Family Involvement? ... Oh Yeah, That! Raising Awareness of Family and Community Engagement Among Teacher Education Faculty

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Families First: Involvement, Identity, and Influence

Abstract

This study documents a project in a college of education in which 18 faculty members participated in a multistep project designed to deepen understanding of the key importance of family engagement. Data included fieldnotes , a questionnaire, reflections, and course materials that participants developed or revised based on the faculty development activities. Findings show ways participants benefited from increased awareness of a community-based program, as well as possible obstacles to implementation of concepts from the discussions. These findings provide guideposts for other teacher preparation faculty to take their own steps in the direction of counting diverse families and communities as rich resources in the lives of future teachers.

Authors

• Jason Stegemoller, National-Louis University

• Kristin Lems