Family Group Conferencing in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms During Distance Learning

The purpose of this pilot study is to understand the impact of Family Group Conferencing (FGC) on the collaboration among general education and special education teachers, teachers' attitudes toward family outreach and perceived outcomes of preschool students with and without disabilities enrolled in inclusive classrooms during distance learning. FGC is an evidence-based model that aims to increase family engagement in a child's academic growth by enhancing the quantity and quahty of teacher-parent interaction. Six special education teachers and six general education preschool teachers from six inclusive preschool classrooms participated in the study. Teachers received training on how to work collaboratively to develop shared goals and support to parents during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study positively impacted the relationships between the general education and special education teacher pairs at each school. Teachers reported improved outcomes for students with and without disabilities. Implications include using FGC to build co-teachers relationship and reimagining the traditional parent-teacher conference to involve parents.