Behavioral Parent-Teacher Consultation: Conceptual and Research Considerations

The importance of involving parents in their children’s education has been documented consistently. Likewise, school psychology as a profession traditionally has recognized the importance of working actively and collaboratively with parents. Little conceptual or empirical work has been reported, however, that links home and school individuals systematically in collaborative problem-solving consultation. Behavioral consultation provides a useful framework for working within and between family and school systems to involve parents and teachers together in cooperative problem-solving, with a focus on the interacting systems in a child’s life. The potential advantages of having both parents and teachers serve as consultees are that this structure promotes (a) identification of temporally or contextually distal setting events, (b) consistent and systematic behavioral programming, and ( c) programming for generalization of treatment effects across settings. Likewise, the potential for effective communication, constructive partnerships, and productive relationships between home and school is increased. In the present article, we present an overview of conjoint behavioral consultation, as well as procedural considerations and future research directions. The importance of involving parents in their children’s education has received a great deal of attention in recent years (Epstein, 1984, 1985; Fine & Carlson, 1992; Henderson, 1987; Hoover-Dempsey, Bassler, & Brissie, 1987; Kroth, 1989; Power, 1985). The active participation of parents in the school is believed to have positive effects on children, parents, and teachers alike. For example, parent participation has been found to be related to significant S H E R I D A N A N D K R A T O C H W I L L , J O U R N A L O F S C H O O L P S Y C H O L O G Y 3 0 (1 9 9 2 ) 2 academic progress, fewer discipline problems, increased self-esteem and social skills, and better school attendance, study habits, and attitudes toward school (Epstein, 1985; Henderson, 1987). Becher (1986) reviewed the parent involvement literature and concluded that parents involved with their child’s teachers (a) developed more positive attitudes about school and school personnel; (b) initiated greater community support and involvement; (c) developed more positive attitudes about themselves and increased self-confidence; (d) reported improved parent-child relationships; (e) reported an increased amount of contact with the school; and (f) developed more effective skills at using positive forms of parenting and reinforcement. Furthermore, when associated with parent-involvement efforts, teachers (a) became more proficient in their instructional and professional activities; (b) allocated more of their own time to instruction; and (c) became more involved with the curriculum, experimented more, and developed more student-oriented as compared with text-oriented curricular activities. Parent-teacher relationships were also improved. Indeed, the more clearly home and school individuals can communicate and collaborate in their work with children, the greater the probability for success of educational interventions (Conoley, 1987a; Hansen, 1986). Recent legislation has also increased the need to consider ways in which parents can become more actively involved in their children’s education. For example, Public Law 99457 (Education of the Handicapped Act) mandates that involvement of parents and guardians is a required and central focus of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Early intervention under PL 99-457 is viewed as family intervention, not intervention with the child alone. The provision of “family training, counseling, and home visits” is mandated; however, procedural guidelines for the most appropriate and effective method for involving parents are not provided. With the recent interest in parent-teacher collaboration, the utilization of home-based programs to modify children’s classroom behaviors has also increased. There are several advantages of home-based contingency systems, including (a) increased communication between parents and teachers; (b) time and cost efficiency; (c) ease in classroom implementation; (d) increased positive parental attention to children; and (e) increased generalization of treatment effects (Kelley & Carper, 1988). Parent involvement can occur in various ways. For example, Conoley (1987b) discussed at least four levels at which parents can become involved in their children’s education, with increasing degrees of permeability across home and school boundaries. The function of Level 1 interventions is to share basic information between home and school (e.g., through report cards or phone calls). Level 2 interventions involve collaborative home/ school programs and the establishment of feasible systems of communication between parents and teachers. Interventions at Level 3 entail active involvement of parents in the school, with the intent of reducing discontinuities between home and school. Level 4 involves the reciprocal education of parents and teachers by each other. Becher (1986) also suggested several methods of involving parents in education, including (a) parent meetings and workshops; (b) parent-teacher conferences; (c) written and personal communication; (d) parent visits to the center or classroom; and (e) encouragement and inclusion of parents in decision-making and evaluation activities. However, there is little or no research S H E R I D A N A N D K R A T O C H W I L L , J O U R N A L O F S C H O O L P S Y C H O L O G Y 3 0 (1 9 9 2 ) 3 available that specifically compares the differential effects of the various forms and levels of parent involvement. Atkeson and Forehand (1979) reviewed and evaluated 21 studies that utilized homebased reinforcement programs. In general, positive results have been found with a variety of subjects, settings, and behaviors. However, methodological limitations were apparent in respect to research design, component analyses, outcome evaluation, follow-up, and monitoring of treatment integrity. Furthermore, few studies monitored treatment implementation at home or school with observational data, outlined the details of consultee training, assessed the social validity of home-school interventions, evaluated methods of fading the interventions, or researched the clinical utility of the programs (Kelley & Carper, 1988). Additionally, home-based reinforcement programs typically identify classroom or school-related problems as the target, with little or no emphasis on behavioral problems occurring both at home and at school. Along with the methodological limitations brought to light in the homeschool intervention literature, problems in initiating parents’ participation have been reported, from both the teacher’s and the parent’s perspectives. Relationships between parents and teachers have been described as competitive and conflictual (Lightfoot, 1978). Teachers have reported that they feel uncertain about how to involve parents and still maintain their role as “specialized experts,” and they believe planning for parent involvement activities takes too much time. Parents feel that it is bureaucratization of schools that keeps many of them from becoming involved and from bringing their concerns to the schools (Becher, 1986). Parents and teachers each perceive themselves to be more competent than the other in dealing with children’s problems (Power, 1985). Other potential sources of problems include values conflicts, role ambiguity, and the lack of a systematic process for involving parents (Edge, Strenecky, McLoughlin, & Edge, 1984). Surveys and polls indicate repeatedly that parents would like more involvement (Gallup & Elam, 1988); however, they report needing more structure and guidance on how to access school resources (Leitch & Tangri, 1988). There are many possible reasons for the low levels of parents’ involvement with schools and school psychologists. Traditionally, schools have not made direct efforts to involve parents in the educational process. Likewise, parents have been hesitant to approach school personnel, perhaps because they have not been taught skills for interacting with school professionals on matters pertaining to their child. Parents, teachers, and school psychologists all report that they desire more collaboration with each other; however, they are not clear on the best way to begin. A major barrier to establishing home-school partnerships may be related to the lack of professional training in parent involvement. For example, traditionally many school psychologists are not trained to work with parents in an intervention/treatment role. Teachers and other school personnel often receive no training in these important areas. In fact, it has been suggested that many teacher training programs result in attitudes and practices that are designed to keep parents out of the learning process and out of the classroom (Epstein & Becker, 1982). In the area of consultation, virtually no research has been found on training consultants to work with parents (Kratochwill, Sheridan, Carrington Rotto, & Salmon, S H E R I D A N A N D K R A T O C H W I L L , J O U R N A L O F S C H O O L P S Y C H O L O G Y 3 0 (1 9 9 2 ) 4 in press). Without adequate training, participants lack a concrete framework for collaborative problem solving. Practical or logistical barriers are often considered an impediment to school consultation and parent involvement. School psychologists often report competing factors such as insufficient time, excessive caseloads, scheduling problems, and inordinate demands on personal resources. To address these barriers, organizational structures that facilitate collegial interactions between school psychologists, teachers, and parents must be developed. The practical and methodological limitations evident in the parent involvement literature may be partly due to the fact that few reports in this area document the o