The authors focus on the issues of teacher training and parent involvement. They describe development of a set of parent involvement teacher training guidelines and strategies and suggest uses for these guidelines. (CH)

From 1986 to 1988, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory sought to identify and describe the characteristics of promising parent involvement programs in their five-state region. They found seven essential elements, including written policies, adequate administrative support, training, a partnership approach, two-way communication,…

Reviews research evidence contradicting the myths about minority parents' involvement in their children's education. Gives suggestions for improving parent-teacher communication and changing school structures and strategies to improve the partnership with minority parents. (SK)

This ERIC digest describes the lives of migrant families, migrant students' education, and migrant parents' involvement in their children's education. Migrant families tend to travel along well-established geographic routes which can be identified as the East Coast Stream, the Mid-Continent Stream, and the Western Stream. In 1986, the average…

This executive summary reports particulars concerning the development of guidelines and strategies for training preservice and inservice elementary school educators about parent involvement, and provides a copy of the training materials. After a brief introduction, major recommendations from previous research on parent involvement training for…

Parents and administrators were surveyed about attitudes, practices, and policies related to parent involvement in the education of elementary-age children. While it is interpreted in many ways, each with its supporters and opponents, parent involvement is of strong interest to both groups. (LHW)

Recent studies have verified Secretary of Education William Bennett's observation on the importance of home and family life. The most successful students are those whose parents become actively engaged in the educational process at home and at school. To capitalize on potential parent involvement, principals need to understand the kinds of…

This paper discusses the development of research-based guidelines and strategies for training both inservice and preservice elementary school educators in parent involvement. These guidelines provide information that should effectively develop teachers' knowledge, understanding, and skills regarding communication with parents and strengthening the…

A survey of Hispanic parents in high-minority, low-income areas of six southern states gathered information on parent feelings toward parent involvement in education, similarities and differences between parents and educators concerning aspects of parent involvement, and recommended action to involve parents in the Hispanic student's college…

Discusses the need for school districts to develop lucid, comprehensive policies on family and community involvement. Discusses what teachers can do to lead the way, and what school districts can do. Discusses critical issues in such policy: budget/resource allocations, assessment of outcomes, and the collaboration process. (SR)

Educators want and need specific preparation about the knowledge, attitudes, and skills it takes to enhance the involvement of diverse families in their children's education. The importance of preparing educators to work together with diverse families cannot be overstated. A parent is a child's first teacher and the only teacher who remains with a…

Following an overview of information on migrant families and children, this chapter describes strategies that administrators and teachers can use to promote family involvement in migrant students' education. Estimates of the numbers of migrant farmworkers and migrant children vary widely, and the diversity of migrant farmworkers' backgrounds makes…

This digest examines barriers to parent participation in the education of Mexican American students, and successful programs and strategies for overcoming those barriers. Research has found family participation in education to be twice as predictive of academic achievement as family socioeconomic status. Mexican American parents care about their…

This document highlights the development of guidelines and strategies for teaching preservice and inservice elementary school educators about parent involvement. Based on previous Parent Involvement in Education Project research and on input from experts and professionals actively engaged in teacher education and/or parent involvement, strategies…