ABSTRACT
The conclusion reinforces that trauma-responsive family engagement is not a one size fits all or a recipe early childhood professionals can take away and apply equally to every family. Instead, it is based in the science of human connection, learning, engagement and resilience/healing and requires that we learn about ourselves and that we are flexible and responsive in our work with each individual family given the dynamic nature and diverse contexts of our work. The authors explain that many people incorrectly assume that when they alter their beliefs, that changes in behavior will follow. However, many research studies document that changing conscious beliefs and intentions (e.g., to shift from parent involvement to family engagement and to use a trauma-responsive approach) does not necessarily lead people to change their behavior, especially if the goal is long-term sustained behavior change. As a result, the authors, drawing on the work of Wood (Wood, W. 2019. Good habits, bad habits: The science of making positive changes that stick. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) describing the factors that support adults to start new and desired habits and to “unlearn” and disrupt unwanted and harmful habits. They offer several concrete actionable practices readers can begin implementing right away.
