Parental involvement – in a school built on democratic foundations

Parental involvement– in a school built on democratic foundations Comenius project Conference Trångsund 2008-12-11 Kristina Åsenius

What is a good teacher? • What is teaching? • What image have others? • What is my image? • What is the school management picture, the kids in the class picture and their parents? • What image are the politicians? • What do I do in my profession, and how can I proceed?

Parents involvement • What is that? • Participation NE active participation • Participation joint responsibility / feeling of being useful / empowerment

…about parents involvement What is involvement in the Children’s education? What is influence?

… Huddinge Municipality, has in it’s overall vision chosen the word involvement / participation.... … Each one is going to create the concrete contents: "It means that in Huddinge, many committed people, politicians, municipal employees, entrepreneurs, institutions and organizations together shape the service, the activities and the environment in an open dialogue and interaction."

…in the curriculum… • Parents are insured the ability to affect school activities in the curriculum • “…everyone working in the school should cooperate with the students parents so that we together can develop content and activities...

Do parents feel that they have influence in school? • Parents don´t believe themselves to have influence – they also feel that there is a big difference between what parents want to influence on and what they can affect on. • possibility of additional support for children • affect class size • choice of teacher • (Skolverkets rapport: Attityder till skolan)

Examples • Parent council, local board (with the right to come to a decision), parents' association • IUP (individuell utvecklingsplan) individual developmental plan * • Meeting with the child-parent-teacher to plan various measures to improve the child´s abilities to reach her or his goals • Parent meetings, parents visiting school, parents accompaning at daytrips… • Arrange flea markets, camp schools, school disco… • Homework, helping the children to develop their reading skills… • Read information, weekly letters, official documents… • E-mail, homepage…

Benefits? Folkhälsoinstitutet 2005:30 • The children enjoy their work better • Less failure to attend school • Get better grades • Continue their efforts to higher studies • - - - • The solidarity between teacher - parent affects in the relationship between teacher and pupil • Networking between parents creates • The school gets fresh ideas, new approaches, larger perspective (The focusgroup in this project)

Hindrance/Obstacles to development • Lack of time • Lack of knowledge • ”My children others' kids” • Parents are not physically present • Proposals becomes threats? • experiences of parents own school • The details in the press

Networking • Parents and school as mutual partners • The Whole perspective for the children's best • We need each other! • Ulf Hagström: Involvement ”to be listened to”

Parent-Education programs • the children learned more • Parents developed a more positive image of school • Created a willingness to support the school in the municipality • Increased parental self-esteem • Teachers became more professional • Spent more time teaching • Developed a more student-oriented approach • (study circle) The Parent Education Group (P.E.G.) was originally designed to provide parents with information about curricula, standards, policies and procedures, legalities and how they affect their children and students in the public setting. (parent – teacher clubs)

...about parent evenings... • strengthen cooperation between home and school • encourage discussions on the role of parenting and beeing a parent • development / our educational outlook • group strengthening exercises / Livskunskap (social and emotional training)

Discussion about how to improve the work to establish a sustainable and longterm cooperation … • Mapping of the past and present actions concearning cooperation between school, home and society. • Obsticales, possibilities and resources inside and outside school • Resorces as people, time, knowledge, money and maybe sponsoring? Model for work

The source to the form about various forms of partnerships is: "För ett verkningsfullt partnerskap mellan skola och hem", Laid Bouakaz (Resurscentrum för mångfaldens skola) (p. 30)

Ways of working • Workingteam at the school consisting of teachers (including language teachers, an interpreter?), head teachers, parents and possibly students • Make a plan • Do a clear definition of what parent involvement means for you • The workingteam as a link to pass information • Make the parents involved as soon as possible when planning (parental questionnaire?) • Assessment/evaluation • A mutual learning is essential!

…about popular words in our time… • ..” enticing words that arouses associations of the desired changes”… Ramirez

Expectations • What do we want in the school that the children will say about his life and your/the school’s contribution to this let us say in about 10 years time? • What do parents want that he / she will say about their lives in 10 years time?

Power • Partnership Paradigm • Dominance Paradigm (winners and losers)

Children who are not meeting the target (knowledge/socialy • Negative response ... children with social difficulties have had pore contact with the adults at school(Undersökning genomförd av fil.dr Inga Andersson) • Trångsund The teacher works with attitude and tries to have a positive approach towards the children…

…about my travel… Challenging myself Us and Them Doubts Personal reflection Personal involvement

…What is most central in the teaching profession? • It is meeting with the child • To see what is unique in each child … • and meeting with the parents ... Aristoteles Kristina

Parental involvement – in a school built on democratic foundations