Currently, most state policies for certification requirements mention family involvement only in general terms. By providing a more clear and comprehensive definition of family involvement, teacher education programs will have a guide by which to follow, while still being allowed flexibility in where, how, and when to implement family involvement training. Evaluate Experiences and Outcomes Research is badly needed on the effectiveness of specific programs in preparing teachers to work with families and communities. Areas that need to be examined include the effects of teacher preparation on relationships between teachers and families, teachers practices, and parents perceptions of their relationships with teachers. Specifically, the evaluations must examine how parent and teacher outcomes of teacher preparation relate to student outcome.
Evaluation needs to occur in order to bring about necessary change.
School and district level efforts should be made in order to assess and evaluate both the positive and negative aspects of the training. For example, teacher self-assessments designed by the schools can uncover outcomes of their work and assist them in improving their practice. The same concept applies when attempting to improve the quality and quantity of family involvement training. Collaboration across subspecialties, such as early childhood and special education, as well as across professional schools, such as social work or public health, can prove to be a promising strategy in making these improvements. There are many teacher education subspecialties that can add a rich source of information to the training.