At both state and federal levels, partnerships of schools, parents, and communities have become an educational priority. Are teacher education programs adequately preparing preservice teachers for these partnerships? Focus groups of College of Education (COE) faculty from five Illinois Professional Learner's Partnership universities were conducted…

Early career special educators must be engaged in conversations with developers of preservice teacher preparation programs to co-construct initial teacher education programs which meet their needs. The process of listening to the teachers themselves could serve to ensure that teachers are an explicit element of program design. This article…

The importance of parental choice, and parents' participation in educational processes, continue to be highlighted in strategies, acts and policies around the world. Partnership with parents is given an even higher profile in relation to educational opportunities for children with special needs. Yet many trainee teachers have only limited…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which preservice teachers participating in a 16-week course in family and community relations would evidence a change in perception of the importance, feasibility, and level of preparation regarding family involvement strategies. A sample of 132 undergraduate preservice teachers was…

The paper reports on parental involvement in Chinese students' language learning which has emerged as a major finding from an interpretative enquiry into their English-learning experiences. The data confirm that Chinese parents and other family members are closely involved in the study participants' language learning, in particular, their…

The transition from teaching dance in higher education to the secondary school setting can be turbulent. Dance curriculum for secondary students must meet their developmental and psychological needs, while also fitting into an abbreviated class period. Individuals making this transition must be aware of the different goals that a middle or high…

Betsy Rogers is the National Teacher of the Year. She teaches elementary school in Leeds, Alabama, near Birmingham, where she developed a looping class, staying with the same students for two years, from first through second grades. A teacher for 22 years, Rogers earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1974 at Samford University.…

This article examines how prospective teachers just beginning a professional education program think about working with parents. Through interviews with students in an elementary teacher education program, I explore how biography shapes dispositions toward families by setting expectations for the roles and the activities of participants. Merging…

Although there is widespread support given to the idea of strong home-school relations, little attention is paid to the issue in teacher education programs. To understand the perspectives prospective teachers bring to their professional program about working with families, we surveyed students just beginning elementary and secondary teacher…

Parent involvement promotes better student attendance, increased graduation rates and less grade retention, higher parent and student satisfaction with school, less discipline reports, and higher achievement scores in reading and math (Hiatt-Michael 2001). In an analysis of teacher training programs, researchers found that teacher candidates…

After the author's first semester teaching at the university, she began to ponder the lack of emphasis placed on the relationships among school, community and home within her students' practicum experience. Through lectures, readings, and audio visuals, the author shared the importance of including parents in the educational decision making…

The necessity for parents and teachers to work together collaboratively to optimize children's learning and development in early childhood education is well recognized. Yet, ways in which initial teacher education programs might prepare teachers for professional relationships with parents are rare in the literature. This paper reports on the use…

The report begins with the Commissioner of Education's introduction. Details on the 1911-1912 survey of education are then presented. Subsequent chapters cover education legislation; higher education; city school systems; rural education; Roman Catholic schools across education sectors; recent negro-education movements; progress in the movement to…

This bulletin reports on the changes and progress in practice and conditions in: (1) School Housing; (2) Playgrounds; (3) Medical inspection; (4) Dental work; (5) Nutrition; (6) Open-air schools and open-window rooms; (7) The summer camp; (8) Other special schools and classes; (9) Health education; (10) Physical training; (11) Safety and first…

Volume I of the Biennial Survey of Education for the years 1920-1922 contains the following chapters: (1) A survey of public school finance in the United States (Fletcher H. Swift); (2) Some important school legislation, 1921 and 1922 (William R. Hood); (3) Higher education (George F. Zook; (4) Significant movements in city school systems (W. S.…