The Challenge of School-Family Partnership

Author(s):

Raquel-Amaya Martínez-GonzálezDeborah WilliamsLoizos SymeouAlessandro PepeLoredana AddimandoMª Jose Rodrigo LopezBEATRIZ RODRIGUEZ RUIZ

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research

Format:

Symposium

Session Information

14 SES 01, The Challenge of School-Family Partnership

Symposium

Time:

2009-09-28

09:15-10:45

Room:

JUR, HS 10

Chair:

Raquel-Amaya Martínez-González

Discussant:

Raquel-Amaya Martínez-González

Contribution

Parents' involvement in their children's education has become an area of great interest for international educational researchers and practitioners, due to their effects on both children's academic progress and opportunities to reach a professional and social position. International studies (Deslandes, 2003; Martínez-González and Souta, 1994; Martínez-González and Paik, 2004; Martínez-González, Pérez-Herrero and Rodríguez Ruiz, 2005; Ptiaka and Symeonidou, 2007; Smith, Van der Wolf, and Sleegers, 2003) have pointed out the high interest many parents show towards their children's academic progress, independently of their social, professional or income level. This interest influences family atmosphere, family communication patterns, academic and professional aspirations and expectations for the children, and above all, their awareness of the value their parents give to education; in turn, this fact has an influence upon the value children themselves give to education, their academic and professional aspirations, involvement in school activities and academic achievement. The international papers included in this symposium address complementary areas when studying how parents and teachers, families and schools in different European countries and the USA, might collaborate to promote children’s development and academic achievement, both in Primary and Secondary schools.

Method

Both quantitative and qualitative procedures to gather information have been used by the authors of the papers included in this symposium, which allows to complement the quantitative data obtained through questionnaires and national statistic figures with qualitative one collected through interviews and group discussions. Both research approaches are needed to go deeper into the study of the many reasons which affect school-family partnerships. Quantitative statistical data help the researchers to identify the behaviour patterns of the parents and teachers population involved in their studies, while qualitative information provides a deeper understanding of the reasons, interpretations and emotions involved on those behaviours. This is especially useful when designing interventions.

Expected Outcomes

The symposium highlights the need for parental involvement in schools due to its positive effects on children’s school achievement, school effectiveness and educational and social change (Symeou, 2005, 2007). According to this symposium papers, most parents agree in considering teachers are kind and friendly with them, have got good teaching qualifications and help their children to learn. However, teachers on their part perceive that certain types of parents’ demands affect their satisfaction with building partnership. Particular groups of parents, predominantly lower class and rural, appear unable to meet school expectations in assisting their children with schooling and homework, which might risk these children’s opportunity of school success if teachers do not collaborate effectively. These results have important implications when training teachers for partnership and highlight the need for educational decision makers to take into account the family circumstances as well as gender to promote effective school-family partnership.

References

Deslandes, R. (2001). A vision of home-school partnership: Three complementary conceptual frameworks. In F. Smith, K. Van der Wolf and P. Sleegers (2003). A bridge to the future. Collaboration between parents, schools and communities (pp. 11-23). Nijmegen: ITS. Castelli, S., Mendel, M. and Ravn, B. (Eds.) (2003). School, family and community partnership in a world of differences and changes. Poland, University of Gdansk. Martínez-González, R.A. Marques, R. and Souta, L. (1994): Expectations about parents in education in Portugal and Spain. En A. Macbeth and B. Ravs (Eds.), Expectations about parents in education. Euroupean Perspectives: 44-58. Glasgow, European Parensts' Association. Martínez-González, R-A. and Paik, S. (2004) (Guest Editors). Editorial. International Perspectives on families, schools, and communities: educational implications for partnership. International Journal of Educational Research, 41 (1) 24-38. Martínez-González, R-A., Rodríguez-Ruiz, B., & Pérez-Herrero, Mª H. (Eds.) (2005). Family-school-community partnership merging into social development. Oviedo: SM Editorial Group. Phtiaka, H. and Symeonidou, S. (Ed.) (2007). Schools and families in partnership: Looking into the future. Proceeding of the 6th International Conference of the European Research Network About Parents in Education. Nicosia, University of Cyprus. Symeou, L. (2005). Past and present in the notion of school-family collaboration. Aula Abierta, 85, 165-184. Symeou, L. (2007). Cultural capital and family involvement in children’s education: Tales from two primary schools in Cyprus. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(4), 473-487.

Author Information

Raquel-Amaya Martínez-González

Universidad de Oviedo

Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación

Oviedo

Deborah Williams

North Park University

Education

Chicago

220

Loizos Symeou

European University Cyprus

Education Sciences

Aradipppou

Alessandro Pepe

University of Milano, Biccoca, Italy

Loredana Addimando

University of Milano-Bicocca

Psychology

Milan

104

Mª Jose Rodrigo Lopez

University of La Laguna, Spain

BEATRIZ RODRIGUEZ RUIZ

UNIVERSITY OF LA LAGUNA

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE

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