The purpose of this pilot study is to understand the impact of Family Group Conferencing (FGC) on the collaboration among general education and special education teachers, teachers' attitudes toward family outreach and perceived outcomes of preschool students with and without disabilities enrolled in inclusive classrooms during distance learning.…

Whilst many practitioners value positive and effective working relationships with parents, enhancing home-school interactions can be complex, especially within highly diverse contexts. Within the UK, partnership working with parents is widely advocated. However, there may exist subtle, but crucial differences between interactions that…

This article explores the construction of parent-teacher conferences in the Swedish preschool and focuses on processes that construct and maintain these meetings. The analysis draws upon an ethnographic study in two preschools and the empirical material consists of 11 audiotaped parent-teacher conferences and observations of everyday activities…

Describes how the Perkiomen Valley School District (PVSD) offers a four-week Title I pre-kindergarten program for 45 children who at the time of kindergarten registration exhibit physical, emotional, social, or academic needs that may prevent them from succeeding in school. (Author)

The debate about whether to include all kinds of students in the general education classrooms is a current topic in the European and Scandinavian educational policy. This paper comes to grips with this topic by focusing on the process through which professionals define educational possibilities and risks for one group of children considered as…

Encourages close communication between parents and early childhood teachers. Initial contacts and contacts throughout the school year help to convey general information about the school to parents. Visits, notes, and telephone calls can be used to provide specific information about individual children. (GH)

Interviews with 19 parents explored perceptions of major issues in their handicapped child's transition from a specialized preschool classroom to regular kindergarten. Among results was that parents indicated the greatest satisfaction with parent-teacher conferences and the least satisfaction with amount and type of school and 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.…

One component of the final report of a 3-year project to train speech language pathologists and audiologists to deliver services to young children (birth to age 5) with communication disorders, the paper describes the project's model of multidisciplinary team interaction involving parents as integral to team function. The program stresses the…

This report describes a project that sought to ascertain the educational expectations and actual levels of participation by Black, low to low-middle income parents of 36 regular and special education students entering three Baltimore (Maryland) public schools. The parents' initial expectations and the development of these expectations over the…

Because family and school represent the primary environments in which young children grow and develop, it is important to build and maintain strong parent participation in preschool education. Teachers can plan parent participation strategies to give equal consideration to the needs of all families represented in a class. Teachers can plan for…

This article discusses provisions of Public Law 99-457 and suggests that this law sets the stage for the development of family-centered services for young children with disabilities. The approach presented emphasizes identification of families' strengths and needs as a basis for implementing community-based programs, with professionals serving as…

The manual covers methods for teachers to help parents understand and deal with their handicapped children and provides suggestions for improving parent-teacher meetings. Sections address the following topics: understanding parents' feelings and dealing with such special situations as referral for further tests and suspected child abuse;…

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…

Noting the important influence of a positive home-school relationship on children's academic achievement, this study explored some of the factors that can prevent parents from becoming involved in their child's school. A questionnaire consisting of 25 statements to be answered on a five-point Likert scale, and four open-ended questions was…