Teacher Training in Family Involvement:An Interpersonal Approach

Professional and Personal Experiences and Perceived Facilitator Effectiveness

“…In the case of this project, the training involved an empirical review of stepfamily issues, the importance of involving all of the family members, modeling of teaching techniques, and specific training on cultural sensitivity. This finding supports the recommendations found in the general relationship education literature that facilitators should be trained in specific competencies (Hawkins et al, 2004;Coleman & Wallinga, 1999;Duncan & Goddard, 2005;Hughes, 1994). Particularly for family life educators who work with diverse populations, one competency is being able to recognize and work within participants' cultural context.…”

“…The need to formally train those who offer family life education has been clearly articulated in the literature for several years (Coleman & Wallinga, 1999;Fadden, 1998;Hughes, 1994). A somewhat dated literature review by Fadden concludes that training those who provide family life education increases the success of the intervention.…”

Dispositions Toward Families and Family Involvement: Supporting Preservice Teacher Development

“…A commitment to effective communication is another disposition that is essential for successful relationships with families (Coleman and Wallinga 2000;Knight and Wadsworth 1998). When engaged in positive, two-way communication with teachers, parents feel that their thoughts and feelings are respected (Lam 2000).…”

“…The research also recommends that many varied strategies be implemented in an effort to support this developmental process in emerging teachers (Coleman and Wallinga 2000;de Acosta 1996). These efforts should not be designed exclusively for only one course focused on working with parents and families, but need to be integrated throughout the entire early childhood teacher education program (Baum and McMurray-Schwarz 2004).…”

“…Successful relationships hinge not only on a teacher's understanding of a family's cultural and social perspectives, but also on the teacher's ability to be responsive to their needs and preferences based on these perspectives. A teacher's recognition and acknowledgement of families' diverse contexts and needs sends messages of belonging and inclusiveness (Coleman and Wallinga 2000). On the other hand, an unwillingness or inability to build bridges between the social and cultural differences between schools and families may negatively impact children's emotional resilience and motivation to learn (Bowman 1994).Too often, families who are different are viewed negatively because the teacher may lack insight into that parent/family culture or perspective (Lightfoot 2003).…”