Department of Education
Child Development Program
3214 Austin Street, Houston, TX 77004
713-718-6303 phone 713-718-6235 fax
TECA 1303 Family, School, and Community
Family Profile Project
(Key Assessment)
NAEYC Standard 1: Promoting Child Development and Learning
b. Students know and understand the multiple influences on development and learning.
NAEYC Standard 2: Building Family and Community Relationships
a. Students know about and understand family and community characteristics.
b. Students can support and empower families and communities through respectful, reciprocal, relationships.
c. Students involve families and communities in children’s development and learning.
NAEYC Supportive Skills
SS3 Written and Verbal Communication: Well-prepared associate degree graduates have strong skills in
written and verbal communication. Students are technologically literate.
SS4 Making Connections Between Prior Knowledge/Experience and New Learning: Well-prepared
associate degree graduates are able to respect and draw upon their past or current work experience. In addition,
they are able to reflect critically upon their experience, enriching and altering prior knowledge with new insights.
Required Component – This assignment (family profile project - key assessment) is required for completion of this
course. If this assignment is not completed with 70% of possible points, you will not receive a passing grade in this
class.
Family Profile Project Description
In order to better understand families, children, and the contexts in which they live, you will conduct
research, gather data, and complete a 4-5 page written report that answers several different descriptive, exploratory,
and explanatory questions. Using a set of guiding questions, you will first conduct an interview with or administer a
survey to your selected family to find out more information about the child, the family, the home/neighborhood/
community, and the family’s interaction with a selected school or early childhood program. Then you will demonstrate
your ability to engage and involve parents in the educational process by describing ways you would: a) involve the
family and its community in the child’s learning, b) communicate with the family to address any potential instructional
or behavioral concerns; c) connect the family to community resources that you have identified as being potentially
helpful or beneficial in supporting the family or in addressing the child’s needs. The following outline may be of some
assistance in putting to together the report.
Family Profile Project Outline
Section I (Standard 1b)- In this section you should,
 Clearly describe the child you have selected in terms of his or her physical, social/emotional, and cognitive
development and how the child’s abilities or performance relates to established milestones or benchmarks.
Be sure to refer to the milestone or benchmark source that you used.
 Clearly identify and discuss the child’s needs and strengths in each of these three domains.
TECA 1303 family profile project – page 2
Section II (Standard 2a)-In this section you should clearly describe, in detail (using the system level labels as
subheadings), the characteristics of the child’s family structure, background and the community where he or she
resides. Using the Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, be sure to discuss the following systems that are
operating and affecting the child’s development:
 Microsystems-The most significant contexts in which the child interacts (e.g. family, school, peer groups,
and community)
 Mesosystems- The child’s significant contexts of development that are linked to one another (e.g. home and
school, school and community, home and peers, etc).
 Exosystems- The settings in which the child does not participate directly but which influence his or her
development in one of their microsystems (parents’ workplace and/or schedules, parental social support
networks, parental income, community resources, decisions made by school boards or city councils).
 Macrosystems- The characteristics of the larger society that influence child’s development (religious,
cultural, or other belief systems, lifestyles, patterns of social interaction, and life changes adopted by the
child’s nuclear or extended family).
Section III (Standard 2b)- In this section you should,
 Clearly identify and discuss the overall strengths of the family.
 Tell how these strengths can contribute to the child’s continued growth and development.
 Describe how you (as a teacher or caregiver of the child) might establish a relationship with, communicate
with, and provide support to this family.
Section IV (Standard 2c)-In this section you should,
 Make several suggestions about ways to engage and involve the family in the selected child’s learning and
educational progress.
 Explain how you would encourage their participation in the child’s educational program and the suggestions
or recommendations you would give them so that they might better address or respond to the child’s needs
and strengths that have been identified.
 Be sure to give many clear examples and ideas.
Revised -- August 2015
TECA 1303 family profile project – page 3
(Key Assessment)
Criteria for Grading
Standard 1b:
The student knows and
understands the
multiple influences on
development and
learning;
SS4: The student makes
connections with prior
learning
Standard 2a:
The student knows
about and understands
family and community
characteristics.
Standard 2b: The
student can support and
empower families and
communities through
respectful, reciprocal,
relationships.
Standard 2c: The
student involves
families and
communities in
children’s development
and learning.
SS3: The student
employs written
communication skills.
Meets Project
Expectations
(20 points)
Document clearly
describes the child and
provides explanation for
the child’s behavior and
characteristics; knowledge
and understanding of child
development theories,
milestones, and/or
benchmarks is clearly
applied; the needs and
strengths of child are fully
and clearly identified
Document clearly and
thoroughly describes the
family, background, and
community characteristics;
discusses and labels at
least 4 of the 5 levels in
the family systems or
ecological theory of child
development operating
within the family context
Document clearly and
thoroughly identifies the
strengths of the family and
community; clearly tells
how these strengths might
impact the child’s growth,
development, or learning;
fully discusses in detail
how the student would
support, communicate and
build relationship with the
selected family in ways
that are respectful,
responsive, and
reciprocal; discussion is
detailed, specific, and
clearly articulated
Document clearly and
thoroughly tells how the
family can address or
build upon the identified
needs and strengths of the
child; many examples and
ideas of ways to engage
and involve the selected
family in the educational
program are provided;
suggestions and relevant
recommendations are
made specifically telling
how to improve child’s
development and learning
Document has no more
than 3-4 errors in
paragraph structure,
spelling, grammar,
punctuation, or
capitalization
Approaches Project
Expectations
(14 points)
Document somewhat
describes the child;
attempts to provide
explanation for the child’s
behavior and
characteristics by applying
some knowledge and
understanding of child
development theories,
milestones, and/or
benchmarks; some of the
needs and strengths of
child are identified
Document somewhat
describes the family,
background, and
community characteristics;
discusses (but does not
label) the family systems
or ecological theory of
child development and/or
misses one or two of the 5
levels within family context
Document somewhat
identifies the strengths of
the family and community;
needs more clarity in
telling how these strengths
might impact the child’s
growth, development, or
learning; fully discusses in
detail how the student
would support,
communicate and build
relationship with the
selected family in ways
that are respectful,
responsive, and
reciprocal; still needs
more elaboration/revision
Document somewhat tells
how the family can
address or build upon the
identified needs and/or
strengths of the child;
some examples or ideas
of ways to engage and
involve the selected family
in the educational program
are provided; some
improvement is required in
the quantity or quality of
the suggestions and
recommendations; more
elaboration is needed
Document has no more
than 5-6 errors in
paragraph structure,
spelling, grammar,
punctuation, or
capitalization
Falls Below Project
Expectations
(8 points)
Document does not at all
describe the child in all
aspects; little explanation
for the child’s behavior
and characteristics is
provided; applies little
knowledge or
understanding of child
development theories,
milestones, and/or
benchmarks; does not
adequately identify child’s
needs and strengths at all
Document somewhat
describes the family,
background, and
community context BUT
does not at all discuss the
family systems or
ecological theory of child
development and totally
omits reference to any of
its 5 levels
Document identifies few or
none of the strengths of
the family and/or
community; does not at all
tell how these strengths
might impact the child’s
growth, development, or
learning; fully discusses in
detail how the student
would support,
communicate and build
relationship with the
selected family ways that
are respectful, responsive,
and reciprocal; needs
much more elaboration
and/or revision
Document provides few
general examples or ideas
of ways to engage or
involve the selected family
in the educational
program; very brief or no
real discussion of how the
family can address the
child’s needs or build on
child’s strengths; this area
needs much enhancement
or great improvement as
few, if any, suggestions or
recommendations are
made
Document has 7 or more
errors in paragraph
structure, spelling,
grammar, punctuation, or
capitalization
Points Awarded