Home-school Relations: Working Successfully With Parents And Families

"[I] have many ways of "selling" the text to my students because there is very accurate, helpful information for working with parents. From teaching and working with parents myself, I can tell my students that the ideas presented really work. Compared to other texts, I appreciated how each chapter of this book is written by different authors and experts in that particular field or topic. I think it brings a higher level of credibility to the reader." --Julie Bryant, Southwest Baptist University "Home-School Relations" examines the contemporary family and its relationship to the school and provides educators practical advice for developing strong partnerships with their students' families. Supporting parents as full partners in education, this text stresses the need for educators to have positive working relationships with the students that they teach by understanding the families from which their students come. In addition to covering the traditional topics of ethnic families, change in families, and parent-teacher communication, Olsen, Fuller, and their contributors delve further into the issues facing families today. Looking at the effects that poverty, advocacy, the role of fathers, domestic violence, bullying, and school violence have on families, the authors offer practical techniques that give educators the tools to cope with the many factors affecting their students. Integrating diversity (cultural, racial, religious and sexual orientation) throughout the text, "Home-School Relations" is the best text available to prepare educators for all the forms of diversity they will encounter in the field. New to This Edition:

• Completely NEW chapter: Chapter 16, on advocacy
• Current information on domestic violence, bullying, and school violence and the impact on children
• Comprehensive coverage of school choices including charter schools, magnet schools, and vouchers
• One NEW Case Study is included in most chapters
• NEW "Children's Books" sections list children's literature to complement each chapter
• Updated discussion of father/male involvement in schools

"Home-School Relations" examines the nature of the contemporary family and its relationship to the school and provides practical advice for developing strong home-school relationships. This book discusses the need for educators to have positive working relationships with the students they teach and describes the techniques they must use to understand the families from which their students come. In addition to covering the traditional topics of ethnic families, change in families, and parent-teacher communication, Olsen, Fuller, and their contributors delve further into the issues facing families today. Poverty, advocacy, fathering and domestic violence and their effect on families are covered opening new paths of understanding for educators. In addition, diversity (cultural, racial, religious, and sexual orientation) is discussed, not only in a separate chapter, but throughout the book, to promote understanding of all students and their families. Unlike other book in this field, Home-School Relations confronts the alarming statistics on poverty and how it affects children, and ultimately, their performance in schools. In-service and pre-service teachers, parents