Parental involvement in schools, generally seen to be a good thing, is now closely linked through policy to the educational achievement of their children. In this Victorian case study, teacher and parent responses to policies advocating parental involvement are examined. It explores the intersections of gender and class in the context of changing…

This pilot study examined the experiences of 24 teacher education students and nine caregivers who participated in a weekly community play session on a rural University campus in NSW, Australia. Students completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the 13 week semester and at the end of the semester and were asked about confidence levels in…

Growing concerns about the experience and achievement of Black pupils (especially Black males) underpin calls for more Black people to serve as teacher and lay mentor role models in schools. Calls for increased numbers of Black teacher role models assume firstly, that Black teachers regard themselves as role models and want to perform such a role…

Presents evidence that schools inconsistently tap the social, cultural, and linguistic resources of families, privileging specific groups. Argues that teachers need to examine their literacy practices and the ways these affect students. Offers a description of an Australian program to provide a framework for bridging home and school literacies.…

Background: There is increasing evidence that schools internationally are not meeting the needs of increasing numbers of young people, especially those at the secondary level, and whose backgrounds have placed them at disadvantage. The evidence is that significant numbers of young people are becoming disconnected from school. While the official…

Reviews the changing role of parent education and discusses ways to involve parents in policy making, administrative tasks and teaching. (SB)

This report presents an analysis of parents' perceptions and judgments of the Queensland Pre-School Correspondence Program in Australia. Through the correspondence program, resources and guides were offered to parents living in remote rural areas of Queensland to help them provide home learning experiences for their preschool-age children. A…

The article raises misgivings toward recent proposals to require standardized literacy testing for 10- to 14-year-olds in Australia. Three other papers on the dangers and possibilities of literacy assessment are reviewed. It is concluded that the teacher parent partnership and learning are threatened by an increased government role in assessment.…

This report provides a detailed analysis of the personal communications between parents and teachers and teachers and children in the Queensland Pre-School Correspondence Program in Australia. The communications include letters, tapes, Teacher Information Sheets, and personal meetings and are analyzed by (1) type of contact and topic, (2)…

Reports on a survey of early childhood staff of 85 child care centers and 85 kindergartens in Australia regarding professional ethics. Discusses survey results in relation to Katz's work on ethics and teachers' developmental stages. Compares results with data from an earlier study of American educators (Feeney and Sysko, 1986). (NH)

Partnerships that form to advance early childhood education are influenced by history and purpose. They are enacted in diverse social, cultural, economic, geographic and educational contexts. Using the theme of "strong and equal partnership" between family and school, and taking a theoretical standpoint that values social cohesion and…

This pamphlet answers the question "How can we best involve parents in the classroom?" at the level of the school council, school staff, and classroom teacher. Issues to be negotiated by school councils include the changing nature of Australian family structures, parents with small children at home, parents helping after school hours,…

The project described in this paper, called Talking to Literacy Learners or TTALL, was designed to improve the quality of parent child interaction involving reading and writing, to promote gains in literacy standards, and to engender a more positive attitude toward schooling. Designed for an urban community in New South Wales where adult and youth…

This book presents a basis for preschool education derived from a rigorous analysis of the concept of education. The central concern is to provide a strategy for the development of an Australian preschool that is educationally sound, and, at the same time, has an identity of its own. Included are discussions of the dilemmas, issues, and strategies…

Discusses the objectives, practices, and values associated with home-based early childhood programs. (MP)