Education

Parents and schools – teaching and learning together

1 December 2011

Involved parents mean learners with better marks, better attendance and even, a better chance of attending university

Studies and research and on the ground experience tells us that involved parents make for better students, but school management is still faced with the challenge of  encouraging parental involvement. Beatrice Ralfe, CSI practitioner at Tshikululu, describes some of the tactics schools can use to encourage engaged parents and communities.

The advantages of parents and communities getting involved in education are numerous. For the students it tends to result in higher marks, better academic skills, a reduction in school truancy, and makes it much more likely that that child will go on to tertiary education. For the school it also has possible benefits, as shown in Henderson and Mapp’s 2002 book, A New Wave of Evidence: upgraded school facilities, an increase in school leadership and staffing, better programmes for students, and new resources to improve teaching and curricula. But most importantly, getting parents and communities involved makes it possible for them to become agents of change within the education system. Since ‘active’ parents and communities are few and far between, most often the onus lies on the school to persuade parents and communities to get involved.

An essay by Eleanor Lemmer of Unisa, written in 2007, discusses the six steps that Joyce Epstein – a professor in sociology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland – advises schools to take in order to encourage parental and community involvement. The study also provides examples of these steps being effectively implemented in five South African schools: Saxonwold Primary and Rosebank Primary in Gauteng, Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo, Inkomazi Secondary School in Mpumalanga, and Bergvliet in the Western Cape.

1. The first step relates to parenting: ‘Schools should assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, family support, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions to support learning at each stage and grade level.’ A South African school in which this type of activity is prevalent is Saxonwold Primary. Each newsletter of the year constantly reinforces the responsibilities of the parents. Parents are reminded that children have to arrive on time, that no parent is allowed to leave their child to ‘loiter’ on the pavement, that children should be given a healthy breakfast, and that they should come to school with water bottles.

2. The second step is to ensure two-way communication ‘about school programmes and students’ progress’. Saxonwold stresses the importance of parents checking homework and signing homework diaries every day, ensuring this two-way communication. This can also be accomplished by the principal of a school taking the time to visit each of the parents at the school personally, or, as in the case of Mbilwi Secondary School, by calling parents at every opportunity. They call to highlight the rules and pass requirements at the beginning of the year, when a learner is seriously misbehaving, when the learner is sick, when the learner receives an award, and when Saturday classes are being held. Considering that the school has doubled in size over the past year, this is an outstanding achievement which requires serious dedication.

3. Encouraging parents to volunteer is difficult, but worthwhile. Lemmer tells us that schools must strive to become places where families and communities feel wanted. Often they are encouraged to help by participating in functions and school-improvement ventures. Saxonwold has formed a ‘Club Family’, which is comprised of those ‘willingly participating’ parents who will (hopefully) always compose some part of the parent body. Saxonwold extends invitations to parents so regularly that it is apparent that the parents fell guilty if they don’t attend at least one function a year. Once a parent attends, it is easier to get them to come again, and they gradually become more involved. These functions are held in the evenings and dinner is provided so there is no excuse for absenteeism on the part of the parent.

4. ‘Schools should involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework.’ Inkomazi asks parents to come and ‘check’ their child’s work every term so that they are better able to assist them at home. In addition, when sending their students on camps, they ask parents to come and stay with the students and prepare the food. In this way the parents – even those who are illiterate – understand how the students are working, what that work entails, and the challenges that each student faces.

5. Including parents in the school’s decision making is important. Inkomazi includes parents by asking them to attend strategy sessions about how students can be helped to achieve the best possible results. Mbilwi’s school governing body (SGB) calls parents for the budget committee meeting, and parents elect the SGB, ensuring their direct involvement in the school’s governance.

6. Epstein’s final step involves collaboration with the community. For example, Rosebank Primary is very involved with the Rosebank SAPS – they let the police use their school as a venue, and in return the police keep a close eye on the school, even helping out at various school events. Bergvliet mandates that each student must do 10 hours of community service per term. This exposes students to the needs of various communities, and the communities become more aware of and alert to children who are out of school or who are misbehaving.

Remember being given a school newsletter to take home, that ended up squashed at the bottom of your school bag? Schools should be using whatever means to reach parents and communities that works. Bergvliet is very active in this regard – they have a school website and Facebook page that keep parents and the community in touch with what is happening at the school. In addition, they send out SMSes to parents to remind them of important meetings and parent/teacher evenings.

You may think that much of this is common sense but unfortunately, as Banu Sankaran of Mbilwi succinctly writes, ‘In South Africa the school has a bigger role in shaping the youth. When we get cooperation from the parents, it is good. But most of the time we don’t get it.’

In the small selection of schools in this study, the enormous effort that goes into trying to get parents and communities involved is apparent, and shows how hard our schools are willing to work to enhance the education system in South Africa.