Home—School Communication by Means of Reading Cards

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Despite the acknowledged importance of the home in children's education, and increasing interest in parental involvement, there has been comparatively little research into home‐school communication. A method of written communication, developed to increase parental involvement in the teaching of reading in a primary school in a disadvantaged area, is described and evaluated. Parents were encouraged to hear their children read at home, and teachers and parents communicated with each other daily by means of reading cards carried by children between home and school with their reading books. The frequency of comments in the cards of 76 children over a three year period was investigated. A content analysis of a random sample of cards found that comments were concerned with procedures for hearing children read, the evaluation of children's performance, and teaching observations and methods. Teachers' and parents' views on the value of the cards are discussed. It is concluded that the method was valuable and that it has potential for further development.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: