Martine van der Pluijm

92 Chapter 4 ABSTRACT The parental role in supporting young children’s oral language development at home is crucial for children’s language and literacy development. However, there is limited expertise in how teachers can support lower-educated parents effectively to enhance their interactions with their children and stimulate the use of language. Therefore, teachers need specific knowledge and training in how to establish partnerships with these parents and provide support adapted to the home language environment. This study describes the evaluation of a program for teachers aiming to build school-family partnerships that focus on stimulating young children’s oral language development. It investigates teachers’ abilities to adhere to the program principles and to adapt these to parents’ needs. This study contributes to understanding how an adaptive approach creates opportunities for teachers to extend their traditional roles in classrooms and build partnerships with all parents, bridging the gap between lower-educated families and schools as the two most important domains where young children acquire language.