The impact of parent-teacher collaboration on kindergarteners' social-emotional learning


Abstract views: 330 / PDF downloads: 119

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202671709

Keywords:

Parent-teacher collaboration, Kindergarten children, Social-emotional learning, Interpretative phenomenological analysis, Communication barriers

Abstract

This study explores the role of parent-teacher collaboration on the social and emotional learning of kindergarten children. The background shows that home-school collaboration is crucial for children's early SEL, but the mechanisms and challenges in non-Western contexts have not been fully revealed. The study used interpretive phenomenological analysis to conduct semi-structured interviews with 8 parents and 10 teachers in a kindergarten in Hebei Province, China. The results showed that parent-teacher collaboration improved children's self-efficacy, emotion regulation and interpersonal communication skills through two-way positive feedback and contextualized collaborative guidance, but differences in educational concepts, communication barriers and trust issues restricted the effectiveness of the collaboration. The study recommends building a structured collaboration framework to systematically support the development of children's social and emotional learning and provide empirical reference for home-school collaboration in early education.

References

Adams, K. S. (1997). Trust within the home-school relationship: An empirical investigation of parent and teacher perspectives [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Minnesota.

Alzahrani, M., Alharbi, M., & Alodwani, A. (2019). The effect of social-emotional competence on children's academic achievement and behavioral development. International Education Studies, 12(12), 141-149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n12p141

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674028845

Bipath, K., & Oosthuizen, C. (2023). The dynamics of parent-teacher relationships in the socio-emotional development of young children. In Research anthology on balancing family-teacher partnerships for student success (pp. 166–177). IGI Global. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-7601-7.ch008

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL]. (n.d.). Fundamentals of SEL. https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (2003). Safe and sound: An educational leader’s guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Chicago. https://www.casel.org/1A_Safe_&_Sound.pdf

Campos Cancino, G. A., & Moreno Mínguez, A. (2020). The family and its influence on children’s creativity. Revista Sobre la Infancia y la Adolescencia, 19, 20–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/reinad.2020.12839

Chan, T. C., Shu, Z., & Xiao, H. Y. (2021). Perception of Chinese parents toward school and family collaboration. School Community Journal, 31(1), 233-258.

Cipriano, C., Strambler, M. J., Naples, L. H., Ha, C., Kirk, M., Wood, M., Sehgal, K., Zieher, A. K., Eveleigh, A., McCarthy, M., Funaro, M., Ponnock, A., Chow, J. C., & Durlak, J. (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta‐analysis of universal school‐based SEL interventions. Child Development, 94(5), Article 13968. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968

Denham, S. A., Mitchell-Copeland, J., Strandberg, K., Auerbach, S., & Blair, K. (1997). Parental contributions to preschoolers' emotional competence: Direct and indirect effects. Motivation and Emotion, 21(1), 65-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024426431247

Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., Zinsser, K., & Wyatt, T. M. (2014). How preschoolers' social-emotional learning predicts their early school success: Developing theory-promoting, competency-based assessments. Infant and Child Development, 23(4), 426-454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1840

Deslandes, R., Barma, S., & Morin, L. (2015). Understanding complex relationships between teachers and parents. International Journal about Parents in Education, 9(1), 131–144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/ijpe.18241

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child development, 82(1), 405-432. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. Lyle Stuart.

Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). Norton.

Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903

Guo, Y., Wu, X., & Liu, X. (2019). Challenges and opportunities in parent-teacher relationships in contemporary China. Comparative and International Education, 47(2), Article 5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5206/cie-eci.v47i2.9331

Griggs, S., & Rollo, G. (2023). Partnerships in early childhood education: Engaging families in professional conversations. In K. Burns (Ed.), Research Conference 2023: Becoming Lifelong Learners. Proceedings and Program (pp. 68–75). Australian Council for Educational Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37517/978-1-74286-715-1-14

Hargreaves, A. (2000). Mixed emotions: Teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(8), 811–826. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(00)00028-7

Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033007014

Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M., & Crowley, M. (2015). Early social‑emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), 2283–2290. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630

Lawson, G. M., McKenzie, M. E., Becker, K. D., Selby, L., & Hoover, S. A. (2019). The core components of evidence-based social emotional learning programs. Prevention Science, 20(4), 457-467. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0953-y

Lang, S. N., Lieny, J., Schoppe-Sullivan, S., & Wells, M. B. (2020). Associations between parent–teacher cocaring relationships, parent–child relationships, and young children’s social emotional development. Child & Youth Care Forum, 49(4), 623–646. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-020-09545-6

Latif, M. A., Amir, R., Marzuki, K., Gaffar, F., & Nurhayati, S. (2023). Kolaborasi strategis lembaga PAUD dan orang tua di era digital melalui program parenting. Obsesi, 7(3), 3169–3180. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/obsesi.v7i3.4485

Linton, R. (1936). The study of man: An introduction. Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Li, G., Lin, M., Liu, C., Johnson, A., Li, Y., & Loyalka, P. (2019). The prevalence of parent-teacher interaction in developing countries and its effect on student outcomes. Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, 102878. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102878

Liu, G., Jin, Z., Zheng, X., Wang, Z., & Liu, W. (2024). Associations between teacher–parent relationships and preschool children’s social behavior problems—the chain mediating roles of work–family conflict and parenting self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1349652. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1349652

Lim, J. H., Rho, E., & Yang, C. (2024). Evidence-based practices of culturally responsive social and emotional learning (SEL) programs: A systematic review and meta-analysis. School Psychology Review, 1-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2024.2432853

Maia, C., Braz, D., Helder, M. F., Sarmento, H., & Machado-Rodrigues, A. (2025). the impact of parental behaviors on children’s lifestyle, dietary habits, screen time, sleep patterns, mental health, and BMI: A scoping review. Children, 12(2), 203. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/children12020203

Nursa’adah, E., Mulyana, E., & Nurhayati, S. (2022). Parenting patterns impact on children’s social intelligence: Study on Program Keluarga Harapan beneficiaries family. Journal of Educational Expert, 5(2), 59–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30740/jee.v5i2p59-65

Nurhayati, S. (2021). Parental involvement in early childhood education for family empowerment in the digital age. Jurnal Empowerment: Jurnal Ilmiah Program Studi Pendidikan Luar Sekolah, 10(1), 54–62.

Palmer, S. J. (2024). How parental engagement and collaboration with teachers supports elementary school students’ social-emotional learning [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Grand Canyon University.

Petit, B. E. (2024). Emotion knowledge, its applications, and their associations with african american children’s social relationships with teachers and peers in kindergarten and first grade [Unpublished master's thesis]. Portland State University.

Powell, D. R., Son, S. H., File, N., & San Juan, R. R. (2010). Parent-school relationships and children’s academic and social outcomes in public school pre-kindergarten. Journal of School Psychology, 48(4), 269–292. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2010.03.002

Rosita, T., Nurhayati, S., Jumiatin, D., Rosmiati, A., & Abdu, W. J. (2020). Using traditional roleplay games by adults to nurture a culture of collaboration among children amidst widespread engagement in online games within today’s technological society. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(7), 183–186. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.07.29

Ranson, K. E., & Urichuk, L. J. (2008). The effect of parent–child attachment relationships on child biopsychosocial outcomes: A review. Early Child Development and Care, 178(2), 129–152. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430600685282

Ren, L., & Pope Edwards, C. (2016). Contemporary Chinese parents’ socialization priorities for preschoolers: A mixed methods study. Early Child Development and Care, 186(11), 1779–1791. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2015.1132418

Ren, L., Cheung, R. Y., Boise, C., Li, X., & Fan, J. (2020). Fathers’ perceived co-parenting and children's academic readiness among Chinese preschoolers: Longitudinal pathways through parenting and behavioral regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 77–85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.03.005

Suharyat, Y., Nurhayati, S., Januliawati, D., Haryono, P., Muthi, I., & Zubaidi, M. (2023). Tantangan pemberdayaan orang tua dalam meningkatkan mutu layanan PAUD era digital. Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 7(1), 406–415. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/obsesi.v7i1.3827

Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 51–80). Sage.

Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. Sage.

Si, L. B., Qiao, H. Y., & Li, X. W. (2017). Education quality of rural preschool education institutions based on the NAEYC evaluation standard: An empirical study of 20 kindergartens in Cang province, Hebei province. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(12), 8295-8304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80789

Tayler, C. (2012). Learning in Australian early childhood education and care settings: Changing professional practice. Education 3-13, 40(1), 7–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2012.635046

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

Wang, B., Luo, X., Yue, A., Tang, L., & Shi, Y. (2022). Family environment in rural China and the link with early childhood development. Early Child Development and Care, 192(4), 617–630. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2020.1784890

Wang, S., Dong, X., & Mao, Y. (2017). The impact of boarding on campus on the social-emotional competence of left-behind children in rural western China. Asia Pacific Education Review, 18, 413–423. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-017-9476-7

Wang, S., Zhao, Y., & Yin, J. (2023). Current situation and improvement of home co‑education in kindergartens in China. Iris Journal of Educational Research, 1(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33552/IJER.2023.01.000517

Yong, G. H., Lin, M. H., Toh, T. H., & Marsh, N. V. (2023). Social-emotional development of children in Asia: A systematic review. Behavioral Sciences, 13(2), 123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13020123

Downloads

Published

2026-02-12

How to Cite

Li, J., & Lagos, B. E. M. (2026). The impact of parent-teacher collaboration on kindergarteners’ social-emotional learning. Journal of Childhood, Education & Society, 7(1), 66–81. https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202671709