Family Partnerships: Implications From the Digital World

Introduction

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that educators and parents collaborate in evaluation, planning, and service provision for children with disabilities in the public school system (IDEA, 2004). This requirement compels educators to engage in collaborative process with parents to achieve common goals and improve outcomes of children. Epstein (2018) suggests that when educators include parents as part of their teaching practice and parents maintain or increase involvement in the child’s learning, they influence each other. As parents take an active role in their child’s learning, parents and educators share knowledge, experiences, and information. When mutual partnerships between parents and educators develop, student success follows (Epstein, 2018; Hornby & Blackwell, 2018).

Central to parent-teacher collaborative partnerships is communication. As noted in a systematic review about collaborative practice, Griffiths et al. (2021) reported that open parent-teacher communication is critical for building strong collaborative relationships. Communication can take the form of direct, in-person as well as digital methods (Heeden et al., 2011). Communication about home-based programs and strategies is a critical component to educator-parent partnerships. In a meta-analysis, Smith et al. (2020) reported that home-based programs and support within the context of parent-educator partnerships consistently impacted children’s academic and social outcomes.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, barriers existed in the development and maintenance of parent-educator communication. From the perspective of the educator, scheduling and workload challenges in schools were reported as a hindrance and educators were reported to not fully engage parents despite the benefits (Green et al., 2019). Additionally, research indicated that educators may lack background in how to guide adults and teach adults skills related to their child’s school success (Mahoney et al., 1999). From the perspective of the parent, lack of access to information sharing sessions and formalized programs created barriers. Often such activities are conducted face-to-face with families over many months, which has been shown to limit accessibility due to cost and a shortage of trained personnel (Cason et al., 2012). Further, families may not have been able to attend meetings or conveniently contact educators (Li & Fischer, 2017). In person training of home-programs and intervention have not been widely utilized by parents from minoritized groups because of (1) language barriers (Pratt et al., 2015); (2) limited diversity of parent interventions (Roberts & Kaiser, 2011); and (3) teachers’ less-than-positive perceptions toward the efficacy and capacity of parents from minoritized groups (Kim, 2009; Zuckerman et al., 2014).

Experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have implications for parent-educator communication that resonate post-COVID (Smith et al., 2020). During the pandemic, parents of children with disabilities were faced with the daily reality of caring for their child. O-Connor Bones et al. (2022) surveyed parents of a school for children with special needs in Ireland during lockdown to determine their self-efficacy and perceptions of home-school communication. The authors suggest that the level and type of communication that occurred with educators fostered more equitable relationships than pre-COVID-19 pandemic (O-Connor Bones et al., 2022). The results suggest active, continuous communication about home-based programs and information may facilitate parent-educator collaboration post-COVID-19. Use of text messaging and WhatsApp messenger provided convenient, efficient communication (Smythe-Leistico, & Page, 2018).