Family-school partnerships in a multilingual context

Research indicates that cooperation between parents and school contributes to the academic and social-emotional development of children (Bakker et al., 2013; Epstein, 2020). Governments therefore encourage teachers to invest in family-school partnerships (De Bruïne et al., 2014). However, teachers feel ill-prepared to work together with parents (De Bruïne et al., 2014, 2018; Epstein & Sanders, 2006; Hannon & O’Donnell, 2021). Even more in the education of newcomer students, teachers experience many problems in the pursuit of family-school partnerships (FSP), such as the lack of a shared language, differences in school systems and upbringing and different expectations regarding mutual accessibility, availability and responsibilities.

Analyses of the difficulties that teachers experience in the pursuit of FSP in multilingual contexts reveal that teachers attribute challenges to linguistic, cultural, attitudinal, practical, socio-economic and political factors (Anthony-Newman, 2019; Bakker et al., 2013; Bouakaz, 2007). Researchers recommend teachers to adopt a personal approach (Bouakaz, 2007; Georgis et al., 2014), encourage parental input (Anthony-Newman, 2019) and adopt a responsive attitude to the home language and cultural backgrounds (Bakker et al., 2013; Georgis et al., 2014). However it is not entirely clear what this means concretely for action, nor what this promising approaches mean for teacher preparation.

Teacher training 

Over the years several researchers have advocated for curriculum improvement in teacher education with attention to the importance of FSP, improving communication skills, school-wide approaches and policies, the role and attitude of teachers in entering into partnerships and building valuable relationships with parents based on equality (Epstein, 2020; De Bruïne et al., 2018; Hannon & O’Donnell, 2021; Kassenberg et al., 2016). Positive attitudes towards parents and the presence of well-developed communication skills would be crucial for teachers to enter into FSP (Esptein & Sanders, 2006). Nevertheless, the improvements are hardly applied due to an overcrowded curriculum (Mutton et al., 2018).

Meanwhile student teachers wish to learn how to build meaningful relationships with parents on the basis of equality and to improve their communication skills. They want to expand their competences ‘by gaining real-life experiences with parents, and by talking to and learning from more experienced teachers in service’ (De Bruïne et al., 2018, p. 392). In addition, by sharing good practice experiences, more information can be collected about practical tools, responsive training and support (Epstein, 2020).

Practical experiences appear to be an important resource in preparing student teachers. However, it is known that practical experiences alone do not necessarily improve learning. They become important to the learning process when meaning is given to them. By reflecting on practical experiences, they become learning experiences (Stappers et al., 2018). To achieve deeper learning experiences, it is recommended to reflect on positive experiences instead of negative ones (Korthagen, 2012).

Research question

Though research on FSP often focuses on what teachers in mainstream primary education need and on the problems experienced by teachers in multilingual contexts, little is known about how teachers can prepare for FSP in a multilingual context and what this means for their attitude and communication. Student teachers and researchers (De Bruïne et al., 2018; Epstein, 2020) indicate that practical experiences of experienced teachers can be a valuable resource. To find out how these learning experiences can contribute to the professionalization of teachers it is important to investigate how experienced teachers have developed in this. 

Our study therefore focuses on the following research question: What are the learning experiences of experienced primary school teachers in the pursuit of family-school partnerships in a multilingual context with regard to their attitude and communication?

In 2021/2022, an interpretive study was conducted on the learning experiences of primary school teachers in pursuing FSP in a multilingual context. The aims of the study were first to describe teachers’ learning experiences that can give direction to teacher professionalization and second to operationalize the concepts 'attitude' and 'communication' in multilingual contexts to support teachers and student teachers in pursuing FSP in practice. A narrative approach was chosen to collect the data (Creswell, 2009). Narrative interviews were held with ten experienced primary school teachers of newcomers. The respondents were asked to tell three successful experience stories, which characterize their attitudes and communication in the pursuit of FSP in a multilingual context. Then reflection question related to their experiences, attitudes and communication were asked, such as 'What characterizes your attitude in the success stories you've shared?'. Through these reflection questions, the experiences were discussed on a deeper level. The respondents worked at five different primary schools ranging from special schools for newcomer education to regular schools with a few newcomer students. All schools had FSP as a focus, which means that extra attention is paid to professionalization, facilities and activities aimed at FSP. Respondents were invited to participate in the survey because they were seen by their management and team members as examples of pursuing FSP in a multilingual context. The qualitative data analysis was performed in two phases. In the first phase, a thematic analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2013; Verhoeven, 2020) was performed on the fully transcribed interviews. The fragments were linked to the concepts ‘learning experiences’, ‘attitude’ and ‘communication’. Subsequently, all fragments of the concepts ‘attitude’ and ‘communication’ were coded and thematized. This involved both an inductive and a deductive process (Verhoeven, 2020). An audit trail was used to describe the steps that were taken and to justify the choices in the analysis process (Akkerman et al., 2008). A chronological analysis was used to describe the learning experiences (Creswell, 2009). A distinction was made between learning experiences with regard to attitude and learning experiences with regard to communication. The chronological analysis leads to a description of insights that have been built up over time and provides insight into the learning process. The insights were summarized by the researcher and presented to the respondents for a member check. This added a validation check to the analysis (Creswell & Miller, 2000).

The description of experienced teachers' learning experiences provides a rich database of illustrations of solutions to problems experienced by teachers in the pursuit of FSP in a multilingual context. The insights of the respondents sometimes differ greatly, for example with regard to the pursuit of equality. Respondent J. says about this: 'I have learned that equality in contacts with parents is not always possible. Sometimes my attitude is omniscient and I am very clear about the expectations and possibilities'. On the opposite, respondent A. says: 'I have learned to give parents the space to make their own decisions, perhaps less effective, but I think it is important that they are empowered’. The description of the learning experiences also shows that investing in cooperation with parents in the education of newcomers is a continuous learning process. In the eyes of the respondents, this requires a learning attitude that is characterized by motivation to invest, daring to be vulnerable, daring to make mistakes, learning to deal with surprises, sharing practical experiences with the team, reflecting on experiences, having self-knowledge, being solution-oriented and willing to change. The operationalization of the concepts 'attitude' and 'communication' each lead to six themes. The six themes that were extracted from the fragments relating to attitude are: 1. Being inviting 2. Being understanding 3. Being diligent 4. Being willing to learn 5. Being responsible 6. Being cooperative The six themes that were extracted from the fragments relating to communication are: 1. Choosing the languages 2. Choosing the purpose 3. Choosing the channel 4. Choosing the setting 5. Choosing the conversation techniques 6. Choosing the non-verbal communication During the presentation we would like to discuss what the results of this research can mean for further research and teacher professionalization.

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