ABSTRACT
The child's educational identity and career is as much a function of the way in which he is differentially categorized and treated within the school itself as of any pre-school identity he originally possessed. It is suggested that there are four key dimensions of the successful parent role which are of crucial importance. First, the good parent must be knowledgeable about the way the school operates, the kinds of methods that are used and the pedagogical justification for them. Second, the successful parent is one who is interested in his child's education and is motivated for his child to succeed. The third element in the successful relationship is that the parent is capable of cueing into the teacher's system of relevancies. The fourth element in the successful relationship is that the parent should be both able and willing to play the role of the good parent in a way which is concordant with the teachers' definitions.
