Children coming from refugee families have special psychological, social, and academic needs, and their success greatly depends on the positive support they receive from the host community. Teachers and peers at the school can provide cumulative support to help these children and their families overcome major socio-cultural and educational…

Parent-educator partnerships are an important element of effective early childhood, K-12, and special education programs (Dunst, Trivette, & Snyder, 2000; Tabors, 2008). While early childhood and other classrooms in the United States are increasingly diverse, the teachers in those classrooms are unlikely to be of the same linguistic or cultural…

Unlike most immigrants, who come to host countries after being granted legal permanent residency, refugees are forced to leave their homelands, often abruptly, due to threats to their personal safety. Refugees enter their host countries with no prior arrangements in place (e.g., housing, financial support of relatives, opportunities to start…

Describes the "parent panel," an approach to building appropriate communication, resolving conflicts, and creating mutual respect between teachers and parents of children with disabilities. Delineates benefits to parents and teachers, describes how to organize the parent panel, provides content guidelines, and provides an example of a panel…

Describes changing patterns of child custody, giving specific attention to the option of joint custody, parental satisfaction, children's adjustment, the importance of parental cooperation, and the role of the teacher in helping children of divorced parents. (RH)

Examines the ANCHOR (Addressing the Needs of Children through Observation and Response) parent involvement project developed at the University of British Columbia. The project centers around parent and educator observation and discussion of videotaped sequences of preschool children's activities and interactions. Parents and teachers act as…

To improve the relationship between educators and parents of handicapped children, educators should try to understand the feelings and attitudes of the parents of a child with a disability. Listed are seven suggestions for teachers to help them work effectively with parents and encourage parent participation in the education of handicapped…

New kinds of productive liaison" are developing between parents and school professionals, based on mutual respect and shared understandings. (Editor)

Suggests that parents who are aware of the differences between home play and school play more fully understand and value the role of play in the early childhood curriculum. Discusses benefits of school play along several dimensions, including interaction with peers and adults, group size, materials, planning, and guidance. Suggests ways for…

Describes the illness and death of a young boy enrolled in an early childhood program. Discusses how maintaining open communication, sharing genuine reactions, talking with parents and a clinical psychologist, sharing carefully chosen books, and supporting the child and his family throughout the experience were helpful in coping with this event.…

Identifies positive outcomes of parental involvement in their children's education. Suggests that, to become involved, parents should: communicate with school professionals; volunteer at school; visit the school; discuss the importance of school with their children; help children develop priorities; provide after-school supervision; establish…