| Project Co-ordinator |
| Scotland |
Her Majesty's Inspectors
of Schools, Scottish Office Education and Industry Department |
| International Co-ordinator:
Alan Armstrong |
| |
| Project |
| Austria |
Bundesministerium
fr Unterricht und Kulturelle |
| Angelegenheiten (BMUK) |
| National Co-ordinator:
Dr Christine Kisser |
Belgium
(Flemish Community) |
Departement Onderwijs |
| National Co-ordinator:
Mrs Veronique Adriaens |
| France |
Direction de la Programmation
et du Dveloppment, |
| Ministre de l'ducation
Nationale |
| National Co-ordinator:
Mr Grard Bonnet |
| Italy |
Istituto Provinciale
di Ricerva Aggiornamento |
| Sperimentazione Educativi
(IPRASE) |
| National Co-ordinator:
Dr Mario Dutto |
| Netherlands |
Ouders & Coo. |
| National Co-ordinator:
Mrs Hanka Jansma |
| Portugal |
Instituto de Inovao
Educacional, Ministrio da Educao |
| National Co-ordinator:
Mrs Gertrudes Amaro |
| |
| Introduction |
| |
| Many countries believe that it
is very important to encourage parents to become actively involved in their
children's education. Some countries have already taken significant steps
to involve parents effectively. It is widely recognised that parents can
provide valuable help for their children by showing that they are interested
in, and see the value of, what they are studying at school. There is strong
evidence that this form of support can have a real and positive effect on
the performance of children at school and therefore on their future. |
| |
| Experiences in schools have shown
that it is particularly important for parents to be actively involved in
key aspects and at important stages of their children's education. For example,
some young children may bring books home to read or older children may need
encouragement to do homework. Parents have a role in helping to make decisions
about their children's future education, such as when subjects are being
selected at secondary school. Effective schools welcome parents being involved
in sharing their skills and interests with their children at home and more
generally within the school itself, and recognise that parents have much
to offer. |
| |
Involving parents as partners
in the education of their children, at all stages of education, is therefore
essential if children are to achieve their full potential at school. Educational
policymakers and schools need to ask themselves three key questions.
- How well are parents currently involved
in their children's education?
- What are the advantages of extending the
partnership between schools and parents further?
- In what effective ways can the present
partnership be improved?
|
| |
| The results of this project provide
answers to all three questions. |
| |
| Children have two main educators
in their lives - their parents and their teachers. Parents,
of course, are the prime educators until children attend nursery or begin
school and remain a major influence on their children's learning throughout
school and beyond. There is no clear dividing line to show where the parent
input stops and the teachers' input begins. Children do not start and finish
their daily learning at the school gate. The school and parents both have
crucial roles to play. Each has much to learn from, and a great deal to
offer, the other. Each should know what the other is trying to do. |
| |
| Together with carefully planned
and effective liaison, schools and parents can work in partnership to provide
the best possible provision for meeting the educational needs and personal
and social development of children. Clear roles for the teacher and parents
and effective co-ordination of their respective contributions will help
to maximise children's learning and the overall quality of their education. |
| |
| This European project on Parental
Participation in Schools enabled partner countries committed to development
and improvement, to compare and contrast procedures for promoting effective
partnership between schools and parents and their children. Successful strategies
have been identified and provide the basis for policy development and in-service
training for those involved in education across the European Community. |
| |
| Project development |
| |
The main objectives of this European
Project were to:
- inform senior
education policy makers about the purposes and advantages of involving
parents in the education of their children;
- identify methods
for the effective participation of parents in schools;
- consider, study and report on comparative
practices and enable partners to make informed decisions on future proposals
for developing methods of involving parents; and
- set out approaches for the effective dissemination of good practices and provide related material to support developments through:
- in-service training for policy makers and
school managers
- the availability of information for parents.
|
| |
| The project was organised in
three phases. |
| |
| Phase 1: an initial project
meeting identified and examined the range of approaches to parental participation
in operation in partner countries and agreed a range of case studies of
good practice to be used as the focus of the main Project Conference |
| |
| Phase 2: collection of
evidence for case studies, involving policy makers and teachers as appropriate
in each partner country |
| |
| Phase 3: Project Conference
at which the case studies were presented and discussed |
| |
| Phase 1 |
| |
| At the initial meeting, each
partner presented a profile of the range of parental links in their country,
areas of existing expertise and issues of future interest. Six broad headings
for parental participation were used to focus the profiles. |
| |
| 1. The rights, duties and responsibilities
of national/local education providers and parents with regard to providing
education
2. School-home links
3. Assessment and reporting to parents on
pupils' achievements
4. The role of parents in schools, including
in classrooms
5. The involvement of parents in school self-evaluation
and inspection
6. Parental involvement in the education
of children with special educational needs
|
| |
| The profiles of practices in
each country are summarised in Part 2 of this report. Discussion of the main issues arising
both within and among the partner countries led to the identification of
five key areas where it was felt that policy and practices could usefully
be developed. |
| |
| 1. How to attract or encourage
the support of parents
2. Parental involvement in children's learning
3. Training for parents in supporting their
children's education
4. Home-school agreements
5. Parental involvement in evaluating schools
|
| |
| Phase 2 |
| |
| The five key areas became a focus
for the development of case studies. Each partner agreed to provide case
studies of existing expertise in their country in one or more of the key
areas. Between the initial meeting and the Project Conference, partners
worked with other professionals, students and parents' organisations to
prepare examples of good practice. |
| |
| Phase 3 |
| |
| At the main Project Conference,
the case studies were presented. The case studies are summarised in Part 3 of this report. Many of the individuals most closely
associated with the schools and organisations highlighted in the case studies
attended the Conference. They were able to speak directly about their experiences.
Guests from across Europe were also invited, including representatives from
non-partner EU countries, researchers and representatives of national parent
bodies. Together, the participants provided the widest possible audience.
Their very broad range of expertise and backgrounds prompted lively and
informative discussions and debate on the details of the case studies. |
| |
| During Phase 3, the project co-ordinator
took part in the European Conference on How behaviour affects the quality
of education organised by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education
and Cultural Affairs, together with the European Parents' Association. |
| |
| Project results |
| |
| The main purpose of this project
was to exemplify successful strategies in the promotion of parental participation
in schools. It was not intended to evaluate the quality of current provision
in any individual country or the relative effectiveness of particular strategies.
All case studies indicate how the schools or organisations have developed
good practice within the context of their previous work and the background
of policy arrangements in that country. Best, and sometimes innovative,
practices in each country have been highlighted and therefore may not as
yet be fully representative of practice across the country. |
| |
| It is felt that the profiles
of parental participation in Part 2 of the report together with the range of case studies
in Part 3 are sufficiently broad to be of value to a comprehensive
range of key target groups with responsibility for, or the objective of,
promoting parental participation in schools. Importantly, each target group
should find information and case studies which match the particular circumstances
prevailing in their country, local area or individual organisation. |
| |
| The results should therefore
be of interest and practical use to the following target groups. |
| |
| National Policymakers - through
obtaining insights into effective practices and procedures for promoting
parental participation in schools and the benefits to be gained in terms
of improvements in the quality of education and standards of attainment
in schools. |
| |
| Inspectorates and evaluators
- by identifying indicators of good practice in parental participation
as a key aspect of both an effective educational system and individual institutions. |
| |
| Local authority directors
- who, in addition to the above, will benefit from using the information
in the development of models for in-service training for school managers. |
| |
| Schools and parent groups
- from an increased awareness of the potential benefits of partnership
in education and the identification of strategies for promoting their involvement
further. |
| |
| Evidence in the case studies
shows that, whilst the national contexts must always be taken into account,
several themes and strategies recur in different countries. These may be
expressed as key features to be considered in reviewing present provision
and identifying areas for future development. |
| |
| Key features to be considered in parental participation
include the following. |
| |
| |
Highlighted by case
studies |
- The benefits to be gained from an independent
person liaising with parents, pupils and teachers to promote effective
communications between the home and school, particularly in areas of
social deprivation
|
France |
- Well-judged methods of contacting parents
informally and encouraging their involvement
|
Portugal
Scotland |
- Carefully-prepared information which helps
parents understand their role in supporting their children or working
on school groups
|
Scotland
Netherlands |
- The availability of information about
important aspects of information such as the curriculum, attainment
and attendance
|
Belgium (Flemish
Community)
Scotland |
- Promoting the exchange of information
among parents, pupils and teachers
|
Belgium (Flemish
Community) |
- Meetings of all groups involved in improving
educational standards (teachers, pupils, parents' associations, education
authorities)
|
Portugal |
- The role of school (class)-home contracts
|
Italy
Austria |
- The value of seeking the views of parents
and pupils or students in evaluating the quality of a school's work
|
Italy
Scotland Austria |
- The need to establish and promote a common
sense of purpose among all school partners in improving key aspects
of the school's work
|
most case studies |
- The important and influential role of
parent bodies such as School Boards and Parent Teachers Associations
|
most case studies |