When schools and families make learning a priority, students can soar, according to Independent Schools Queensland.
It’s estimated that 15 per cent of a student’s life will have been spent at school by the time they graduate Year 12. A good proportion of this balance, after taking into account after-school activities and commitments, is spent with parents and carers. This represents a huge, and often untapped, potential for families to have a positive impact on their child’s learning and wellbeing, and a potential that governments, policy makers and school leaders are increasingly alert to.
Harnessing the power of parents in the learning process is a concept known as ‘parent engagement,’ and 60 years of research in Australia and overseas shows that there are many positive benefits to this approach.
When parents are engaged, work in partnership with their child’s teacher, and able to value-add to what is being taught in the classroom, students generally:
– Do better
– Stay in school longer
– Are more engaged in their homework
– Behave better
– Have better social skills
Parent engagement is also enshrined in the standards to which our principals and teachers benchmark their work (Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 3.7, 7.3 and 5.5), meaning it’s something schools and teachers have to prioritise. But who is helping schools with the practical how-to of engaging parents?
The way forward
In the Queensland independent school sector, Independent Schools Queenland is supporting schools and families navigate the parent engagement puzzle with our longitudinal research project: Engaging Parents in Curriculum (EPIC).
For the last three years, we have partnered with two of Australia’s leading parent engagement experts: Dr Linda Willis and Professor Beryl Exley from Griffith University, Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network, as well as a number of Queensland independent schools who are developing and nurturing parent engagement practices and processes. EPIC is reaping rich findings. A quick summary of EPIC’s findings from the past two years includes:
– Parent engagement in learning often involves only small tweaks to a teacher’s existing practice.
– Parents are often waiting in the wings. Parents say: “Invite me in a way that is accessible to me, and I’ll be there!”
– Schools have told us that they tend to find success from making invitations to parents “short, sharp, often, optional, personalised and with purpose.” What will suit one parent won’t suit another; schools need to diversify options, with an empathy for families’ busy lives.
– Follow up any invitation to parents with a chance for them to feed back any contribution into the classroom. EPIC calls this ‘closing the loop’ and participating teachers attest to the impact of this strategy on students’ learning and wellbeing.
– Teachers have told us engaging parents (Having parents involved in the learning process) makes their job easier, not harder, and deeply rewarding.
– School leadership is crucial. If school leaders value the role of parents in children’s learning and model it, teachers will also prioritise it.
What can parents do?
One of the most helpful starting points is to understand that parent involvement and parent engagement are two different things.
Parents volunteering in the tuckshop and classroom are wonderful ways to support a school and get involved in school life, but parent engagement is about something much richer and deeper. It’s about parents taking an active interest in their child’s learning and taking part in that learning process at home.
Engagement happens when parents and schools have strong and productive relationships and communicate well. Teachers often need to take the lead in parent engagement practices, but there are also many things that parents can do. Some advice for parents on how to foster better engagement:
First impressions count
Ensure you get your relationship with your child’s teacher off to a good start by introducing yourself in the first few weeks and acknowledge that initial introductory email from your child’s teacher. The relationship between yourself and your child’s teacher is important and worth nurturing.
Be open to invitations to engage
The invitation to supervise a class excursion won’t always align with your work hours but pay attention to teachers’ notes about what is being taught that week or that term.
Do you have a way to contribute in a way the teacher may welcome and value?
The only way to find out is to volunteer your idea!
They will be more receptive than you may realise.
Model respect for learning
It’s widely accepted that a parent’s attitudes to education, and the expectations they hold for their children, can have a profound impact on how well they do at school. To model for children a respect for learning, here are five suggestions for parents, backed by research:
1. Read together. When your child is young, reading to them boosts their literacy skills but it remains important in the primary school years as well, as it fosters an enjoyment of reading and builds their confidence. But don’t stop there. If your teenage child observes the adults in their life reading for pleasure, it encourages a life-long love of books and learning.
2. Have lots of conversations with your child! Talk with them about what they are learning, what they are interested in and what’s going on in the world around them. Sharing family stories and reminiscing about family members and family times is also beneficial.
3. Have high (but realistic) expectations and aspirations for your child. Believing in your child and their abilities will help form a child’s beliefs about what they can achieve at school and beyond.
4. Creating a positive and productive environment for your child to complete their homework. Create an appropriate space for them to work, keep interactions and conversations about homework positive and ensure any rules about homework match the school’s expectations.
5. Immerse your child in a cognitively stimulating environment. This means exposing your child to lots of interesting activities and experiences. Visit museums, art galleries, surround them with books and other interesting material at home.
Parents have a deep well of knowledge
EPIC’s Dr Linda Willis says teachers have always known that parents have a deep well of knowledge and EPIC’s findings illustrate how educators can tap into that knowledge. “Engaging parents involves teachers and school leaders letting parents know why they matter and about the power of everyday conversations to improve their child’s school and life success,’’ says Dr Willis. “It’s then a case of scaffolding parents to support their child’s learning and wellbeing in ways that are natural, authentic, and fun.”
