| Training for parents in supporting their children's education |
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| Belgium (Flemish Community): Research - Training of parents
in Flanders; the work of KLASSE |
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Veronique Adriaens
Departement Onderwijs, Brussels |
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Ilse Van Heddegem
Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven |
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Michel Vanlaere
Departement Onderwijs, Brussels |
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This section contains two case
studies:
- an outline of a research project into
the training of parents; and
- details of KLASSE, a communication project
through which information is disseminated to parents, pupils and teachers.
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| Training of parents in Flanders |
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| Research project by I Van Heddegem
& J C Verhoeven, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven |
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| Introduction |
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Home and school are complementary
settings in children's development. They each play an important role and
continuity is desirable. It is important therefore that parents know what
happens at school. Some parents wish a more direct involvement in school.
They wish:
- the right information about the different
aspects of school;
- greater involvement;
- to stimulate contacts among parents;
- to be involved in discussions about the
objectives, organisation and what children will learn at school; and
- to participate in realising the objectives
of the school.
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| Parents can participate in classroom
activities (mostly in primary education), help raise funds for the school,
and become involved in other informal ways. Other opportunities provide
a more formal, structured framework of involvement. |
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| Parent training |
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| Research carried out in primary
schools in the Netherlands (Smit, 1988: 148) showed that parents' training
leads effectively to changes in parents' attitudes to school in their contacts
with the teachers, the staff, the participation council and the organising
authority. Parents become more aware of the different problems in schools
and can be more critical. This was not always appreciated by school staff.
The research showed that parents are interested in training because it gives
them the chance to gain a better understanding of how the school works and
the importance of the statutes and rules of the parent organisations and
participation council. Parent training is also highly valued because it
enables them to learn from the experiences of other parents, to gain new
ideas and to learn how to influence the school. |
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| Parents' organisations and socio-cultural
organisations provide an important role in training parents in Belgium (Flemish
Community). The Department of Sociology at Leuven University carried out
a small research project to investigate this role. This case study sets
out the objectives of parents' organisations, outlines the range of parent
training and sets out the methodology and results of the research. |
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| Objectives of parent organisations and socio-cultural
organisations |
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| Parent unions enable parents
to organise themselves. In Flanders, there are four organisations. |
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| 1. The Flemish Confederation
of Local Parent Unions (VCOV) is active in Catholic schools (almost
all the schools of the subsidised free education network). |
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| 2. The Educative Organisation
for Parent Work (EVO), together with the Council for Parents in Community
Education (ROGO), is active in Community Schools. |
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| 3. The Overall Organisation for
Local Parent Unions in the Subsidised Official Education Network (KOOGO)
is active in City Schools. |
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VCOV has identified four
major topics for local parent unions:
- informing parents about their children's
school and helping them in their role as partners in their children's
education;
- involving parents more closely in the
decision-making process at school;
- setting up projects in partnership with
the school; and
- strengthening the links between parents
and the school.
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| VCOV plays a supporting
role by participating in developing the work of parent unions' and serving
the interests of parents and their children. ROGO aims to stimulate
the participation of parents in school policy whilst EVO specialises
in the curricular, pedagogical and cultural aspects of education. KOOGO
supports local parent unions by providing parents with training, information,
documentation, advice and publications. This training contributes strongly
to the effectiveness of local parent unions. |
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| Socio-cultural organisations
in Flanders, such as the Catholic Union of Rural Women (KVLV), the
Catholic Women of Labourers (KAV) and the Catholic Movement of labourers
(KWB) also train parents. Their training is focused more on socio-cultural
and family-support activities. |
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| Parent training |
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| What is parent training? Vandemeulebroecke
(1990: 19-21) distinguishes three strategies for parent training. All are
used in Flanders. |
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- Parental enlightenment - informing
or providing knowledge through, for example, the media, special literature
on how children learn, or information from parents and
- socio-cultural organisations.
- Parent training - coaching or supporting
the learning of specific skills, knowledge and attitudes.
- Parent emancipation - forming or
developing certain skills, knowledge and attitudes by providing non-biased
information.
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| Parent training can be divided
into certain approaches to learning and the most appropriate then identified.
Van Crombrugge and Vandemeulebroecke (1994: 7-14) developed this model for
family education, but it can also be applied to parent training. |
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| 1. The content - covering
very wide domains (e.g. education objectives) or aimed at very specific
themes (e.g. parent participation in school policy). |
| 2. The training method
- parents can be trained on an individual basis, in group or in mass by
the media. |
| 3. The target group -
large groups of parents (e.g. all parents with children in a primary school)
or specialist groups (e.g. parents with dyslexic children). |
| 4. The objectives of parent
training - helping parents confront problems (e.g. considering drugs)
or stimulating the development of parents in relation to their children
(e.g. children's rights). [Deficiency-oriented (=) growth-oriented.] |
| 5. The degree of organisation
- structured, formal approaches or non-structured, informal approaches. |
| 6. The theoretical framework
- parent training can only exist on the basis of the key thought
that it is sufficient to provide parents with the right insights and abilities
to respond to the realities of education. Parent training within an interpretative
framework reacts to this by placing the experiences of parents at the centre
so that they come to a better understanding. Emancipative parent
training goes one step further by interpreting the experiences of parents
by means of critical theories. |
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| Research methodology |
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| This research project aimed to
describe and evaluate the training of parents with children at school in
Flanders. Documents were analysed and interviews held with representatives
of the parent organisations and a socio-cultural organisation. The key research
questions were as follows. |
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- How is parent training financed?
- What is the personnel structure of the
parent organisations?
- What kind of parent training is offered?
- Who decides on the themes for parent training?
- Do parent organisations work together?
- How is the offer of parent training evaluated?
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| Research results |
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| Since 1996, the Ministry of the
Flemish Community, Department of Education has provided an annual subsidy
of 13 million Belgian Francs for parents' organisations and socio-cultural
organisations. The funding is for operational, project and personnel costs. |
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| The organisation of parent training
is structured as follows. |
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| Funding for personnel costs is
split equally between the two support centres. Groups such as VCOV can also
raise funds from membership fees, sales and entrance fees for training events.
Projects are funded or approved by the Department of Education. In addition,
the Department of Culture provides funds to enable VCOV and EVO
to recruit a further 10 staff and 2 staff respectively. |
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| How is parent training delivered? |
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All parent organisations publish
their own newsletters monthly or every 2-4 months. Themes include:
- bullying;
- safety on the road;
- the multicultural school;
- choices for study;
- participation in school life; and
- education of children with special educational
needs or learning difficulties.
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| The newsletters may contain reviews
of children books, information on planned events such as conferences, or
research and information about activities such as holidays and special courses.
KWB-KAV publishes particularly technical information about parental
participation aimed at parents who are involved in the decision-making processes
at school. Some organisations also have their own libraries of literature
and audio-visual material. One has an Internet site. All organisations are
responsive to frequent telephone calls from parents seeking advice on a
wide range of matters. A few have formalised this to provide an ombudsman
service. |
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| An important task of the parent
and socio-cultural organisations is training local parent unions and parent
representatives in the participation council/local school council. Collaborators,
or trainers visit the unions and give the parent committee (the democratically-chosen
board of the local parent union) practical information about the parent
organisation's work. The training of parents' representatives includes informing
parents about their rights and power in the participation council/local
school council. For all parents, there are training evenings and sessions
with a special focus on educational and pedagogical issues. |
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| This research did not have the
resources to evaluate the actual training sessions. |
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| Training evenings and sessions
are organised in different ways and at different levels. |
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| 1. The trainers visit and explain
an issue to a local parent union, or organise a training activity at region
level. |
| 2. Specialist guest speakers
may be invited to regional training activities. |
| 3. The organisations also have
volunteers who visit local parent unions to speak about a certain topic.
They produce their own training materials. |
| 4. Some local parent unions arrange
training activities which help develop their independence. The main parent
organisation only provides the materials and advice on methodology. |
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National activities in Flanders
seldom take place and are limited to the organisation of conferences or
parent parliaments to discuss and exchange information. Most of the training
activities are aimed at parents with children at primary school. Headteachers
and teachers often attend and help strengthen communications between staff
and parents. Popular themes include:
- next steps in learning and longer-term
targets;
- children and television;
- children's rights;
- bullying;
- road safety;
- learning to learn;
- homework;
- child aggression;
- children and the computer; and
- drugs prevention.
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Increasingly, parent training
takes the form of projects involving school staff, parents and members of
the local community. These groups are coached by a co-ordinator who is a
staff member of the organisation. The group chooses one theme out of six:
- the transition from primary education
to secondary education;
- helping with homework;
- how parents should approach their children's
school;
- the place of the school in the local community;
- bullying; and
- learning difficulties.
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| Parents and teachers may also
be trained separately on the same themes, for example: society; technology;
language and learning to learn. This enables the content to be matched to
the needs of each group and joint sessions help provide an understanding
of the other's point of view. Involvement in a project could be part of
developing a new school policy or may influence existing school practices. |
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| Co-operation among parents' organisations |
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| There are regular contacts among
parents' organisations but little collaborative parent training. However,
during school year 1998/99, two organisations will collaborate on training
parents who have children with special educational needs. One organisation
will take responsibility for the structure and content of the training and
the other will deliver it. |
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| Who decides on the training to be offered? |
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Parents have an important voice
in the range of the training offered. They can express their preferences
in a number of ways, such as through:
- a parent parliament where parents can
give their opinions; and
- provincial representatives who make the
interests of the local parent unions known at provincial meetings.
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| Proposals are submitted to local
parent unions, and in consultation with these unions, a national training
programme is set up. Two parent organisations established parent working
groups to develop the themes for the training activities. This ensures that
parents have a role in shaping the national training programme. |
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| Evaluation of parent training activities |
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All the organisations find evaluation
of parent training important. The results of these evaluations are used
to shape future provision. Evaluation methods include:
- written evaluations such as
- parents completing a form after each training
activity
- parent questionnaires
- parent organisations asking for the views
of local parent unions across a region
- trainers' reports
- local parent union reports; and
- oral evaluations such as:
- evaluation questions at the end of training
- parent organisations telephoning local
parent unions for their comments on training
activities.
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| Conclusion |
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| Training provided by parent and
socio-cultural organisations can be pedagogical as well as educational.
Pedagogical training is aimed at the home context and educational training
at the school context. The two contexts are strongly connected and complementary.
Effective participation of parents in schools and in the education of their
children can eventually bridge the gap between home and school. |
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| Present parent training goes
beyond simply the transfer of knowledge and development of skills. There
is the exchange of experiences and opinions. The extent to which this training
is emancipative could not be investigated in this research. It would be
a very interesting topics to investigate in the future. |
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| Bibliography |
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| SMIT, F , Ouderparticipatie
in het basisonderwijs: Een onderzoek naar vormen, mate en effecten van ouderparticipatie
in het basisonderwijs,'s Gravenhage, Instituut voor onderzoek van het
onderwijs S.V.O. (1998) |
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| VAN CROMBRUGGE, VANDEMEULEBROECKE
, H & L, Gezinsondersteunende activiteiten in het sociaal-cultureel
vormingswerk in verenigingsverband, K.U.Leuven, Departement Pedagogische
Wetenschappen. (1994) |
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| VANDEMEULEBROECKE, L. 'Oudervorming
als antwoord' Gezinsbeleid in Vlaanderen: Oudervorming, een antwoord
op opvoedingsvragen (1): 18-28. (1994) |
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| KLASSE |
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| Magazines for Education for teachers, parents and pupils |
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| Background |
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| KLASSE is a communication project
launched by the Department of Education, Ministry of the Flemish Community.
Three free magazines are distributed to over a million teachers, parents
and pupils every month. The project therefore appeals to everyone involved
in education in Flanders. The magazines are produced by teachers working
on detached duty. They spend approximately three days per week researching
articles and visiting schools and two days per week in the central office. |
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KLASSE is a government initiative.
This means it is:
- democratic - KLASSE is open to
everyone and is not restricted by educational policy or hierarchy; it
seeks to narrow the information gap, to contribute to the social debate
and to help everyone to contribute more effectively to society; and
- decentralised - the government's
priority is decentralisation and co-operation.
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| If everyone is to receive more
opportunities to take responsibility for aspects of education, then support
is required through training, counselling and well-targeted information.
KLASSE is a very important medium to help achieve this. |
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| Making a school together |
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| KLASSE's overall aim is to enhance
the involvement in education of the various target groups: school authorities;
teachers; parents, pupils; and society in general. Well-targeted information
helps to realise this, promoting greater participation and more democratic
engagement from everyone in education. A school then becomes the result
of teamwork. For communication to be as effective as possible, every target
group is approached from a specific and yet complementary angle. Hence three
different magazines are made and distributed. |
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- KLASSE for Teachers
- KLASSE for Parents
- KLASSE for Pupils
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| The magazines use real-life school
situations. They are created by an autonomous and professional editing staff.
Links across three magazines improve communication amongst all readers.
Topics such as choice of studies, drug abuse, truancy, aggression etc. affect
teachers, parents and youngsters, though require a different approach in
dealing with the issues. Publishing three separate magazines leads to an
exchange of information which increases the involvement of each target group.
The three KLASSE magazines join to form one website, KLASSE. Part
of the title page is shown below. Readers are strongly advised to visit
the website so that the format and design of the magazines can be fully
appreciated. |
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| KLASSE for Teachers |
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This magazine is sent to:
- all teachers and headteachers;
- educationalists;
- administrative personnel; and
- psychological, medical and social guidance
centres.
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| Magazines are issued to home
addresses at the beginning of each month, except during the summer holidays.
Recently, students in teacher training have been offered a free subscription
as well. KLASSE started in 1990 with an edition of 17,000 copies and now
distributes 165,000 copies. |
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The magazine focuses on four
key areas:
- Policies - preparing government
policies and providing a platform for discussion and stimulating involvement.
- Information - spreading educational
news and bringing general pedagogical items to the reader's attention.
- Training - informing the reader
of new training opportunities and interesting projects and highlighting
new approaches to teaching through examples of good practice.
- Service - breaking down barriers
between school and the arts by co-operating with museums, theatres and
companies to organise main educational events.
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| KLASSE for Teachers carefully
creates a balance of themes and topics that appeal to various education
levels. It reports on government policies, enhances discussion and contact
among all parties involved in education and establishes links with both
KLASSE for Parents and KLASSE for Pupils. |
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| KLASSE for Parents |
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| KLASSE for Parents was first
published in September 1996. Over 80% of all Flemish schools catering for
pupils from 6-14 years of age have taken a free subscription to this monthly
newsletter (10 issues per year) and are now distributing it to their pupils'
parents. It was produced after research on parents' reading habits and involvement
in education and after thorough discussion with parents' councils, support
centres and the relevant school authorities. After a hopeful start (300,000
copies), 672,000 issues are currently printed every month. |
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KLASSE for Parents aims to:
- increase the involvement of parents in
education and school life;
- support and stimulate the local participation
of parents in schools; and
- improve communication among all parties
involved in education - teachers, parents, pupils.
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| KLASSE for Parents carefully
sets out a balance of themes and topics relating to the family, school and
government. It offers parents a platform for discussion, refers them to
relevant individuals or organisations and stresses links with both KLASSE
for Teachers and KLASSE for Pupils. |
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| KLASSE for pupils |
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Second, third and fourth grade
pupils in secondary education (age 15-19) receive their own magazine every
month. It is distributed by schools who register with the KLASSE project.
Over 75% of all Flemish schools participate, which results in 199,000 copies
a month. The young people themselves asked the Minister of Education for
their own magazine. It was produced after research into youth culture, reading
habits, co-operation with the Koning Boudewijnstichting and a study of similar
projects abroad. The magazine has the look and style of a newspaper. KLASSE
for Pupils aims to:
- increase young people's involvement in
education and school life;
- support and stimulate local participation
of pupils in schools;
- inform youngsters so they can progress
confidently in their education and in society in general; and
- improve communication among all parties
involved in education.
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| There is a considerable input
from young people themselves. Topics mainly focus on the world of young
people and their interaction with society. Links are established with both
KLASSE for Parents and KLASSE for Pupils. |
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| KLASSE on the Internet (Klasse.be) |
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| The KLASSE website has been online
since September 1996. There are no barriers and anyone can visit the site
and can take part in discussions. Klasse.be is an ideal use of information
technology to promote educational debate. Electronic communication between
schools and the government began in 1996 to improve administration. The
government has its own website: www.vlaanderen.be. |
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Klasse.be aims to:
- enhance the involvement of teachers, parents,
pupils and society in education;
- inform all parties in education;
- establish a direct, personal and interactive
communication between KLASSE as a government medium and teachers, parents
and pupils and also amongst these parties; and
- offer digital support to the three KLASSE
magazines, to which multimedia information can be added.
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Several services are offered:
- information (files and data accessible
in the KLASSE Archives, news);
- discussion (Forum, Guestbook, Feedback);
and
- special services.
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| English summaries of all articles
are provided. |
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| The address for correspondence
or further information on KLASSE is: |
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Hendrik Consciencegebouw - toren
A - vijfde verdieping
Emile Jacqmainlaan 165
1210 Brussel
tel 0032 2553 9686-fax 0032 2553 9685
www. klasse.be
e-mail: info@klasse.be |
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