Caregiver and Teacher Perspectives on Home-School Partnerships Within a Tier 2 Intervention

Home-school partnerships between teachers and caregivers of students with or at risk of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) are critical to support positive student outcomes. Yet, effective home-school partnerships may be particularly challenging to foster for students with or at risk of EBD, and little is known about how teachers and caregivers view these partnerships. We used a directed content analysis qualitative approach to examine the presence or absence of components of a conceptual model, the CARES framework, within home-school partnerships from the perspectives of both teachers and caregivers of students with or at risk of EBD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six teachers and 11 caregivers who had participated in a study examining the promise of a Tier 2 intervention. Findings highlight themes unique to specific components of the CARES framework and themes common across components, with authentic relationships and effective communication emerging as particularly salient for both caregivers and teachers. Results suggest critical directions for future research and essential lessons for researchers developing interventions to support positive home-school partnerships for caregivers and teachers of students with or at risk of EBD.