Emphasizes that the purpose of parent-teacher conferences should be to inform parents, foster positive parental involvement, and improve student performance. Discusses scheduling of conferences, the need for full-size furniture for adults, and the importance of students being present with their parents. (SR)

Presents guidelines on making the most of parent teacher conferences: how to prepare for the conference (talk to the child, make a list, and gather input from others); how to act during the conference (ask questions regarding the child, the teacher's methods, and the action plan); and how to follow through later. (SM)

This article examines the origins of parent-school conflict, identifies common errors that exacerbate difficulties, provides strategies for resolving conflicts and improving relationships, and proposes an alternate course of action if these approaches fail. Empathetic listening, trust building, and systematic and intuitive modes of problem solving…

Discusses techniques that elementary school teachers can use to help students assess their own achievement. Suggests that writing checklists can be used to evaluate content, organization, grammar, and diction and that student self-assessments are also a useful part of parent-student-teacher conferences. (MDM)

A study of eight students with moderate to severe disabilities investigated the nature of their involvement in transition planning during their final year of high school. Teachers and parents made little investment in preparing students for their transition planning meetings, and none were active participants with designated roles. (Contains…

Suggests that immigrant Latino parents have an ethnotheory of child development that emphasizes being part of a group, and that this ethnotheory conflicts with teachers' views focusing on the development of individual potential. Analyzes three dialogues from parent-teacher conferences to illustrate parent-teacher cooperation or discord in the…

The purpose of this study was to find out what middle school principals and teachers were doing to increase parental participation. The interview survey method was used and the instrument included questions eliciting demographic data about the schools and open-ended questions to identify methods used by the schools to increase parental support and…

Parents and teachers share responsibility for creating a working relationship that fosters children's learning. This digest examines the cultural context for parent-teacher relationships, suggests some general strategies for creating a climate in which misunderstandings and disagreements between parents and teachers can be minimized through…

This study was designed to determine which parent involvement strategies are used in Mississippi and which strategies are perceived as important by the states' parents, administrators, and teachers. Fifty school districts were randomly selected for the study. Questionnaires were distributed to parents, teachers, and one elementary and one…

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…

Due to excessive tardiness and absenteeism among kindergarten children enrolled in Glendale Elementary School (Glen Burnie, Maryland) a practicum was designed to provide several avenues of good communication between the kindergarten and the home and to foster good relationships between teachers and parents. Additional goals of the practicum were…

Communication between parents and staff was observed in 16 proprietary day care centers during morning and afternoon transition times when parents dropped off children and picked them up. Results revealed large, stable differences among centers in the frequency and usefulness of these exchanges. About two-thirds of transition time opportunities…

Many teachers in the Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Area School District's alternative programs use principles taught to behavioral disordered students for confronting and handling difficult situations when they must confront other adults in the school system about their concerns and problems. A positive and effective adult confrontation process is…

A workshop type method of training teachers in the use of counseling techniques for facilitating parent teacher conferences is described. It is based on the Carkhuff model of attending, responding, initiating, and communicating. At each of the four stages, the leader first discusses its purpose and the specific behaviors to be encompassed in the…

This is an annual report from a foundation whose principal goal is the development of practical alternatives to the traditional methods of educating children and training teachers. In addition to financial statements, articles are presented which describe the foundation's activities in several areas: (1) an assessment of National Follow Through,…