Guidelines teachers have found useful for initiating and maintaining formal and informal communication with parents are provided in this discussion for child caregivers. Topics briefly discussed include the mechanics of initiating a conference, working with parents during a conference, arranging meetings for parent groups, and techniques for…

Outlined is a typical routine for presenting lessons to culturally disadvantaged elementary school students, who seem to require highly structured, immediate, and concrete activities and material. It is felt that teachers need to develop and use a range of visual, manipulable learning devices, and to acquire an understanding of the background and…

Discusses a short list of positive ways parents can use television to help their children. (Author/RK)

Describes the fears, frustrations, and problems of parent-teacher conferences. Suggests that parents not wait for the first conference to start communication, that they get involved in the school, and that parents go to conferences prepared with written questions and concerns. (MS)

The purpose of this study was to obtain perceptions and thoughts of 325 parents of handicapped children regarding their relationship and involvement with school, their level of satisfaction, and their recommendations and suggestions on how to improve parent-school relationships. (MT)

Parents can prepare themselves to participate more effectively in the special education planning process. Guidelines for parents presented in the form of questions to be asked prior to and at the annual review address the need for eliciting clarification, descriptive information, and program implications, and understanding procedures, goals, and…

Describes the action research process and provides practical guidelines for using the process to improve the education of children with disabilities and increase parental involvement. Laying the groundwork for action research, recruiting parents to participate in the research, and involving parents in each step are discussed. (CR)

A rationale is offered for parent involvement in seeking solutions to the problems faced by middle school students; and for inclusion, in the middle school courses of preservice teachers, of instruction on parent/teacher conferences. Specific suggestions for conducting positive parent-teacher conferences, are offered, with emphasis on proper…

Presents conference strategies designed to include primary students and show them that their opinions matter. Teachers must create a good atmosphere, let the children describe their classroom performance, let the parents discuss their children's performance, then devise a group plan of action. Teacher tips for creative conferencing are included.…

Discusses the role of clear, honest communication in building effective school-parent partnerships. Offers several suggestions to help establish communication between school or child care facility staff and the families served, including newsletters, parent communication centers, parent libraries, home visits, letters and postcards, telephone…

The Parent Involvement Research Program assessed the extent of parental involvement in the educational process of handicapped children in Kansas, and implemented three training models in urban and rural areas to increase parent participation levels. The three training models were teacher-to-parent contact, parent-to-parent contact, and community…

Research has shown that parents can make significant contributions to the education of their severely emotionally disturbed children if given appropriate guidance by education professionals. To actively engage parents in educational processes, educators need to be skilled in effective communication strategies. Working with parents on one focused…

This teacher's handbook suggests that, as social, economic and political changes in the United States have altered family structure and parenting skills have become more complex and demanding, parent support programs and services must be made available. It is suggested that parenting should become a more cooperative process involving everyone in…

This report describes a pilot study in the use of video tape as a recording and reporting device for a child's responses in a learning situation. It was believed that video tape could be used as an improved means of home-school communication. Nineteen 5-year-old subjects in groups of six were videotaped for 12-minute segments in actual classroom…

Seven parents in an experimental group completed family information profiles and met with a school/community liaison prior to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. A control group received written notification of the meeting. Parents in the experimental group made a significantly greater proportion of contributions at the meeting.…