Noting the importance of the parent-teacher relationship to maintaining good home-school partnerships, this paper discusses the research on parent-teacher partnerships, including factors that affect the development of effective relationships: (1) the degree of match between teachers' and parents' cultures and values, (2) societal forces at work on family and school, and (3) how teachers and parents view their roles. The paper then presents a theoretical framework that teachers can use to enhance parent-teacher partnerships. This framework is based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems perspective, Getzels' social systems perspective, Katz's and Hoover and Dempsey's work on the role of parents, and Epstein's typology of parental involvement. (Contains 47 references.) (Author/HTH)