How Can Preservice Teachers Prepare to Engage Parents?

Earlier this year, the Reference Desk Digest asked how schools and districts can promote parent engagement. This week’s entry continues the theme of engagement but focuses on the role of teachers in the relationship between parent and classroom. It addresses how teacher preservice training for parent engagement can impact student achievement.

Question

What are effective practices for training preservice and in-service teachers in parent engagement?

Research Synopsis

Reference Desk researchers found that “when families, schools and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more” (Henderson, 2002; see below). One resource suggests that, “Teacher preparation has the potential to serve as an important forum for overcoming barriers to the engagement of parents in their children’s education…. Studies of interventions in pre-service teacher education have reported improvement in candidate knowledge, attitudes, and skills for working with parents (Harris, 2004; see below). Overall, “school staff need more support in developing ways to reach out to families and use the resources available to them in the community…. All staff, from principal to custodian, need opportunities to learn more about this area” (Henderson, 2002; see below).

Publicly Available Resources

Preparing Teachers to Engage Parents. Harris, M. M., Jacobson, A., and Hemmer, R.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project; ERIC Document # ED484762; November 2004; 5 pages.

From the ERIC abstract: “Teacher preparation has the potential to serve as an important forum for overcoming barriers to the engagement of parents in their children’s education. Nevertheless, parent involvement has yet to hold a central role in the teacher education curriculum (Chavkin & Williams, 1987; de Acosta, 1996; Epstein & Dauber, 1991; Hiatt-Michael, 2001) and in continuing professional development for educators (Moles, 1993). Teacher candidates report the belief that they do not possess the skills to implement parent involvement strategies in the classroom (Tichenor, 1998). Studies of interventions in preservice teacher education have reported improvement in candidate knowledge, attitudes, and skills for working with parents (Katz & Bauch, 1999; Morris, Taylor, Knight & Wasson, 1996).”
Someone’s Most Precious Darling: Building Home-School Connection in Preservice Teacher Education Programs. Power, B., and Perry, C. M.; The School Community Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2; 2000; pages 9–19.

From the SEDL summary: “This paper describes the implementation of a school-family component as part of the Elementary Master of Arts in Teaching program at the University of Maine. The authors report several findings from the experience: that family played a crucial role in facilitating student learning; that building even small connections to their students’ homes affected academic programs in unexpected ways over an extended period of time; and that the experience helped the teacher educators reaffirm their understanding that what they do in their coursework with students has far more impact than what they say. The program had four components: solicited letters from family and friends, home visits, an open house, and roundtable discussions with parents of children at a professional-development school site associated with the master's program. This essay describes a unique model for preservice teacher preparation.”
A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. Henderson, A. T., and Mapp, K. L.; Austin, TX: National Center for Family & Community Connections with Schools, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory; 2002; 241 pages.

“In several studies, an intervention was introduced to teachers or other school staff that shifted the level and nature of the contact between themselves and families. These shifts changed the way families felt about the school, affected their relationship with teachers, and influenced how they were involved in the educational life of their children. School staff need more support in developing ways to reach out to families and use the resources available to them in the community…. Few teacher preparation programs include instruction on how to partner with parents and community. Such programs should be developed to include a focus on the importance of partnership with parents and community to improve student achievement. All school staff, from principal to custodian, need opportunities to learn more about this area” (p. 65).

The Reference Desk also found these organizations to be helpful in learning more about preservice training for parent engagement:

Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP)

“Since 1983, [HFRP] has helped stakeholders develop and evaluate strategies to promote the well being of children, youth, families and their communities.” Visit the Publications & Resources section for more information about family involvement in education.
The SEDL National Center for Families and Community Connections with Schools
“The Center links people with research-based information and resources that they can use to effectively connect schools, families, and communities. It emphasizes connections that directly impact student achievement in reading and mathematics as well as connections that contribute to the students’ overall success in school and in life. The Center reviewed emerging findings and research to develop an online database, annual conferences and annual reports to help advance procedural knowledge and to link research findings to practice.”
National Coalition of Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE)
The mission of the NCPIE is “to advocate the involvement of parents and families in their children’s education, and to foster relationships between home, school, and community to enhance the education of all our nation’s young people.” View the Resources section for resources that “help build and facilitate effective family-school partnerships.”

Download the Full Response

Read September 11th, 2009, Digest on Parent Involvement

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