Understanding Families, Third Edition: Supportive Approaches to Diversity, Disability, and Risk - Paperback

by Serra Acar (Author), Marci J. PH. D. Hanson (Author), Eleanor W. PH. D. Lynch (Author)

Families of young children are more complex and diverse than everâ "and todayâ (TM)s early childhood professionals must be fully prepared to meet their needs. With the third edition of this bestselling text, pre- and inservice practitioners will develop the critical skills and knowledge they need to understand and support diverse families of children birth to 5. Enhanced with timely updates reflecting changes in the research and the field, this new edition is ideal for use as a professional reference or a core introductory text for child and family courses. Early childhood educators and interventionists will keep this book close at hand year after year to advance their cultural competence and help them meet the individual needs of each family they work with.

LEARN HOW TO:

• work effectively and respectfully with families across different contexts, from site-based intervention to home visits
• better understand the racial, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic underpinnings of a family's life
• develop interventions that reflect each family's viewpoints, practices, and preferences
• communicate and collaborate effectively with every family
• provide culturally responsive support to families of children with disabilities
• address risk factors such as poverty, addiction, and violence
• support the emotional well-being of families and strong caregiver-child attachment
• guide families in developing the confidence and competence to achieve their goals and help their children thrive

New and updated information on: linguistic challenges and translanguaging immigrant and refugee families DEC EI/ECSE Standards and Recommended Practices race, equity, and social justice foster families unhoused families curriculum materials

Author Biography

Marci J. Hanson, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Special Education at San Francisco State University (SFSU). At SFSU, Dr. Hanson is actively engaged in teaching, research, and service related to young children and their families. In addition to these responsibilities, she directs the SFSU joint doctoral program in special education with the University of California, Berkeley, and codirects the early childhood special education graduate program. She is a consultant with the child and adolescent development faculty of the Marian Wright Edelman Institute for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families at SFSU and with San Francisco Head Start.

Dr. Lynch became Professor Emerita at SDSU after chairing the Department of Special Education, directing the Early Childhood Special Education graduate program, and serving on the faculty of the SDSU-Claremont Graduate University joint doctoral program. Over the course of her career, Dr. Lynch directed a model demonstration project and personnel preparation grants in early intervention and early childhood special education as well as a series of research grants on topics such as parental perspectives on special education, the status of educational services for children with ongoing medical conditions, individualized family service plan development, and the use of behavioral data and reflective practice to improve novice teachers' skills.

Dr. Lynch has served on numerous local and statewide committees and was one of the national collaborators on the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Early Childhood Research Institute. Most recently, she served as one of the Regional Coordinators of the federally funded Early Intervention Distance Learning Program, a collaborative project involving five California state universities and state partners. In 2003, she was honored by SDSU as one of the Top 25 on the campus and as the Outstanding Faculty Member from the College of Education. Dr. Lynch has lived in and taught special education to college instructors in Indonesia, taught human services professionals in American Samoa, given invited presentations in Australia and Taiwan, and lived in India while her husband served on a U.S. Agency for International Development project. She is the author or coauthor of numerous articles and chapters and has been a frequent presenter and workshop leader in the area of cultural competence.

Dr. Lynch continues to write in the area of early intervention and cultural competence. Her commitment to family support and social justice continues through her volunteer work within the San Diego community.