Are Student Teachers Prepared to Establish Family-School Partnerships?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Building Preservice Teachers’ Understanding of Family Involvement Through Meaningful Pedagogy

Abstract

Research indicates that while parent involvement promotes achievement, the preparation of teachers to develop Family School Partnerships (FSP) is not well documented. Surveys about FSP were given to 369 student teachers in three universities in The Netherlands, Belgium, and the USA. Questions were based on the literature and focus groups with preservice teachers and teacher educators. Findings indicated that these students saw working with parents as one way communication where information is transmitted in various forms from the teacher to the family. Providing opportunities for parents to participate in activities, engaging families or offering parenting information were not activities new teachers plan to implement. Building equitable partnerships with parents was not advanced.

Authors

• Jeanne D'Haem, William Paterson University

• Peter Griswold, William Paterson University

• T. Martijn Willemse, Windesheim university of applied sciences

• Erika DeBruine

• Sofie Vaneynde, Leuven University College

• Lijne Vloeberghs, Leuven University College