Family and Community Engagement:

Turn Questions Into Action

Breadcrumb trail:

Improve your daily practice and enrich your experiences.

Action is the test of what you know and can do. It is where you see the results of reflection and self-assessment. The CompSAT protocol, Keys to Reflection and Inquiry, is designed to help you formulate good questions, pursue inquiry, and take action to improve your daily practice. The results of your actions provide evidence of your professional growth, and hopefully, spur you on to generate more questions and take further action. Action and reflection are essential to the processes of growth and change.

A day care director discussing details with a teacher.

Try This!

Listen to "Bhutan Bedtime Story" as told by Nancy K. Brown.

Lily found her voice, both figuratively and literally, through her family's participation and sharing of their experience.

Reflect on how you integrate the children's family experiences into your daily activities.

How do you invite families to share these experiences?

  • Choose one or two families in your program that you would like to know more about.
  • Reflect on what strategies you already use to engage these families, and/or what you could do now.
  • Try out your strategies for a period of 2-3 weeks, recording what you're observing, saying, hearing, and feeling.
  • Reflect on what you've learned through this activity.

Use this template to record your observations, thoughts, and feelings.  Download the Template

Deepen Your Understanding

California Early Childhood Educator Competencies

Deepen your understanding by checking out the Topic: Integrating school and family experiences in Performance Area 2 in the CA ECE Competencies. Scroll to page 41.

Can you find other places in this competency area that address your interests and needs?

Download the California ECE Competencies

California Early Childhood Educator Competencies