1 / 10

Parents as Volunteers Participation and committed involvement of parents

Parents as Volunteers Participation and committed involvement of parents. November 26 th , 2011 – Warsaw Johannes THEINER, EPA-President. Introduction. EPA - THE European Parents‘ Association founded in Milan in 1985 – 25 th anniversary 50 member associations

brinda
Download Presentation

Parents as Volunteers Participation and committed involvement of parents

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Parents as VolunteersParticipation and committed involvement of parents November 26th, 2011 – Warsaw Johannes THEINER, EPA-President

  2. Introduction EPA - THEEuropean Parents‘ Association • founded in Milan in 1985 – 25th anniversary • 50 member associations • from Iceland to Cyprus,from Malta to Norway • Monopole status at the European Commission as single European stakeholder representation of parents • representing 150 Millions of European citizens • involved in Civil Society/Active European Citizenship • … most concerned about parents in education

  3. Questions Is “Parenting” itself Volunteering? • Becoming a parent by free choice • It is done free of charge/no salary • It essentially serves societyhome-education (informal learning)most effectively complementsschool education (formal learning) • Parenting/Family life deserves privacyBUTProtection of individuals’ rights (Child’s Rights)

  4. Parents‘ Activities in Public Focus on School Patterns of classical volunteering • Parents’ support to school activities • Parents’ support to the learning of their children Civil society activities – Parents as most active citizens • Parents’ representatives in advisory boardsand school councils  diverse legal conditions • Parents’ associations as stakeholder representation What about Parental Participation?

  5. CITIZEN CONTROL 8 TRUEDEMOCRACY DELEGATED POWER 7 PARTNERSHIP 6 PLACATION 5 CONSULTATION 4 INFORMING 3 THERAPY 2 MANIPULATION 1 Ladder of Participation CITIZEN POWER TOKENISM NONPARTICIPATION According to Sherry R. Arnstein, 1969

  6. The Challenge of Subsidiarity Europe representation communicationvisibility representation country region representation school representation grassroots parents

  7. Parents‘ Rights Parents’ Rights are positively linked with Child’s Rights BUT go beyond: Parents’ needs and interests • “Good Parenting” • Provision of supporting programmes for parents • Is this a right? • Who could be responsible • Parents are the primary educatorsWhether they do “good” or “bad” parenting it is most impacting on the learning success of their children • How to improve this complement of education? • How to raise awareness about this role?

  8. Parents‘ Needs Parenting is 24 x 7 task – no time out of responsibility BUT professional duties limit capacities • Parenting can be over-challenging • Parents involvement in school needs employers’ tolerance • Parents’ representatives need free time  Demand towards Society • Legal regulations – EPA’s Resolution “Leave of Absence” • Funding for Parents’ support programmes • Core funding for Parents’ Representation

  9. EPA’s Activities and Plans Policy development • Parents’ Rights Charter • Leave of Absence Parents Associations’ Network • EPA Conferences • EPA website and newsletters Dissemination of Best Practice • ALCUIN-Award Programmes and Projects • From Parents - Teachers Trainings to Parents’ Academies

  10. Let us go on together … for the bigger Lifelong Learning Europe … for the Europe of Active Citizens … for Europe, the best place to live for our Children

More Related