The Relationship Between School-to-Home Communication and Parents' Perceptions and Beliefs

This study, part of a larger longitudinal study on school-to-home communications and parent involvement, examined the relationship between teachers' school-to-home communications and parental perceptions and beliefs, parental involvement, and children's motivation-related outcomes. The teacher sample included 14 second-grade and 11 fourth-grade teachers who volunteered to engage in three categories of school-to-home communications: (1) provide parents with information about classroom work and practices, (2) provide parents with information about their own child's work and progress, and (3) provide parents with assistance in working with their child on schoolwork at home. The children in these teachers' classrooms made up the child sample, and the parent sample consisted of parents of all children in each classroom. The findings of the study suggest that the frequency and content of school-to-home communications are important. When these communications contain information that may influence parents' perceptions of their child as a learner, when they give parents a sense of efficacy, and when they make the parent feel comfortable with the school, parent involvement may be enhanced. (Author) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Ottice of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )(This document has peen reproduced as received from (he person or orparlfzelpn originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve (*production Quality Points of view Or openions stated in this documen! do not necessarily represenl OERI position Or policy rzCENTER ON FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, SCHOOLS & CHILDREN'S LEARNING