Preparing Teacher Candidates to Collaborate with Families and Communities: Standards, Research, and Practice

Abstract

Preparing teacher candidates to engage with family and community in ways that align with the reality of today’s classroom is a critically important aspect of fostering student academic success and well-being. This paper examines how a set of professional preparation standards, the teacher preparation literature, and a qualitative inquiry into the practices and challenges of kindergarten teachers working with family and community converge to inform the work of teacher educators. Implications of these three sources of expert knowledge are instructive for teacher educator practice. Implications for the preparation of teacher candidates around family/community engagement include: the shaping of teacher candidate beliefs and dispositions, teaching candidates to build skill in fostering culturally responsive relationships, and preparing candidates to utilize engagement strategies that count.

Keywords

• family engagement
• teacher preparation
• family partnerships
• kindergarten
• relationships