Course Description
This course introduces the impact of social environments on young children's development and the importance of developing supportive, reciprocal relationships across children's various social environments and family circumstances. Topics include recognizing the impact of family/community relationships on child development, respect for family differences, strategies for building/sustaining respectful, reciprocal relationships, resilience, strength-based strategies for working with families and identifying community resources to support children, families, and the classroom. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of how various family structures, environmental conditions, relationships, stressors, supports, and cultural values create the context for young children's lives by implementing strength-based strategies to support classroom interactions, and communications with families and communities.