208 Colchester Ave. And at the University of Houston at Clear Lake, teacher- education students teach classes in parenting, household finance, English as a Second Language, and other subjects to local parents. Everybody is sort of reinventing the wheel. What we need is some kind of systematic network. This network could work with professional organizations to develop standards and disseminate information to teacher- education programs.
Research is needed on teachers who have taken part in family- involvement training.
Research also can help define what specific steps schools can take to support family- involvement efforts by their teachers. Ultimately, research also needs to examine how teacher preparation affects student achievement and behavior. States should establish clear, specific guidelines for preparing teachers to work with families. Family-involvement training needs to be available to teachers working with students of all ages. Right now, early-childhood educators receive more training than teachers in elementary or secondary schools, Lopez says, while studies show that family involvement in schools declines with each successive grade.