Although parents in the U.S. are encouraged to be involved in their children's education by communicating with their teachers, not every society has the same values regarding parent-teacher communication. In some cultures, parents not interfering with their children's education is considered normal and even respectful. For example, parents from Mexico may think of their involvement in their children's education as an unwarranted and disrespectful interference. Also, parents educated in another cultural environment may not be familiar with the expectations of the American schooling system.
One of the reasons for poor communication between parents and teachers is that parents may have unclear expectations as to what their roles should be. While some teachers may expect parents to help their children with homework and reading every day, others may expect parents to be involved in volunteering in the school environment. These differing expectations can hinder clear communication, especially when parents are perceived as being uninvolved because they are not meeting particular needs.
Parents may not have enough time to get involved in their children's education because they work long hours or because they do not have the means to get to the school when they need to be there.
Parents and teachers tend to communicate poorly with each other when they need to discuss a sensitive topic, such as a child's unruly behavior, poor performance or special needs. Sometimes teachers are not trained in handling sensitive topics with parents, and frequently parents take their child's poor performance in school personally and become aggressive or resistant in their communications with teachers.