Improving Parental Involvement in Children's Education

DAY THREE SUMMARYYesterday's contributors included the head of a teachers college, a school principal, two PTA executive members, a teacher, a parent, and the two discussion moderators.  The dialogue was very stimulating and a challenge to summarise, but here are some of the key points I drew from the exchanges:1.   When the school leadership, or even just one teacher, shows interest in individual parents and seeks ways to engage them, there are "win-win" outcomes--children do better, parents feel valued, and the school benefits from greater cooperation and participation.  Both research and personal testimony were used to underscore this point.2.   When teachers listen to what parents have to tell them about their children, they can learn how best to deal with individual children's different learning styles.  Parents often do not have the confidence to express what they know, but teachers can encourage this and learn from it.3.   Home visits are great ways for teachers to get to know the background and families of the children in their classrooms.  As one contributor said, "I got my students to do so much more.  I made them accountable because they and their parents realised I was deeply interested in their welfare".  I heard a school principal recently assert that her teaching staff MUST do home visits regularly as part of their job; parent participation in her urban school is very strong.  (So Christopher, it's not only possible in "ol' time rural Jamaica!)4.   Parents who "neglect their God-given responsibilities in taking care of their children" (as one contributor put it) can be very discouraging to teachers and school administrators.  However, experience demonstrates that "shaming and blaming" parents (e.g. treating them like children) rarely has positive effect, but rather pushes them away from cooperating.  Instead, appealing to the strengths or aspirations which all parents have in some degree can go much further in engaging them in dialogue and cooperation on goals for their children.  Parents in all strata "want the best for their children"; finding a way to connect positively with that aspiration is the challenge.5.   It is unfortunate that to date few current classroom teachers have waded in on this discussion.  This is a very busy end-of-year period for them, so it is understandable.  It would not be surprising if some didn't feel defensive at some of the suggestions in this discussion that school climates often discourage parent participation.  Some might say:  "But we are overworked as it is!  And underpaid!  What more can you expect us to do...take on the parents as well?"  While we can empathise with this reality for our teachers, there is sufficient evidence within our schools that when teachers DO engage with parents in relation to both their children's and the school's goals, their own work can be eased--both because they get concrete help from the parents, but also because the children respond better to this expression of personal interest.6.   It was very encouraging to read the day's exchanges between two PTA executive members from two different schools.  From the examples they offered of ways in which parents can become engaged, it is clear that the teachers do not have to carry the responsibility of parent involvement alone.  A vibrant PTA can go a long way in assisting the school administration and teachers to engage parents in a variety of meaningful ways.  It was most encouraging to read that these two schools plan to have dialogue on ways to broaden and enrich the parent school engagement opportunities, and that they commend to the National PTA organisation some of the ideas which have been proffered within this four-day discussion.7.    Finally, we were cautioned against generalising about parents, as is often done in public statements.  There are deeply engaged and concerned parents at all levels of society, and there are too-young or unprepared or overstressed parents overwhelmed with the requirements of their children, and there are many variants in between these extremes.  We do well to avoid generalising about the parent populations of our schools, and instead seek ways to know the personal situations, as well as the individual talents and interests which every parent body offers to a school, in order to design avenues for more and more parents to feel a part of their childrn's education and personal development.Grace and I are enjoying the discussions.  Today we hope there are more specific ideas and experiences shared that can re-inspire us to take up the challenge of aiding parents in their investments in their children.  We can only gain from such endeavours.  Have a great day!   

Comments (22)

Mrsdouglas 's picture
Mrsdouglas

Thank you so much i would love to be able to share

Grace_Mclean's picture
Grace_Mclean

Hello Everyone,I certainly enjoyed following the rich discussion on parenting and the many experiences you have shared regarding participating in PTAs as well adjusting and assist our students based on their learning styles. I have found the discussion quite instructive and will be utilizing some of the suggestions made in the policy and operational activities of the Ministry.Thank you all and I do look forward to the other discussion.Cheers

Ken Matthews's picture
Ken Matthews

Ditto, very grateful for insight!  

Mrsdouglas 's picture
Mrsdouglas

Excellent work . Well done Cecille for being a caring teacher, all it takes is a whole school approach with commitment from all staff. Perhaps your school could serve as a model for the Ministry of Education!

Rebecca_Tortello's picture
Rebecca_Tortello

Hello everyone,  As an advisor to the Honourable Minister of Education with responsibility for parenting issues, I have been following the discussion, comments and suggestions with great interest. I appreciate the diversity of experience included among participants and also note the wonderful resources posted. It is indeed a rich resource for the soon-to-be-established National Parenting Support Commission. We will certainly review all that has been posted and discussed as we seek to implement our Parenting Support Strategy. I warn you now that this is likely to be a LONG post....as I seek to explain the strategy that the MOE is employing and the work completed to date. The Strategy is based on beginning with, and celebrating, parents' strengths, and as such, it is closely tied to the recently tabled National Parenting Support Strategy soon to go to debate in Parliament.  The Strategy is deliberately named (including the word 'support') so as to emphasize the strengths-based approach. The vision presented in the Policy is as follows: All parents in Jamaica – whether — by virtue of having given birth, adopting or serving as guardians - recognize, accept and discharge their duty to ensure that the rights of children are always upheld, the best interests of children are always promoted and their children are always loved and provided with opportunities and resources to achieve their full potential and ultimate fulfillment, within safe, caring and nurturing environments This vision is articulated through 5 goals: 

  1. All Jamaicans make wise choices about becoming parents and make parenting a priority.
  2. All Jamaican children are loved, nurtured and protected instinctively and unconditionally by their parents.
  3. Each parent understands and utilizes/applies positive practices in effective parenting
  4. An enabling institutional framework exists to support parenting.
  5. Ensuring that the principles and implications of effective parenting are communicated to the public in user friendly ways that enable comprehension of the material.

 The Policy is also grounded in the intention of ensuring that our parents are aware of and understand what their responsibilities are under the law and that they are supported as they seek to meet these responsibilities, by promoting and coordinating organizational efforts and resources throughout the country that parents need to realise positive parenting practices. However, the Government also intends to ensure that our parents understand the consequences of defaulting on their responsibilities to their children under the law.  The Policy, and its accompanying Parenting Support Strategy, will be implemented by the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC), and the bill to enact that multisectoral agency is on its way to the Legislative Subcommittee of Cabinet. The basic structure for the NPSC, its job descriptions/TORs and subcommittee TORs, are already drafted and ready for the board to review once appointed by the Honourable Minister in order to enable a quick start for that entity. We know that the majority of Jamaicans, despite many challenges, have managed/are managing to successfully raise their children, and through the NPSC we will acknowledge their successes and the best practices at work across the island. Together and through this policy, the NPSC, our schools and other parenting partners, we will elevate parenting on the national agenda and provide concrete, equitable support to our nation’s parents. The Ministry of Education recognises that parents are our students’ first and, in many cases, most important teachers. Supportive, consistent parental involvement is therefore critical to a strong education system and that is why we are spearheading this work. So although we have been waiting for the legal establishment of the NPSC, the 'NPSC' has still been at work through consultancies headed by Parenting Partners Caribbean (PPC) to implement the key component of the support strategy - the Parents' Places. PPC (through a World Bank funded programme) has developed  standards  for parenting programme content and delivery based on local and international research on parenting best practices and Jamaica's own critical parenting issues - many of which have been mentioned/discussed in this week's postings.  A major part of the NPSC’s activities will be to facilitate the establishment of “Parents’ Places” islandwide, drawing on aspects of existing community/government and business places and resources. Developed by Parenting Partners Caribbean (PPC), again funded bythe World Bank, the strategy recommends three levels of Parents’ Places: If you have reached this far, we hope that you will see that a lot of thought and work has been put into better coordinating and supporting parenting as it relates to our school system. All of what I have posted here is doable and achievable in short order and this is so because wherever we have taken the ideas and sought feedback, from the Policy consultations, the consultations on the NPSC, the consultations on the parenting support strategy (all of which have been diverse in terms of stakeholder representation and participatory in nature) there has been an overwhelming interest and willingness to work together to create a more enabling fsupport network for our nation's parents.  We are happy to report that the Parents' Places will be launched later this year (Sept/Oct) and at least 7 that represent different typs of institutions - GOJ, NGO, Church, and the private sector - will be up and running.  PPC has worked out (again with significant input from the sectors that traditionally work with parents) an application and review process as well as an implementation support process. A wider call for institutions to join in and create Parents' Places out of their exsiting resources will go out at that time. Parenting Support Kits with resource material for the first 100 Parents' Places have already been created - all Parents' Places will receive one of these kits.  In  addition, training has begun for existing GOJ/NGO staff to enable them to support Parents' Places as they develop islandwide. As the NPSC learns and grows, and as the nature of parenting and services for parenting change, its objectives and strategies will be evaluated and adapted to strengthen the national response to parenting matters. We look forward to your feedback and to more ideas and additional input so that together we can create a Jamaica where no parent will ever have to say "I did not know where to go to get help" and no school will complain - "I have trouble getting my parents to come to school and participate in their children's education." Level 1 is an information centre and most easily achieved in partnership with the Jamaica Library Service network and the nation’s schools.Level 2 Parents’ Places include information as in Level 1 but also the provision of parenting workshops and family support activities. These are most easily achieved through non-governmental, faith- and community-based organizations, churches, schools with active PTAs, early childhood education centres and adolescent focused youth information centres.Level 3 adds specialized services for parents and children with higher levels of risk or vulnerability to what is offered in levels 1 and 2. These will likely be clinical care facilities such as health clinics. There are suggestions too for a virtual level 4 linked to all other levels to facilitate additional information and training. In addition, it is recommended that all schools create a Parent Corner, supported by the NPSC which will regularly share relevant material and information. Through this Parent Corner in schools (a version of which can be found in some schools already by the way), we will also seek to gather and share best practices in linking home and school.  In addition, the Policy includes a Parenting Charter, and a public education campaign is in development salted for launch later this year - with significant support from UNICEF.  Now, I should pause to acknowledge UNICEF's consistent and longterm support for parenting activities - most recently, they have been instrumental in the policy development, and now in the parenting strategy implementation components, including the trainings and the upgrading of a soon-to-be released (GIS mapped) directory of services for children/families. The MOE has also already drafted a course for teachers to be offered through the Jamaica Teaching Council on that same topic which will become part of teacher licensing requirements. We look forward to working closely with PTAs and guidance counsellors and all school staff to create Parent Corners to provide information to parents on a regular basis - the NPSC website will be a valuable tool in this effort as will the MOE's system of communicating to schools through its regular School Bulletins and workshops. The  library network, whose collection has recently been audited for type and range of parenting material and connections to the national standards for parenting program content, will also be a powerful ally.  The network's parenting collection will soon be upgraded so that at minimum ALL parish libraries (at best, all parish, branch AND mobile libraries) will have a core set of parenting reference material (print, web, audio/visual) on hand for parents to access - serving quite quickly as Level One Parents' Places. 

Collin's picture
Collin

Dear Rebecca Tortello, I read your post with great interest and bemusement. Interest since the contents appear well intentioned and display extensive thinking and plans related to enriching parental involvement and skills. Bemusement because it continues a trend in my beloved island here not to build on existing structures, but to embark onnew ventures that replicate, duplicate and sometimes evenundermine existing ones.  Why not direct the proposed time, efforts, resources and plans of the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC), towards strengthening the National Parents Teachers Association of Jamaica. Yes, you may contend that the two associations have different focuses but if producing better parents is the aim at the end of the day, then concentrating our attention and resources in one strong, effective associatiopn may reap better results. Two commisioners could for example sit on the NPTAJ executive to articulate and direct the goverment's positions but collectively this strong body could lead the struggle nationally in helping all of us to be better parents. Just a thought. Warm regards,Collin Greenland,Jamaica College- PTA President

Janet_Brown's picture
Janet_Brown

Cecile, Collin,It's important that you know that the NPTAJ has been involved in the consultations for both the NPSC and more recently the planning of the Parents' Place Strategy. I would agree that the NPTAJ will need to work closely with the NPSC; Rebecca could best answer the question about representation, but there is no doubt that the PTA organisation would need to be central to the promulgation of any new oversight body.The Parents' Place strategy is built on the assumption that we should build on what exists. That is why the Places will be in existing organisations using in the main existing personnel and resources, drawing on personnel within other organisations and Ministries to assist with programmes. For it to work it will have to be multi-sectoral and collaborative. All those who have been in on the many levels of consultations on this strategy to date (including two successive presidents of the NPTAJ) have given positive support and input to this idea.Schools themselves can certainly be sites for Parents' Places; we hope many will apply when the official time comes after the launch. Thanks again for the stimulating exchange.JanetJanet

Pages