In order for educators to have positive working relationships with the students they teach, they must understand the families from which their students come. This edited volume examines the nature of the contemporary family and its relationship to the school. It provides practical advice for developing strong home-school relationships.

Initially, this text paints the various pictures of the modern family. In addition to covering the traditional topics of ethnic families, change in families, and parent-teacher communication, Fuller and Olsen and their contributors delve further into the issues facing families today. Poverty, advocacy, fathering and domestic violence and their effect on families are discussed, opening new paths of understanding for educators. Diversity (cultural, racial, religious, and sexual orientation) is discussed, not only in a separate chapter, but throughout the text, to promote understanding of all students and their families. Unlike other texts in this field, Home-School Relations confronts the alarming statistics on poverty and how it affects children, and ultimately, their performance in schools. Home-School Relations is the best text available to prepare educators for all the forms of diversity they will encounter in the field.

Beyond its in-depth look at ever-evolving families, this text provides solid, practical examples of building good home-school partnerships and fostering familial involvement in schools. Specific examples of activities and strategies are presented, offering the educator and pre-service student a valuable professional resource.