Parents' and teachers' perceptions of the relationship between teacher-parent interactions and teacher behavior in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, 1998

This study examined parents' and teachers' perceptions of the relationship between teacher-parent interactions and teacher behavior in elementary schools in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The study was based on the premise that interactions between teachers and parents are related to teacher behavior in the classroom. Teacher-parent conferencing, teacherstudent interactions, and teacher expectation of students were identified as indicators of teacher behavior. Moderator variables included ethnicity, gender, and grade level. A survey was developed to gather data for this research investigation and the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The researcher found that parents and teachers at the elementary school level reported a statistically significant relationship between teacher-parent interactions and the way teachers behave toward parents and students. The study also found some differences in perceptions between parents and teachers in certain areas. The conclusions derived from the findings of this study suggest that frequent and positive communications between teachers and parents are vital factors in students' well being. The results of this investigation clearly identifies the need for parents and teachers to stay in contact and positively so, with one another. Also, the study found that teachers tend to stay away from children whose parents are perceived to be negative and hard to deal with. Children stand to gain academically and socially if parents and teachers are complimentary of one another