Home visits and parent-teacher conferences are mainly aimed at achieving the same desired end – to track and maintain or improve the progress of a student’s abilities and also foster a good relationship with the parent and the teacher. On this note, the components of the two are fairly similar and can be broadly categorized into three: Building a partnership, gathering information and developing a plan.
Whether it is a home visit or a parent teacher conference, a good relationship is important between all the parties and especially between the parents and the teacher. Lemmer, (2012) asserted that this partnership enables the teachers to share their teaching strategies and the goals they have at the end of a predetermined period. It also gives the parents a chance to share their future aspirations and their commitment towards their children’s success. The parents can also share the child’s after school activities and their relationships with the family.
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Information accumulation is one of the core utilities of a parent-teacher conference or a home visit. The teacher needs to gather as much information as possible from the parents and in the case of a home visit, the child home setting. On the other hand, the parents can benefit by asking about their child’s likes or dislikes or even how the child spends his/ her recess time.
The final step of the meetings is to create a plan on how to assist the child in their areas of weakness or to find ways to maintain the child’s success. The plan of action needs to be agreed upon by both the teachers and the parent.
Questions raised about a child in a parent-teacher conference might differ with the ones raised in a home visit. Home visits should consider making the questions more about the student’s home behavior and time spending traits at home. Parent-teacher conferences on the other hand would focus on the child’s behavior while at school, relationship with other students, teachers and school staff. It should also consider the teacher’s teaching strategies and the child’s reception to them.
In terms of planning for a home visit or a parent-teacher conference, the resources needed are very different. A parent-teacher conference would require the teacher to gather up information such as samples of student work, test scores, reports from other teachers, checklist of skill areas and notes on the student progress. Pillet-Shore, (2015) illustrated that the teacher would also fill out a teacher’s form listing the child’s strengths and weaknesses. For a home visit however, the experience is more observational and the teacher would need to be keen and note the key aspects of the child’s social life at home with the parents. It can also prove to be important to comment on the child’s progress at school.
It is very easy for a teacher to tell whether the parents understand what the teacher wants them to. One can take note of the support they offer to the proposals you make and any helpful suggestions they make. If they make a defensive stand early on in the meeting, then they probably do not understand the information you share. Their willingness to disclose information may also prove to be useful in determining whether or not they understand you stance.
Open enough parents might disclose information that the teacher had not planned for and to deal with this, the teacher should gain the parents trust that he/she will consider the shared information in assessing the child’s performance. The parents need to gain confidence in the teacher’s professionalism in dealing with diverse student backgrounds and behavior ( Pillet-Shore, 2012).
After a successful first meeting either at home or in school during a parent-teacher conference, it is important that the teacher follow up with the parents and if possible plan another possible date for another meeting. The teacher needs to enquire on the thoughts of the parents about the whole process and ask what they think stood out and what they think should be done differently, such feedback is important in making sure that future meetings are successful and are done in a way that the parents are comfortable with.
References
Pillet-Shore, D. (2015). Being a “good parent” in parent–teacher conferences. Journal of Communication , 65 (2), 373-395.
Lemmer, E. M. (2012). Who's doing the talking? Teacher and parent experiences of parent-teacher conferences. South African Journal of Education , 32 (1), 83-96.
Pillet-Shore, D. (2012). The problems with praise in parent–teacher interaction. Communication Monographs , 79 (2), 181-204.
