Connecting with Communities

through vision and vocation

Emeritus Professor Dorothy Scott :

Connecting with communities matters…

There is a strong correlation between:

•Local Government Areas with high levels of social disadvantage (SEIFA measures), and

•High levels of child protection reports, and

•Number of children identified as vulnerable in one or more domains of AEDC

Cummins, Scott & Scales (2012) Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry Report

Connecting with families matters…

There is strong research that engaging parents

can enhance children’s educational outcomes

and well-being (Pomerantz et al 2007). There is

Australian research on how to do this(Woodrow

et al, 2016):http://www.aracy.org.au/publications-

resources/command/download_file/id/296/filename/Researchin

g-parent-engagement-A-qualitative-field-study-2016.pdf

A story about connecting with community

The Principal on the Corner

by Imogen Fullagar

Greg Turner

Former Principal of a

Tasmanian Primary School

Vision

“…He looked at the awfully old buildings, and the terribly tired teachers and the restless and rowdy and rip-snortingly rude children … and he said very firmly to all of them – ‘I believe in this school’.”

the source of a vision….

… the realization of a vision

Lillian de Lissa

Vision in our time and place

Think of an example of a vision which is about “connecting to community” (a micro-professional practice of an individual educator, a new program, or a whole of school initiative).

How did it come into existence?

Was it effective?

Was it sustained?

Did it spread to other places?

Vocation

“He stood at the end of the little road … every single school morning and every single school afternoon, in the sun, in the rain, in the frost and even in the snow!”

What is a “vocation”?

Is “vocation where the heart’s desire meets the world’s need?” Or is it where the heart’s pain meets the world’s need? Can it be both?

Think of someone you know who has a vocation in early childhood services.

What is the source of their vocation?

What strengthens it?

What weakens it?

identity

integrity

inspiration

What values guide me?

How is my work part

of who I am?

What inspires and

sustains me?

Exemplars of connecting with families and communities

• PaL – parentsandlearning.com

• VICSEG New Futures –vicsegnewfutures.org.au

• Doveton College – dovetoncollege.gov.edu

• Child and Family Centres, education.tas.gov.au/parents_carers/early_years/Programs-and-Initiatives/Pages/Child-and-Family-Centres.aspx

Parents and Learning, Napranum

VICSEG New Futures

Doveton College

Child and Family Centres

What do they have in common?

1. VISION and VOCATION!

2. Relationship-based

3. Family inclusive

4. Culturally competent

5. “Joined up” with other services

6. Participants seen as contributors

The 3 Rs – relationships, relationships, relationships…

“The principal treated everyone with respect and care. He looked every kid and mum and dad in the eye… He bent down to talk to the little kids. He gave everyone a fair go…”

Community Context

Organisational Setting

Parent Educator

Child

The “ecology” of relationships

Relationship-based Practice

In relationship-based practice with vulnerable families, we are the instrument of our own practice. How do we care for and fine tune this instrument? How do we sustain ourselves in our work? What are the elements in the relationship which nurture G R O W T H?

GROWTH

Genuineness

Respect

Optimism

Warmth

Trust

Humility

Family Inclusive

Putting fathers in the picture…

Intensive playgroup for children of parents in drug treatment

Culturally Competent

1. Awareness of one’s own cultural worldview.

2. Attitude towards cultural differences.

3. Knowledge of different cultural practices

4. Cross-cultural skills.

Family

violence Disability

Correctional

services Homelessness

services

Drug and

alcohol

services

Mental

Health

IServices

Children

in State

care

Statutory Services

such as Child

Protection

Universal Services

for all Children

Targeted

Services for

Vulnerable

Children and

Families

Joined Up Services

Adult Specialist Services

Effective Collaboration Preconditions White and Winkworth (2013)

Capability

Authority

Capacity

Values

Sources of conflict in collaboration (Scott, 2005)

Inter-organizational

(structural)

Intra-organisational Inter-professional

Inter-personal Intra-personal

Participants as Contributors

“… the Grade 6s helped the Grade 3s with maths… Grade 5s helped the Grade 2s with reading…Grade 4s helped the Grade 1s with painting…Grade 3s helped the preps with singing…”

“Mums and dads found ways to join in too. They helped with the canteen, and reading, and sports teams. They had working bees.”

Required helpfulness and resilience of children

• Elder (1995) Children of the Great Depression: reanalysis of the Oakland Growth Study birth cohort 1920-21 and the Berkeley Guidance Study birth cohort 1928-29.

• Werner & Smith (1992) Overcoming the Odds: identified “required helpfulness” as a major protective factor

In conclusion, we need to …

1. Nurture vision

2. Value vocation

3. Connect with communities through services that are: relationship-based; family inclusive; culturally competent; collaborative; and which welcome children and their families as contributors.

References Cummins, P., Scott, D. & Scales, W. (2012) Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry Report

Elder, G. (1995) Life trajectories in changing societies. In A.Bandura (ed) Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies. Cambridge University Press

Scott, D. (2005) Inter-organisational collaboration: a framework for analysis and action. Australian Social Work, 58(20, 132-141

Scott, D. (2010) Family-centred practice in early childhood settings. In F. Arney & D.Scott (eds) Working with Vulnerable Families, a partnership approach. Melbourne. Cambridge University Press.

Sheard. H. (2016) A Heart Undivided – the life of Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown. University of Melbourne.

Werner, E. & Smith, R. (1992) Overcoming the Odds: high risk children from birth to adulthood. Cornell University.

White, M. and Winkworth, G. (32013) Rubric for Building Effective Collaboration, unpublished paper

Emeritus Professor Dorothy Scott Australian Centre for Child Protection

University of South Australia

dorothy.scott@unisa.edu.au www.unisa.edu.au/childprotection