The belief that a child has to abandon his home language to learn English implies that the young brain has limited learning capacity. Early childhood teachers need to help families understand that children can learn two languages at the same time. What matters is that the infant/toddler is in an effective language-learning environment, whether it…

Over the past 60 years, many changes have occurred in the ways parents and professionals have learned to work together to improve outcomes for children with disabilities. Perhaps the most notable change has been a shift from services based solely on professional expertise to services that incorporate the knowledge of parents as part of coordinated…

Increased diversity within student populations has led to concerns for meeting the needs of all learners. Traditionally, education has defined diversity in terms of students' ethnicity, language, and academic abilities. In today's environment, however, multicultural efforts fall short if they do not also include sexual orientation and family…

Helping relationships bloom authentically between staff, parents, and children is a core mission for early childhood professionals. Because program staff accept responsibility for creating bonds with families, they establish a variety of "family-friendly" outreach strategies. For instance, they plan gradual warm-up visits, hold family…

"Partnership between parents and teachers" is a taken-for-granted feature of the philosophy and practice of early childhood education. Yet, the literature suggests this rhetoric belies a more complex and problematic reality for teachers. Making connections with the families and communities they will serve may help teacher education…

American demographics are shifting, most notably among the student population (G. Orfield, 2009). The proportion of white student enrollment has steadily decreased since the 1960s, from approximately 80% of students to 56% today (G. Orfield, 2009). In the South and the West--two of the most populous regions in the country--schools report nonwhite…

The purpose of this article is to describe the effects that parent perceptions of their relationships with teachers have on parent involvement. After providing a brief review of literature identifying the importance of parent-teacher relationship formation, the authors provide suggestions for early childhood educators that will help them establish…

The issue of parental involvement (PI) in education is notable for the extensive rhetoric supporting it and considerable variation in the reality of its practice. It is proposed that the gap between rhetoric and reality in PI has come about because of the influence of factors at the parent and family, child, parent-teacher and societal levels…

For new teachers and veterans, mentors, instructional coaches, and staff developers, this book shows you how the best teachers avoid and correct the 20 most common teaching mistakes. Clear, direct, and passionate, this book provides tools to help you take charge of your classroom, yourself, your students' educations, and to become the best teacher…

The purpose of this article is to share specific tips and techniques used by educators, education learning societies and experts in the field of education and classroom management. Classroom management is one of the greatest concerns of teachers and administrators when addressing the safety and well-being of students. Classroom management ranks at…

Purpose: This study examined African American teachers' perceptions of their teaching experiences in schools that were once primarily populated with African American students but have experienced shifts in demographics to primarily consisting of Hispanic students. The study focused on three areas. The first area was African American teachers'…

In this article we will present a reflexive way of producing a narrative analysis on teaching and learning that involves all participants of the pedagogical process. Our theoretical contribution rests on the concept "lived pedagogy", adapted from Max van Manen's term "lived experience". Like van Manen, we start by asking the…

The first days of school can be scary for parents, too. As a child reaches an age where she is ready to begin school, the very thought can overwhelm any parent. As a parent of a child with a disability there are added considerations. Nonetheless, transitions through the early years of school can become relatively easier for both the parents and…

Background: Because of the complexity of the problems that affect children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), communication between parents and teachers at special educational centres is indispensable. Logs are widely used in the Netherlands although only little is known about the effectiveness and efficiency of…

For years, well-intentioned educators have arranged school open houses to encourage language minority families to participate in their children's education. These educators know that decades of research tout the benefits of schools partnering with parents. Yet the results of such events are often discouraging. Many teachers and administrators do…