Martine van der Pluijm

96 Chapter 4 FIGURE 4.1: Seven steps for teachers Phases Steps for teachers Establish SFPs 1. Assess the HLE 2. Involve parents and colleagues in intentional SFP procedures 3. Build reciprocal relationships with all parents Implement intervention activities 4. Arrange weekly parent-child activities adapted to lower-educated parents (using Steps 1 to 3) Stimulate oral language 5. Stimulate role development 6. Prioritize the use of language 7. Expand children’s language The first three steps aim to align teachers’ and parents’ needs and resources (c.f. De La Rie, 2018; Meyers, Durlak, &Wandersman, 2012) for their joint interventions in SFPs (Lusse, Van Schooten, Van Schie, Notten, & Engbersen, 2019). In Step 1, teachers assess the HLE to understand families’needs and the resources they can draw on (Epstein, 1992; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005; Hutchins et al., 2013). Teachers map out parents’ abilities (e.g., educational levels, literacy skills), learn about family practices, and look for opportunities to enhance parent-child interactions (e.g., playing games, shared reading) (Landry, Smith, Swank, & Gutentag, 2008). Teachers are encouraged to talk with parents about the HLE and observe parent-child interactions at school. Although we think it would be better if teachers could observe families at home, we did not expect teachers to conduct home visits due to a lack of time. Step 2 requires teachers to critically review their existing parent procedures and to develop individualized action plans to form SFPs in line with parental resources (Epstein & Sanders, 2016; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005). Teachers are encouraged to engage colleagues in creating these SFPs to establish coherence and to communicate these procedures with parents to align expectations (Epstein, 2013; Epstein & Voorhis, 2012). Step 3 aims to ensure that all parents feel invited and are recognized as partners (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005; Lusse, 2013; Manz et al., 2010; Sheridan et al., 2019). Teachers adopt an open attitude and invite parents to talk about the family environment. In this way, teachers can detect resources and capacities (Scott et al., 2012; Van Regenmortel, 2009). Teachers use reciprocal communication strategies to establish dialogues with parents and align teachers’ and parental goals for the joint support of the child (Anderson et al., 2017; Lusse et al., 2019; Walker & Leg, 2018). In Step 4, parents are involved in the classroom where they experience the value of interaction for their children’s language development. Teachers provide enjoyable parent-child activities with repetitive interactive patterns and low thresholds, taking into account prior knowledge or specific skills (Van der Pluijm et al., 2019). Teachers can develop these activities by using Steps 1 to 3 to ensure that the activities are achievable for all parents by using easy language,