ANNOUNCEMENT: REPORT RELEASE ____ En español
In a three-report series, the Parent Organization Network (PON) tackles the complex issue of how to best prepare today’s educators to effectively build relationships and partner with families in their day-to-day work.
Family Engagement Training for Educators in Pre-Service:
Common Sense but No Common Practice

The discussion on teacher preparation is not new and education researchers and parent advocates continue to weigh in on how to develop strategies to change the paradigm on family engagement from one based on passive limited involvement to one that fosters an equal partnership with parents in the education of their children.

Our first two reports focused on insights from four school districts who participated in a PON Professional Learning Network (PLN) on family engagement from 2017-2019. We learned that district staff tasked with implementing family engagement immerse themselves in the research and do their best to carry it out, but they are often siloed, not fully supported, and in positions without authority to effect change in planning and budget development. The lack of support from peers and higher-ups is related to the fact that most educators received little to no family engagement training during pre-service.

For this reason, Report III analyzes family engagement training for educators during pre-service in California .   The report provides an overview of state and federal laws, examines and compares requirements for five educator preparation programs, and offers a preliminary landscape analysis on how future and current educators are prepared to engage families.
Report III Key Findings:

  • Since 1993 California has required family engagement preparation and field experience for educators and other certificated staff. However, this law is not reflected in educator preparation program requirements. 

  • The family engagement requirements vary across preparation programs, but the general education teacher program, which is a prerequisite for specialized programs (i.e., bilingual education and special education), has the weakest requirements.

  • The lack of consistency in requirements leads to a wide variance in the amount of time spent on the subject (from slightly more than ten percent embedded in a course, all the way up to a standalone course), the content that is covered, and type and rigor of the fieldwork, if any is assigned to candidates.

  • Also, the report offers examples of content and fieldwork covered in courses; and various types of professional development trainings offered by universities, county offices of education, nonprofits, and businesses.
The report calls upon California officials to prioritize family engagement training for current and future educators now as more and more parents are being thrust into playing a greater “teacher” role at home. As school districts continue distance learning this fall, it is imperative that they improve family partnerships to bridge the digital divide.

PON believes that academic achievement can only be attained — now and after the pandemic subsides — when teachers work in collaboration with families to assess each student and their educational needs, adapt academic plans accordingly, and monitor learning together.
Join us in advocating for clear and consistent requirements across educator preparation programs and to prioritize family engagement training for staff to support families with distance learning.