Parents/Family-School Partnership
PARENTS/FAMILY– TEACHER PARTNERSHIP
Family-school
partnerships are collaborative relationships and activities involving school
staff, parents and other family members of students at a school. Parents and Teachers agree that positive, supportive and open
relationships between home and school, parent and teacher are
desirable. Research has shown that parent engagement and successful
parent-teacher partnerships result in improved educational outcomes for students
with disabilities and those without disabilities
Parents are vital partners in education.
They influence their children’s attitudes about learning, and support learning
at home. They are a vital link between home and school. And when they become
involved in the life of the school, they make our schools better places to
learn, grow and thrive.
It is important for teachers to understand
family background, Parents and the food children eat. This can be achieved if there are good parents
-Teachers communication .Teachers should have an open door policy to parents
and families should be viewed as a primary teacher and caregiver of the
children because they spent more hours with children at home. Teachers should
support parents in their roles.
GOALS OF THE P/T PARTNERSHIP
To increase parent
understanding on teachers roles, responsibilities and professional position
Increasing teachers
understanding of parents perspectives
Providing parents
and teachers specific steps to take when problems arise
Increasing
trust between parents and teachers
WHY SHOULD PARENTS BE INVOLVED?
Parents and
guardians are the first child’s teachers. This role doesn’t end when a child
enter school.
Parents spend more
time with the child than teachers do
Studies shows
that children whose parents are actively
involved in their education perform much better
BENEFITS OF FAMILY-TEACHERS
PARTNERSHIP
Children feels secure
It brings sense of wealth
Family get support and knowledge from
teacher
Teachers get feedback on how they teach
BARRIERS OF FAMILY-TEACHERS
PARTNERSHIP
Teachers reluctant of the relationship.
Some teachers are unwilling to establish relationship with parents
Parents reluctant of the relationship.
Some parents are unwilling to establish relationship with teachers and don’t
attend any parent meeting
Power issues. Sometime teachers do feel
like they have much power than parents and hence little emphasis on parents –
teachers relationship
Mistrust
between parents and teachers
ADVANTAGES OF CONDUCEIVE FAMILY –
SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Respect of professionalism
Having a sense of self
Enhancing respecting others
Trust
ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL FAMILY
INVOLVEMENT PROGRAm
Written policy. The policy legitimizes
the importance of parent involvement and help to frame contexts for program
activities.
Administration support. This include
funds, materials/product resources and people
Training. There should be training for
both parents and staff involved
Joint partnership approach. This means
all members of the partnership should be involved in the planning of a program
Networking. It should involve other
programs to share information, expertise and resources
Two way communication. There should be
regular communication between parents and teachers
Evaluation. The program should have
regular evaluation activities at key stages as well as at the conclusion of the
cycle/phase.
HOW PARENT INVOLVEMENT
CAN BE DONE
According
to Epstein’s framework of family involvement, there are six points about parent
involvement
Parenting. Help all families to
establish home environment to support children as student
Communicating. Design effective forms of
school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and
children’s progress
Volunteering. Recruit and organize
parent help and supportLearning at home. Provide
information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with
homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and plannin Decision making. Include parents in
school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives.
Collaborating with Community. Identify
and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school
programs, family practices, and student learning and development
WHEN COMMUNICATING TO PARENTS;
Listen carefully to them
Respect difference in religions, colour,
race, and economic status (rich or poor)
Be warm and sincer Provide resources Practice open house-everyo should be
allowed
COMMUNICATE TO PARENTS ANY TIME;
When children misbehave
When he/she do wonderful activities
When he/she is absent at school
