Parents and the school. Integrating dialogue with parents

It starts with the principal

The Science and Technology Watch Unit (VST) of the National Institute for Educational Research publishes an interesting dossier on "Parents and School."

Although technology is not directly addressed, there is no doubt that mobility and communication tools have a direct bearing on the increasing involvement of parents in school affairs.

Establishing Good Relations

Parents can and do want to be in the know about matters that concern their children. Keeping them out may be seen as more comfortable for some school administrators or teachers, but that will not be the view of parents, and sooner or later the school's relationship with its community will suffer.

So, we might as well make room for them and find the best fit.

For parent collaboration to be successful, parents "need to embrace the idea that their opinions are wanted and that they are full partners with the school in their children's education. Staff must be prepared and trained to work with adults, not just children, without feeling that their professionalism is challenged as a result."

"The results show that if the goal is to directly influence academic achievement and learning, the school and teachers must intervene primarily on feelings of parental competence. Parents are motivated to participate if they believe that their interventions will make a difference to the child's achievement and learning."

One of the factors in the success of opening up the school to parents appears to be related to the attitude of the school leader himself.

"Stable, relatively confident school leaders who are willing to share elements of power over the school are most likely to form partnerships with parents and move their schools toward a more effective school model."

So it will be much more than a matter of technology or parent meetings...

To access the full brief: "Parents and Schools," Letter #22.