Due to the intimate contact they have with children, teachers are in a position to intervene when child abuse appears to occur. Preservice teacher education programs should train teachers to recognize abused children and to interact with them and their parents. (Authors/CJ)

Since students possess intimate knowledge about their academic progress, they should be invited to participate in, or even lead, parent-teacher conferences. Interested middle schools should consider piloting their models, focus on the conference model process, have students identify personal goals, clearly define participants' roles, and evaluate…

The Portland (Oregon) Public Schools Research and Evaluation Department is investigating the use of evaluative data in instructional planning and decision making in schools. The three-year research effort involves training and technical support in effective evaluation use. The first year of the evaluation use research focused on collecting and…

Results of two surveys concerning preparation of special educators to work with parents found that, although most special education departments offer a course on working with parents, few inservice teachers have taken such a course. Such training was correlated with teachers' level of confidence in their ability to communicate with parents. (DB)

Presents the Verbal Interaction Analysis System (VIAS), a computer-based system designed to analyze verbal interactions, and describes application of the VIAS in analyzing family/professional interactions during the Individualized Family Service Plan process. The results of a pilot test of the VIAS found high interobserver reliability. (Author/CR)

In at least one Oregon school system, student-led conferences have begun to replace traditional report cards. When conferences are well done, parents believe they have learned more about their child's learning and progress than they would through a traditional report card. There is an important additional benefit in that students can rise to the…

Educators in Indiana's Duneland School District found the transition from elementary schools to a newly organized middle school unacceptably difficult for both the students and their parents. After assessing student and parent preconceptions of the middle school as revealed in their responses to questionnaires, the middle school principal…

A survey of 904 special education teachers determined the nature and extent of parent-teacher interactions, by gathering data on number of parent contacts, time spent, communication format (written, telephone, or personal visit), nature of parent contacts in Individualized Education Plan (IEP) development, teachers' roles during IEP meetings, and…

Using 1976-77 data on truants aged 14 and under in Sheffield, England, this study examined characteristics of poor attenders and compared the effects on subsequent school attendance of three intervention strategies: calling parents before a school attendance board; prosecuting parents in magistrates court; or taking action through juvenile court.…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers', students', and parents' perceptions of the effectiveness of student-led conferences using portfolios on promoting the real world skills of responsibility, reflection, self-assessment, and goal setting. This study suggested that using portfolios in student-led parent conferences carries…

This paper reviews the school-family partnership in Hong Kong in the past decade. The typology of Epstein's six types of partnership is adopted as the analytical framework. The results show that there has been an increase in shared experience in school education among various stakeholders. Schools have become more convinced that they have a role…

The implementation of a parent training session with 15 culturally diverse parents in Hawaii preceding a parent-professional conference on transition planning for high school students with disabilities resulted in increased knowledge about transition by participating parents but no significant differences in transition meeting participation…

In its fourth year, the Bilingual Education Technical Assistance Center (BETAC) provided technical assistance and training to members of the instructional and administrative staffs of programs for students with limited English proficiency in New York City's 32 community school districts and for the Board of Education's Division of High Schools. In…