Strategies for improving home-school communication about homework for students with disabilities

Increased emphasis on the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes has led to heightened research attention to educational practices affecting the outcomes of these students. Educational interventions, including homework, have been the focus of several studies, including those in which the opinions of educators and parents have been sampled through focus group interviews. The purpose of this study was to establish, through a national survey, the perceived effectiveness of several strategies for improving homework communication between parents, students, and teachers. Initially, principals were asked to randomly select two teachers from their schools for the survey. These nominated teachers then were mailed a survey on homework recommendations. A total of 639 general education teachers (50.5%) responded. The results indicated that these general education teachers perceived several common practices, as well as use of technology, to be highly effective for improving home-school communication about homework for students with disabilities. Among the most highly ranked recommendations were release and mutual planning time, assignment books and logs, parent attendance at meetings and daily monitoring of their child's homework, and use of telephone networks or answering machines to provide remote access to assignments. Several practice recommendations are discussed.