A recent study from researchers through the VitalSmarts leadership company has indicated that its crucial for a child's success that parents communicate with teachers what's going on at home; the study found discrepancies in what teachers and parents thought should be communicated about students' home life.

The study surveyed 622 parents and teachers nationally about their communication habits and "found...that important information is too often being held back on both sides — by parents who don’t inform teachers of difficulties at home and by teachers who don’t alert parents to troubling behavior in the classroom," said Yahoo Parenting.

The study revealed a difference in opinion about what parents and teachers think is important information to know about a child's life at home.

"94 percent of teachers feel it’s important for parents to inform them of a divorce or separation — but only 23 percent of splitting-up parents say they told their child’s teacher," the article said.

Further, while a similar majority of teachers want to know about major illness or accident, a death or a child's depression, a similar minority of parents feel as if that information should be shared.

One researcher behind the study, social scientist David Maxfield, told Yahoo Parenting that part of the reason behind this large different in opinion is because parents frequently have a weak relationship with their child's teachers.

“'They’re not even thinking of the teacher — or they’re thinking of the teacher as some small part of the child’s life who is providing a service, much like a plumber provides a service,'" Maxfield said, according to the article.

The researchers offered some insight on how parents and teachers can improve communication, offering some important tips to consider as the school year begins again.

Some of these tips include teachers creating a personal connection with parents right away and parents over-communicating with teachers about their child's life at home.

Read the full article here and comment with your thoughts below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

08/27/2015