Discusses the difficulty of breaking bad news to parents, whether the news pertains to center policy or a child's behavior. Provides strategies for presenting news and for helping parents to overcome difficult situations, including gathering facts in advance, arranging an appropriate time, and having resource materials available for parents. (MOK)

Provides "adoption awareness" for early childhood educators and offers practical suggestions for working with adoptive parents and their children. Includes a list of adoption resources and consultants, along with a collection of suggested adoption books for young children. (Author/EV)

When parents are involved with their children's schools, increased learning takes place. For parent involvement programs to be successful, physical educators must play the key role in the link between home and school. Home activities should build basic physical skills without duplicating the teachers' efforts. (JD)

Support groups for parents of hearing-impaired students, led by a team of school personnel and mental health professionals, can effectively provide parents with information, support, and a forum for open discussion of concerns. Suggestions are offered on getting organized and conducting the first meeting. Potential discussion topics are outlined.…

Educators should be aware of economic and social changes affecting today's families and adopt supportive strategies to serve their needs. Educators should be consistent in their relationship with families; use diverse approaches; communicate often and effectively; relate and respond to the family; provide continuous feedback; and promote equal…

Discusses the responsibility of teachers and caregivers to provide high quality feedback to parents by using a parent feedback form (included). Suggests that the form can play a significant role in structuring expectations for both parents and teachers. It can serve to guide parents in what they may expect to see in their child's class and help…

Describes how one teacher initiated a whole language program and attempted to inform parents about the program. Discusses the importance of maintaining a constant flow of communication to parents and providing variety in the media that are used to carry the communication. (MG)

Reports that exposure to televised violence results in increased aggressive attitudes and behaviors, desensitization toward real violence, and unrealistic fears of victimization. Maintains that teachers can effect change by being knowledgeable about the impact of television, communicating to parents ways in which negative effects can be reduced,…

Discusses the role of teachers in relation to parents. Suggests English educators have much to do in helping teachers learn how to inform parents about the best practices in English/language arts. Posits that teachers--preservice and practicing--must think about their roles differently to see themselves as advocates, not just for students, but for…

This article addresses issues in parent-child attachment, identifies the implications such attachment relations have for child development, and provides strategies to facilitate optimal parent-child attachment. Strategies for early child educators include speaking up and helping if awkward attachment relations are sensed and honoring and affirming…

Presents the parish programs at the Prince of Peace Catholic Community in Plano, Texas and at the Holy Family Parish Community in Inverness, Illinois as examples of what can be accomplished when imaginative, inspired, and knowledgeable teachers take on family catechesis as their mission. (VWC)

Reviews studies of parental participation and their role in schooling processes. Examines principal research trends on the subject, looks at the classification of different types of parental participation, discusses the crucial role of teachers in the intensive involvement of parents in schooling, and situates the theoretical stakes that this…

This article deals with the problem between the teacher and parent of a child who will not participate in group activities. Here, the author features the teacher's story as well as the parent's story. Some children take a long time to warm up to group play. Often, these are imaginative youngsters who are quite content to amuse themselves. They may…

Bullying victimization is associated with several health issues. Prevention of bullying is therefore an important goal for health and education professionals. In the present study, 2766 children from 32 Dutch elementary schools participated by completing a questionnaire on bullying behavior, and the involvement of teachers, parents and classmates…

This study explores how teacher quality matters in improving early childhood performance in US kindergartens. We find that it is what teachers do rather than the credentials they hold that matters. Different from previous research on the effect of teacher quality on student achievement, this paper first rejected the common practice of using…