Parents as Partners in Education : Families and Schools Working Together

by Berger, Eugenia Hepworth

• ISBN13: 9780130481108
• ISBN10: 0130481106
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

"This text uniquely provides comprehensive coverage of the history of parenting and parent/school collaboration, current issues and immigration trends affecting American schools and communities, diverse family structures, and many techniques that teaching professionals can use to engage family members of all children more completely as partners in education. Chapters on working with families of children with special needs and on child abuse are remarkable aspects of this text."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Eugenia Hepworth Berger is professor emerita of education at Metropolitian State College.

Table of Contents

Family Involvement-Essential for a Child's Development

Families and Communities: Overview, Trends, and Insights

Working with Culturally Diverse Groups

Historical Overview of Family Life, Diverse Famlies, and Parent Involvement

Effective Home-School-Community Relationships

Communication and Parent Programs

Collaborative Leadership-Working with Parents

School-Based Programs

Home-Based Programs

Working with Parents of a Child with Disabilities

The Abused Child

Rights, Responsibilities, and Advocacy

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

The beginning of a new century makes one reflect on the accomplishments and disappointments of the past as well as the opportunities that lie ahead. During the past decades there was change from distancing families from their children's education toward engaging families and communities more completely as partners in education. A look at today's families, schools, and communities shows that, although they remain the same in their roles of nurturing, educating, and providing services, they differ in their delivery systems. But diversity in meeting the needs of children increases the chances that those needs will be met. No longer do we question whether parents should collaborate with schools. Now we try to design an appropriate and successful partnership that meets the needs of individual schools and school districts. When I wrote the first edition ofParents as Partnersin the late 1970s, I did so because of my great interest in parent-school collaboration. This developed from my roles as a parent, a public school teacher, and a college professor, as well as my experience as director of a Parent Education and Preschool Program in the early 1960s. It was my aim to project this enthusiasm for parent-school partnerships to preservice students, school personnel, and parents. Now, writing this sixth edition, I am overwhelmed by the proliferation of reports, books, and journals filled with suggestions for collaboration and successful partnerships. The U.S. Department of Education has focused on the home and parents as necessary components in education. I visited with school principals and teachers and found exciting programs that include parents. Parents as first teachers and continuing partners in education are becoming accepted by the education community. This edition, like its predecessors, includes a comprehensive look at parent-school partnerships, and it also updates the national emphasis on home-school participation. Professional and commercial organizations have responded with articles, materials, and programs that offer suggestions for enhancing parent involvement. With its comprehensive coverage, this book offers practical information that enhances school-parent collaboration, and it includes an annotated bibliography in the Appendix to serve as a reference to the new national emphasis. ORIENTATION TO THE TEXT Interdisciplinary.The text studies parent involvement from an interdisciplinary approach and looks at home-school collaboration using historical, educational, psychological, ethnic-social diversity, and sociological perspectives. In this edition there was a strong effort to include immigration patterns and the history of diversity in the United States, as well as recognition of the original inhabitants, the Native Americans. It is hoped that this will make all diverse groups feel recognized as contributing members of society. Theory and Research.Theory and research underpin each chapter of the text. New research emphasizes the need for collaboration between families and schools. Practical Application.A teacher, administrator, parent, or student can pick up this book and find suggestions and descriptions of specific programs that will enable collaboration between families and schools. Readability.Reviewers and students have commented on the readability of the text. It is written in an easy-to-read style. Illustrations.More than a hundred photographs enrich the narrative. Classical paintings from leading art museums illustrate Chapter 2, "Historical Overview of Family Life and Parent Involvement." Drawings and Graphs.Many drawings and graphs are included in the text. Enlargements of these figures are included in the instructor's manual so that transparencies can be made easily. Comprehensive Coverage.The text moves beyond the typical discussi