{"id":943,"date":"2019-07-17T18:19:02","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/theresacanadagrant\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:19:02","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:02","slug":"theresacanadagrant","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/theresacanadagrant\/","title":{"rendered":"2012 WCSU professor studies parent views on early childhood education"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 Dr. Theresa J. Canada<\/a> has experienced in her own life how parents\u2019 commitment to seek quality education for their children in their early learning years can make a critical difference in opening wider opportunities for academic and personal achievement. Now the associate professor of education at Western Connecticut State University<\/a> is pursuing research in the city of Danbury focusing on the importance of heeding parents\u2019 voice in designing quality programs in early childhood education accessible and appropriate for all families in a culturally diverse community.<\/p>\n

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The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund<\/a> has awarded a grant of $25,000 to support Canada\u2019s research project exploring issues of quality and access in early childhood education, viewed from the perspective of Danbury parents with young children in the education system. Canada was invited to submit her successful application for the research grant as part of the Graustein Fund\u2019s Discovery initiative, which seeks to build capacity to improve education programs for children up to 8 years of age at the community and state levels. Her lead partner in the research project is Danbury Children First, a community organization dedicated to informing and educating parents in effective means to advocate for the educational and personal well-being of their children.<\/p>\n

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Canada is collaborating with Danbury Children First<\/a> and other school and community organizations to organize a series of focus group discussions bringing together parents to respond to questions about their children\u2019s early learning experiences.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur goal is to gain more information about parents\u2019 perceptions of early childhood education,\u201d Canada said. \u201cWe are asking what they are looking for in these programs, what qualities they value most in a teacher, how they define quality in an early childhood education program.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Noting that Connecticut school districts show wide differences in student achievement levels, Canada emphasized the importance of providing quality education in the early learning years and fostering a culture of parent participation in their children\u2019s learning experience. She views the current research project as an important step toward strengthening collaboration among parents, teachers, university researchers and community representatives to advance the goal of improved early childhood education. <\/p>\n

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\u201cWe all have to work together to close the achievement gap in Connecticut,\u201d she said. \u201cQuality education should start in early childhood, so that students will have a good foundation when they reach adolescence. Every child comes into this world with a gift: Help cultivate that gift, and all of us in society will benefit.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Canada\u2019s passion for nurturing quality in early learning programs has its roots in her own upbringing during the 1960s in Harlem, the daughter of hard-working parents who placed great value in education and saw the wisdom in her third-grade teacher\u2019s recommendation that she seek admission to one of New York City public schools for academically gifted students. She has never forgotten her parents\u2019 sacrifices to make it possible to develop her academic and musical talents at an early age, providing solid foundations for her future success.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI saw my experience and how it benefited me in the long term, so I guess this is my way of paying back for kids coming up the ladder now,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that parents\u2019 involvement can make a difference, especially when teachers seek out the potential in their students and reach out to their parents. We need to get teachers and parents closer together to enhance the opportunities for all students to make the most of their gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her early professional experience as a substitute teacher in the New York City school system also gave her a deeper appreciation of the need to take students\u2019 cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds into account in designing an instructional plan. She recalled how parents of the children in a second-grade class to which she was assigned responded positively when she planned a holiday play with parts in both English and Spanish, recognizing that many families were of Spanish-speaking heritage. By the end of her monthlong assignment, a group of parents had visited the principal to request that she be retained on the school\u2019s teaching staff.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat experience led me to realize that, yes, parents do care,\u201d she said. \u201cThey know what is best for their children, and they have an appreciation for teachers who will provide the best quality education for their kids.\u201d The most successful teachers know that they must \u201cunderstand cultural differences in order to work effectively with children and their parents,\u201d she added. \u201cA multi-cultural class means that we will be dealing with parents with different expectations and values.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Canada said the research study will seek to identify parents\u2019 perceptions of the qualities and behavioral traits they value most in teachers in early childhood education programs, as well as the differences in these perceptions among various ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Parental input will enable schools to make more informed decisions in designing quality early childhood education programs suited to the needs of the families and communities they serve, she observed. She expressed optimism that the lessons learned from this study will find wider applications beyond Danbury to more than 50 other communities across Connecticut that also participate in the Graustein Fund\u2019s Discovery initiative.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLet\u2019s hear what the parents have to say so that we can take a more comprehensive approach to achieving quality in early childhood education,\u201d she said. \u201cThis will help not just the parents we work with in this project, but the Danbury community and the state of Connecticut to achieve the best possible programs for early childhood education.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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\n Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics

\n of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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