20 Big Ideas: Family Structures, Identities, and Cultures
Big Ideas
- Families are children’s first and longest lasting relationships; families are the experts on their children.
- Families may hold diverse perspectives on well-being, educational success, and the purposes and aims of learning and interventions.
- Responsive educators and clinicians attend to children’s needs and experiences, understanding that circumstances outside of the clinical/ school environments impact interactions within those environments.
- All families have challenges and assets that intersect with children’s growth and development. Clinicians and educators may need to provide the supports needed to overcome challenges, but focusing primarily on deficits may cause more harm than good.
In the last section, we included the information below. You may find it useful to revisit it after reading these chapters:
Families and Children: Demographic Data
Let’s pause here to consider the overall picture of Virginia’s demographics. The Voices for Virginia’s Children website has a report providing an overview of children across the Commonwealth and interactive maps that help us understand who we serve in greater detail. Take some time to explore each of the following below and consider what questions you might ask to better learn about the strengths of the community you serve, as well as the challenges and barriers they face.
