Graphic Version

Module 6:
Family Involvement

Linda Arms
Parent of a Student with Special Needs
Alternative Education Parent Group Facilitator
Special Educator
     


Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.
--- Arnold Edinborough

Module Overview

| Understanding | Essential Questions | Knowledge and Skills |

Introduction

Maintaining healthy family relationships is a challenge for students in alternative education settings. If the student is an adjudicated youth, parents and family may be far away, and the judicial system does not invite or encourage parental involvement. Students in alternative education environments are often estranged or alienated from their parents and families. Families may become weary of the behavioral and/or academic difficulties that have characterized their child's experience with the school system.

Research, however, shows that family support and healthy family relationships are correlated with student success. The purpose of this module is provide models of successful parent involvement in alternative education facilities, so that teachers and service providers can expand and enhance the ways they work with parents to encourage the growth of healthy relationships and their child's success in the world.

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Essential Questions

    1. What are the challenges parents face in participating in the decisions regarding their child's educational program? What are the benefits of establishing close ties between programs for youth and their families?

    2. In what ways can teachers and service providers be catalysts for change in the ways youth and families communicate and interact?

    3. What are the essential components of programs which have had positive outcomes in working with families and youth?

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Knowledge and Skills

Students will:

  1. Examine the effect attitude has had on outcomes, within their own lives or teaching experiences;

  2. List and explain examples of “thinking differently,” “reacting differently,” and “expecting differently;”

  3. Compare and contrast the “different thinking” examples to the methods and practices commonly utilized in
    educational settings;

  4. Formulate an opinion on whether “critically different” practices or commonly used practices would foster positive outcomes, such as:

    • Academic performance

    • Social skills

    • Emotional balance

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