FOUR
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
TO
THE
FAMILY /SCHOOL LIAISON
ROLE
MICHAEL
DAVID LOVEN
University
of
North Carolina
at
Chapel Hill
Psychologists in the public schools traditionally have spent
a
small portion
of
their time working with parents. There
is,
however, a need for the psycholo-
gist to act
aa
a family/school liaison agent whose function is to promote
collaborative problem-solving efforts regerdin problematic child behavior.
Four different approaches to working with scaool personnel and/or family
representatives are presented, including information imparter-gatherer,
facilitator, consultant/educator or consultant, and counselor/educator.
Advantages and disadvantages
of
each approach
as
well
as
tarends in the re-
search relevant to these approaches are discussed.
It
is a commonly accepted fact that the home and school constitute the two
most important behavioral settings in which a child is active. Within these settings,
the child’s psychosocial development is facilitated
or
hindered by the quality, and
in some instances the quantity, of interactions he/she has with significant others
such as parents, siblings, teachers, and peers. Unfortunately, representatives of
these two vital systems rarely communicate with one another except when the
child is designated as deviant
or
problematic in one way
or
another. In such cases,
the child’s learning
or
behavioral characteristics necessitate the sharing of informa-
tion between the systems’ representatives, usually a parent and a teacher. When
a problematic situation does indeed demand contact between the two systems,
the parents
or
teacher may attribute the cause of the problem to the other party.
Consequently, from their beginning, mutual problem-solving efforts may be handi-
capped by defensive
or
angry feelings.
The purpose
of
this paper
is
to describe several roles the psychologist can
play in order actively
to
involve representatives of the family and/or school in
solving problematic child behavior. Two broad assumptions are made: First, the
psychologist in the schools is well suited to fill the role
of
a family/school liaison
agent. The practicing psychologist usually is trained to
facilitate^
communication
between other persons as well as problem-solving eff orts. Furthermore, the psychol-
ogist often is aware that problematic child behavior is seldom a phenomenon
unique to the school setting
or
to
any other single setting (Gilmore,
1974).
A second
assumption
is
that family/school contact ideally should result in a collaborative
problem-solving effort on the part of both family members and school personnel
whenever possible. The common goal is resolution of the child’s inappropriate
behavior. Ideally, there should be acknowledgement by both parties that the
problem is located,
to
some degree, in the child’s interaction with members
of
each
setting, Hence, the problem is “owned” by the child
as
well as by members
of
both settings.
Frequently, the identified child is viewed as the sole “owner” of a problem.
Family members as well as school personnel often see the problem residing
within
the child and assume no direct responsibility for the child’s behavior. In such
Requests
for
reprink should be sent to Michael David Loven,
1865
Poplar Ave.,
#
2,
Memphis,
TN
38104.
553
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