Teacher-parent collaborative consultation can be useful in planning appropriate vocational programs for adolescents with disabilities. Such consultation can involve informing parents of vocational opportunities, planning vocational assessment and collecting vocational information, developing vocational components of individualized education plans,…

Teachers who believe that a particular preschooler is not progressing normally can use the suggestions in this article at conferences with the preschooler's parents. Methods for getting more information to parents and working with parents to arrange for a referral are discussed. (BB)

Explains the educational rights that exist for special needs children and ways that parents can advocate to obtain appropriate services. Benefits of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) are explained as well as what to do if the parent disagrees with the IEP assessment. (GLR)

Used focus group interviews to explore parents' perceptions of school efforts at parental involvement in elementary school. Found that parents described many positive interactions with their children's schools. Positive interactions were related to attitudes of classroom teachers, communication practices of the school and teacher, and the format…

This engaging, rich resource is designed for teachers, parents, and administrators in diverse schools or districts who know there is no quick fix for building lasting partnerships among families, schools, and communities. Going far beyond traditional "parent involvement programs," this essential volume offers ideas on how teachers and parents…

A study examined how a portfolio might be utilized to present student growth, or lack of growth, in narrative writing within a 12-week period. It addressed the problem of establishing specific portfolio assessment criteria for narrative writing samples, and effectively utilizing portfolios as an evaluation tool for parent/teacher/student…

This paper provides Indian parents of children with disabilities with information from the Education for Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs Project concerning communication between Indian parents and non-Indian service providers. Five basic strategies for effective communication are reviewed: (1) when you do not understand, ask for…

This book is a teachers' guide to the "Primary Learning Record." The "Primary Learning Record" is a development of the "Primary Language Record," which has provided teachers with strong support for their record-keeping of children's language and literacy progress and development. It offers a clear format for…

Parents and professionals in rural Massachusetts collaborated on a project designed to integrate children with behaviors associated with autism and pervasive developmental disorders into a community elementary school. This paper describes implementation of program features for 11 autistic children. Features of the program include family and…

This guide, in English and Spanish, presents ideas for parents to assist their child's progress at school. The contents include ten sections on the following topics: (1) getting started (the importance of attendance and health requirements); (2) report cards; (3) scheduling study time and developing study skills; (4) talking to the teacher; (5)…

Annotations from 11 documents and journals in the ERIC system deal with ways for parents to evaluate schools and how parental evaluation can be utilized to improve school quality and parent-school relations. (MLF)

Interviews with parents of fifth-graders in 153 urban and suburban Chicago (Illinois) area households provided researchers with answers to several questions about the nature of parent participation in education. The researchers considered parent participation to be an aspect of educational politics. They measured the level of participation at the…

Responding to the need for empirical data regarding the exercise of parental control under current finance practices in public education, this study examined the extent to which parents select their children's schooling by locating the family residence with schools in mind and the extent to which parents maintain frequent and self-initiated…

Designed for helping teachers improve classroom instruction with the help of tests, this handbook highlights the different kinds of tests that indicate important things about student performance: (1) teacher-made tests used to assess student learning; (2) diagnostic tests, prepared by a test publishing company; (3) achievement tests, prepared and…

The purpose of this study was to determine how teachers use group I.Q. test scores for planning instruction. Teachers were surveyed on: 1) use of I.Q. tests, 2) reasons for nonuse of I.Q. tests, and 3) instructional strategies based on test results. The widest use of test scores was in parent teacher conferences. The major reasons for not…