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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 big day has arrived, the new uniform is looking smart, and now our 'senior' Primary school learners are about to become important 'junior' Secondary school students. For most of us, this is a memorable experience and, therefore, very significant. However, whilst some learners approach this milestone with great excitement and enthusiasm, others are nervous and anxious.
As school teachers faced with EAL learners in our classrooms, we often push the teaching of phonics down the list, especially at secondary school level. Yet communication is dependent on comprehensive pronunciation when speaking, and on decoding graphemes when reading. Consider for a moment the impact mispronunciation can have on accurate communication. For example, if I ask for soap in a restaurant, I might be faced with a blank stare! This error is caused by confusing two very similar phonemes in soap/soup.
How often do you hear these in the school playground? And actually, not just in the playground… Do you know which language they are from? Have a guess!
(Here is the answer: Mandarin, Ukrainian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Urdu, Polish)
When you walk around your school, I bet you can hear words and phrases in different languages whispered or spoken out loud in the corridors, the lunch hall, and lessons too (if you listen really carefully!).