Prioritising Transformation Through Involving Parents in Early Childhood Education Centres: A Critical Perspective

The present chapter explored prioritising transformation through involving parents in parental involvement in education of children in selected early childhood education centres in Cape Town, Western Cape Province of South Africa. The critical theory, Epstein’s model of parental involvement and African “Ubuntu” Theory guided this chapter. The chapter adopted a multi-case study research design. The participants comprised two early childhood education professionals, one early childhood education practitioner and one district official obtained using a purposive sampling method. The semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The study reported that there existed transformative parental participation in early childhood care and education evidenced by effective communication, learning at home, parental volunteering, participatory parenting, collective decisions and finally, collaboration as forms of transformative practices. The chapter recommends that educators should develop programs that impart skills to parents to foster transformative parenting.