Talking together: Expanding Practice-Based Teacher Education Through Authentic Family Communication Scenarios for Family–School Collaboration

• In Event: Engagement Is a Practice: Rethinking Equity in School-Community Partnerships

Abstract

Objectives
Effective teacher-family collaboration is critical for student success and school equity (Ishimaru, 2019; Smith et al., 2022), but teacher preparation programs rarely offer instruction in engaging families, especially across diverse contexts (Caspe & Hernandez, 2023). Expanding a previous pilot, this study analyzes a teacher education course in which preservice teachers (PSTs) engaged in family communication scenarios with real parents in two school settings, one rural and one urban (Authors, 2025). We examined how these simulations supported PST learning and how context shapes opportunities for equitable school-family collaboration.

Perspectives
This study is guided by Mapp and Bergman’s (2019) Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships, specifically the four key competencies for effective family-teacher collaboration: capabilities, connections, confidence, and cognition. To explore how PSTs develop these competencies, the study also uses practice-based teacher education, which emphasizes rehearsing real-world teaching scenarios to deepen professional learning (Grossman, 2018; McDonald et al., 2013). Together, these frameworks position family communication as a core teaching practice and support preservice teacher development through realistic simulations with families (Authors, 2025).

Methods
Researchers conducted a comparative case analysis of PSTs’ conversations with parents to examine the relationship between context and learning to collaborate with families (Yin, 2014). As part of a culturally responsive teaching course, 29 PSTs engaged in a simulation-based family communication activity at two schools, one rural and one urban. They role-played parent-teacher conversations on topics such as academics, behavior, and attendance. Sessions ended with a parent feedback panel. Parent participants at the rural school were all white and the school had established engagement practices, while the urban school had racially diverse parents and a less developed family engagement history. This design allowed for exploration of how context influences PST learning in simulated family communication scenarios.

Data Sources
This study utilized data from three sources: videos of role-plays between PSTs and families, audio from two debrief panels with families, and written reflections from teachers and parents. Researchers applied four a priori codes: capability, cognition, connections, and confidence to the transcripts to analyze how PSTs were thinking about family communication during the role plays (Mapp & Bergman, 2019).

Results
At the cohort level, the activity fostered strong cognition, emerging capability and confidence, and limited connection, reaffirming findings from the pilot study. However, case-level findings revealed that as they sought connection with parents, PSTs in the rural area praised the school and positioned it as a nexus of care while PSTs in the urban area criticized existing school systems. We interpret these responses as evidence of what PSTs believed families wanted to hear. PSTs eagerly worked with families across contexts, but perceived their needs differently. The authenticity of these exchanges prompted deeper engagement than traditional classroom-based role plays.

Significance
This research addresses a persistent gap in teacher preparation by exploring a novel model for developing PST capacity to engage families equitably and effectively. By expanding a simulation-based activity to include both rural and urban community school settings, the study provides insight into how diverse contexts shape opportunities for learning family engagement practices.

Authors

• Lightning Jay, Binghamton University - SUNY

• Naorah Rimkunas, Binghamton University - SUNY