1. Family, School, and Community Partnerships: A Model for Pre-service Teacher Education Presentation at Center for Research, Evaluation & Advancement of Teacher Education 2010 Research Conference on Teacher Education Houston, TX November 14-15, 2010

2. Presenters Mary M. Harris, Ph.D. University of North Texas Teacher Education & Administration mary.harris@unt.edu Amber L. Brown, Ed.D. University of Texas – Arlington Curriculum and Instruction amber.brown@uta.edu Judy Trotti, Ed. D. University of Mary-Hardin Baylor College of Education JTrotti@umhb.edu

3. www.pte.unt.edu Revised Modules Now Online:

4. Purpose The purpose of this research project was to examine changes in knowledge and attitudes related to family involvement in schools by pre-service teacher education students participating in the PTE Connect Curriculum.

5. Study Questions 1.To what extent was change in candidate knowledge of each type of family involvement associated with use of the related module? 2.To what extent was change in candidate attitude toward family involvement associated with the use of the set of modules?

6. Curriculum of PTE Connect Content based on the National PTA Standards for Parent Involvement Web-based curriculum delivery Case-study from perspective of 1 st -year teacher Class Discussion

7. Research Base of PTE Connect The evidence is now beyond dispute. When parents are involved in their children’s education at home their children do better in school Henderson and Mapp, 2002 A New Wave of Evidence

8. Policy Base of PTE Connect ACEI – Standard 5 Professionalism 5.2 Collaboration with families, colleagues, and community agencies— – Candidates know the importance of establishing and maintaining a positive collaborative relationship with families, school colleagues, and agencies in the larger community to promote the intellectual, social, emotional, physical growth and well-being of children.

9. Policy Base of PTE Connect TExES PPR - Standard XI: The teacher understands the importance of family involvement in children’s education and knows how to interact and communicate effectively with families

10. Location of Study Conducted at four large state Universities across the country serving a diverse student population – Urban - South – North – Southwest – Urban - North

11. Participants

12. Treatment Partner universities infused the PTE Curriculum into their teacher education programs in their own ways. Sample lesson plans were provided for guidance, but were just suggestions. Sample lesson plans included: – Discussion of Case Studies – Cooperative group projects – Products of learning (Teaching Activity)

13. Teaching Methods Employed by Each University South-Urban (n=413) – All six Modules infused into 100% online course in Family, School, and Community Partnerships – Modules read online individually – Content discussed online in groups – Case studies discussed online in groups. – Teaching activity completed individually and shared via online discussion board.

14. Teaching Methods Employed by Each University North (n=288) – Three modules (Parenting, Communicating, Collaborating w/ the Community) each infused into a different teacher education course. – Objectives discussed in question-response format. – Case studies in groups

15. Teaching Methods Employed by Each University Southwest (n=494) – Learning at Home only Module addressed via Math content course – None of Curriculum materials addressed directly in class – Students organized and implemented Parent Power Nights at local elementary schools

16. Teaching Methods Employed by Each University South-Rural (n=341) – Parenting, Communicating, and Advocacy & Decision-Making modules addressed via Classroom Management course – Modules read online individually – Case studied discussed as whole-group – Content discussed in class as whole-group

17. Knowledge Assessments – Six assessments developed by project personnel on the basis of each module’s content and objectives. – Each assessment consisted of 20 multiple choice and true/false items – Assessments were revised after item analysis of assessments of teacher candidates who participated in pilot studies in 2002-2004. – The pre-and post-knowledge assessment instruments were identical.

18. Attitude Towards Parent Involvement Survey Developed by Epstein, Connors, and Salinas (1993) for use with in- service teachers. Asks teachers to report the importance of various parent involvement activities using a Likert scale with “1” being “not important” and “4” being “very important.” – Factor I: Parents and Teachers as Partners in Learning - represented activities where the parent and teacher worked together as partners in the child’s learning – Factor II : Teacher Initiated Partnership Activities and represented activities planned or initiated by the teacher to facilitate parent involvement in the child’s learning. – Factor III: Parent Initiated Community and School-wide Partnership Activities - was based on how important teachers feel it is for parents to engage in partnership activities with their child at school and in the community.

19. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Knowledge Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules - All *p <.001

20. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Attitude Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules - All *p <.001

21. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Knowledge Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules – South Urban * p <.05; ** p <.001

22. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Attitude Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules – South Urban * p <.1; ** p <.05; *** p <.001

23. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Knowledge Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules - North ** p <.05

24. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Attitude Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules - North * p <.05; ** p <.001

25. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Knowledge Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules - Southwest

26. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Attitude Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules - Southwest * p <.1; ** p <.05

27. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Knowledge Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules – South Rural * p <.001

28. Mean Difference Between Pre- and Post Attitude Assessments of the PTE Connection Modules – South Rural * p <.1; ** p <.05

29. Results One-tailed, paired sample t-tests were performed to compare mean scores on each of the pre- and post-test scores on both measures Results of the analysis of knowledge scores indicated significant changes between pre- and post-test scores for all six assessments ( p<.001) when data were combined. Significant results differed by university

30. Conclusions The infusion of web-based learning modules into existing pre-service teacher education classes was found to be successful in improving student attitudes toward parent involvement and knowledge about parent involvement - across all universities. Systematic presentation of PTE Curriculum through 100% online course led to greatest knowledge gains Use of problem-based learning through case studies helped the learners apply knowledge through discussion and reflection

31. Conclusions All universities experienced significant increases in attitude scores suggesting that attitude was more related to the positive consideration of families, school, and communities rather than specific knowledge change.