Foreign Countries; Orthographic Symbols; Parent Attitudes; Parent Teacher Conferences; Parent Teacher Cooperation; Phonetics; Portfolio Assessment; Portfolios (Background Materials); Portfolios in education; Preschool Education; Preschool Teachers; Retirement benefits; School Readiness; Second Language Learning; Study and teaching; Teacher Attitudes; Teachers; Writing; Writing Skills
• ISSN: 1836-9391; 1839-5961
• DOI: 10.1177/1836939119870924

This study documented how the teacher conducted one-on-one portfolio sharing conferences with the parents to help them understand their children's emergent writing performances. Data included the selection and analysis of children's writing samples, parent-teacher conferences, and teacher interviews. The results indicated that parents' perspectives on children's writing reflect their concerns regarding their children's transition to elementary education and limited understanding of emergent writing development. After the parent-teacher conferences, the parents demonstrated better understanding of emergent writing, became more confident about their children's writing performance, and affirmed the benefits of parent-teacher sharing conferences. Lastly, the study increased teachers' understanding about parents' perspectives and improved the teacher-parent relationship.