Professionals as Collaborative Mentors in Early Childhood Family Education

Abstract

Early childhood education (ECE) in China has become complex and multi-dimensional. Chinese parents/caregivers are actively involved in ECE. This qualitative study provides insights into how three ECE-related professionals, namely, a family education professional, an ECE enrichment teacher, and a founder/administrator of an ECE centre, worked collaboratively in a transdisciplinary early childhood family education (ECFE) program in a northern city of China. Qualitative data was collected via three rounds of interviews with each of the three ECE professionals and several sources of documents. The findings are generally in line with existing literature regarding the factors that influence effective transdisciplinary collaboration among ECFE team members. The ECE professionals claimed the program was a success was due to their willingness to become ergonomists, daily collaborative practice with team members, interaction with both the caregivers and their children, and non-judgmental sharing among colleagues. These positive outcomes occurred due to the continued support and instruction from other ECFE team members, especially when applying approaches outside one’s respective fields. The findings illuminate several insights relating to ECFE and offer several implications regarding hands-on practices for effective ECFE.