"You're Both Humans": Supporting Teachers' Engagement With Families

• In Event: Teacher Education: Supporting Teachers

Abstract

Getting to the strong partnerships between families and schools that benefit students, requires teachers who are prepared to engage with parents human-to-human, not just teacher-to-parent. In this study, we analyzed open- and close-ended survey responses and transcripts from coaching sessions and pre- and post-coaching simulated practice sessions from 54 teacher candidates to understand how candidates respond to sensitive disclosures by parents, and how their responses shift following coaching. We found that without training and resources, even well-intentioned novices may respond to disclosures of family challenges in ways that may harm the teacher-parent relationship. With coaching, however, we saw responses that were likely to strengthen that relationship. We conclude with concrete ideas and insights from our research for teacher education.
 

Authors

• Rose Sebastian, University of Virginia
  Presenting Author

• Judy Paulick, University of Virginia
  Presenting Author