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Effective teacher-parent collaboration has undoubtedly been found to be beneficial for a child’s wellbeing and academic performance with relevant research recently highlighting two distinct approaches to home-school partnerships associated with specific parent behaviours each (Epstein, 2001). Below we will attempt to shed light on the differences between ‘parent involvement’ and ‘parent engagement’ in an effort to help schools make more informed decisions on what really matters when it comes to promoting successful collaboration with parents.
On the one hand, research highlights the importance of ‘parent involvement’ activities, including parents volunteering in school events, attending parent-teacher conferences, helping their children with homework or reading to them (Baker, 2016). In this context, parents are present in the school life by performing certain activities, which are pre-defined and implemented by school staff.
On the other hand, Ferlazzo (2011) explores the concept of ‘parental engagement’ whereby parents become partners with the school shaping their child's learning journey by communicating their thoughts and voicing their worries.
Real parent engagement takes place when schools work together with families to set goals and develop strategies to address a child's needs; it happens when schools actively listen to parents bringing their unique insights into their child’s experiences outside school, their culture or their preferences. If parental engagement goes deeper by encouraging a more meaningful relationship between schools and parents that is based on trust and respect (Redding et.al., 2004), rather than mere participation in school-led activities, then schools may need to reflect on:
To conclude, whilst both parent involvement and engagement are necessary for a child’s progress, engagement tends to lead to a stronger bond between parents and schools, which is highly associated with students' better academic performance, and personal and emotional well-being.
References
Baker, T.L., et.al. (2016). ‘’Identifying Barriers: Creating Solutions to Improve Family Engagement’’. School Community Journal, 26(2), 161-184 Available here
Epstein, J. (2001). School, Family and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ferlazzo, L. (2011). Involvement or Engagement? Educational Leadership, 68(8), 10–14.
Redding, S., Langdon, J., Meyer, J., & Sheley, P. (2004). The effects of comprehensive parent engagement on student learning outcomes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.
The start of a new school year can be a daunting experience for new EAL arrivals. Some may be devastated to leave their friends, schools and homes. Some may be excited at the experience of a new adventure, but for all arriving with little or no English can be an alienating and exhausting experience. It is important to gain an understanding of how the child feels about the move to enable them to settle well.
A School Language Profile is an invaluable tool!
In the previous article we looked at the thorny issue of EAL learners with specific learning differences (SpLD). We discussed how identification of SpLD in EAL learners could be a long and frustrating process. We looked at some possible, non-language based assessments. At the end of the article we discussed the possibility of using a ‘language profile’ to help identify possible concerns at an early stage.
Everyone is talking about differentiation for EAL in whole class teaching, but how do we actually approach it consistently and effectively?
At Across Cultures we have been developing some systematic ways of approaching this in a structured, yet flexible format. In the downloadable plan you'll see a framework to support EAL teachers with planning for content learning alongside language learning. The plan is based about the theme of sea pollution and provides a writing frame for a persuasive text.
This lesson follow a particular format: