When dropping Jamie off at preschool, Jamie's grandmother, Mrs. Edwards, usually appeared to have a stern expression. Jamie's teacher, Miss Vickie, found Mrs. Edwards to be aloof and thought she seemed uncomfortable with the day-in and day-out routine of transporting Jamie. When the pair would arrive at school, Miss Vickie would exchange only a few spoken words with Mrs. Edwards. It seemed as though the two adults never moved past the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time. Although most early childhood providers realize the importance of developing and maintaining respectful and collaborative partnerships with their students and families, it can be difficult to establish and maintain these relationships with parents, extended family, or unrelated guardian caregivers. When people are called into early childhood teaching professions, they generally want to work with children and often do not realize it means working with both children and adults (Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2004). As the traditional nuclear family structure is less common today than diverse or blended families, educators are more unsure of how to properly respond and to what degree family collaboration can occur. Nevertheless, all families share the expectation of a "partnership" with their children's teachers that will enhance the children's early learning experience. Understandings about what that "partnership" should be, however, can vary greatly between parents(s), extended family, and/or unrelated guardian caregivers.
