RESEARCHING PARENT ENGAGEMENT: a qualitative field study Christine Woodrow, Margaret Somerville, Loshini Naidoo and Kerith Power ARACY 1
PE Project Purpose • To provide evidence and practical tools that equip parents to support their children to engage with learning and enable teachers, school leaders and principals to further encourage and embrace parent engagement, thereby embedding it in the normal day-to-day activities of Australian families, teachers and schools, maximising student education and social outcomes. ARACY 2
Inputs Measurement Building the and Profile through What Evaluation communication collaboration Framework works and networks Outcomes Child Child Parent Engagement Learning Wellbeing ARACY 3
Building profile and shared understand ing what works Measurem ent and Evaluation ARACY 4
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, CALD, low SES and Disability families Building the profile Measurement What and evaluation works ARACY 5
RESEARCHING PARENT ENGAGEMENT: a qualitative field study Christine Woodrow, Margaret Somerville, Loshini Naidoo and Kerith Power ARACY 6
The Centre for Educational Research Research Aims Aim 1: To explore the perspectives on learning of parents and • educators Aim 2: To investigate the views on the roles of parents and educators • in relation to children’s learning Aim 3: To identify the barriers and enablers of parent engagement in • children’s learning Aim 4: To make recommendations for future actions in relation to the • findings ARACY 7
Key Questions The Centre for Educational Research Perspectives on Learning – Where does most of a child’s learning happen? – What do you think helps children to learn? – What does successful learning mean to you? Roles of Parents – Do parents have a role in children’s learning? – What are parents’ roles in helping children to learn? – Can parents and family affect how well a child does at school? ARACY 8
The Centre for Educational Research Research Design Ethnographic Study 4 Strands of focus • Aboriginal Communities Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Low SES Communities and Children with Special Needs Parent and Educator ‘voices’ • 50 Focus Groups (WA, SA, NSW, TAS, NT, QLD, (Vic) 160 • parents, 150 educators, Education support and NGO Thematic Analysis – Case Studies • ARACY 9
RESEARCHING PARENT ENGAGEMENT: a qualitative field study Christine Woodrow, Margaret Somerville, Loshini Naidoo and Kerith Power ARACY 10
The Centre for Educational Research Aboriginal parents & schools • Professor Margaret Somerville • Centre for Educational Research ARACY 11
The Centre for Educational Research Recruitment • ‘Aboriginal parents will not turn up’ • Strategies from ground up • Locations: Urban rural remote • Characteristics of focus groups • 400 pages of transcripts and analysis ARACY 12
The Centre for Educational Research Where does most of a child’s learning happen? • Aboriginal culture as conceptual framework • Early learning, the first teachers • Land, language, history, story • Learning Respect, an overarching concept ARACY 13
The Centre for Educational Research What helps children to learn? • Understanding different ways of learning andapplying them in school • Teaching Aboriginal culture and language in schools • Attending to basic physical and emotional needs at home and in school • Providing support for Aboriginal children’s learning at home and in school ARACY 14
The Centre for Educational Research What does success in learning mean? • Fills my soul, my heart up with such happiness • Being able to apply in real life situations • Growing in self esteem and confidence, becoming a better person in life • Knowing about who they are and their identity ARACY 15
The Centre for Educational Research Enablers of Aboriginal parent engagement • Establishing relationships • Educational engagement • Programs with outside agencies • Cultural/out of school learning ARACY 16
The Centre for Educational Research Common barriers • Family pressures, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence • Negative experiences of school, low levels of education, illiteracy • Lack of knowledge of new methods of teaching and learning • Time poor – parents who work or those with young children ARACY 17
The Centre for Educational Research Parallel barriers identified by parents & teachers Lack of cultural knowledge of non-Aboriginal custodial parents • Instability of Aboriginal children’s care arrangements, particularly adolescents • Different language of parenting, different cultural practices • Teachers’ sense of inadequacy in relation to Aboriginal protocols, sensitivities • Intergenerational change and loss of cultural authority • Impact of technology on family life and communication • Emotional difficulties, becoming angry at the school, children who are angry • Parents fear of being judged, concerns about DoCS involvement • ARACY 18
Findings & way forward The Centre for Educational Research • Two parallel worlds of teachers and Aboriginal parents, each with much to offer the other • Need to access remote communities in Aboriginal lands for complete picture • Expressed need from both parties to build on conversations • Take up option of drawing on energy and motivation of both parties to develop locally relevant resources ARACY 19
RESEARCHING PARENT ENGAGEMENT: a qualitative field study Christine Woodrow, Margaret Somerville, Loshini Naidoo and Kerith Power ARACY 20
The Centre for Educational Research Low SES School Community Contexts • Associate Professor Christine Woodrow • Centre for Educational Research ARACY 21
Perspectives on Learning The Centre for Educational Research • Home as the place where values are inculcated • Importance of safe and supportive home learning environments • Value of contribution home experiences not recognised by parents • Challenges of daily survival leave little opportunity to focus on their children’s learning for some parents ARACY 22
The Centre for Educational Research Perspectives on Learning • Some educators lack understanding of challenges of living in vulnerable circumstances and undervalue learning at home • Community-based organisations and schools understand importance of strong foundations for learning being provided in the home • Parents mostly value education as pathway out of disadvantage ARACY 23
The Centre for Educational Research Parent and educator perspectives on parent roles Parent views are sometimes ambiguous and contradictory about how they see their role in • children’s learning Educators have clear expectations that parents send their children to school clean, fed and • ‘ready to learn’ Parents feel inadequate to contribute to their children’s learning • Most educators want greater ‘involvement’ of families in school. • Community based organisations have knowledge and skills to support vulnerable families • ARACY 24
RESEARCHING PARENT ENGAGEMENT: a qualitative field study Christine Woodrow, Margaret Somerville, Loshini Naidoo and Kerith Power ARACY 25
The Centre for Educational Research Cuturally & linguistically diverse parents • Associate Professor Loshini Naidoo • Centre for Educational Research ARACY 26
Parent’s views about where a child learns • Different understandings and experiences of schools. • Learning happens both in the school and the home • Parents saw their role as support for their children ARACY 27
Parents defined academic: Supporting student learning Homework Discipline Curriculum content ARACY 28
4. Limited use 5. High dependence of textbooks on worksheets 3. Curriculum not challenging for students 6. Cultural mismatch 2. Difficult to between teachers and understand course students content Key 7 . Importance 1. Homework of respect and concerns completion discipline of parents 29
3. Parents lack of 2. Parents’ support limited engagement interpreted as to classroom management lack of interest in school 1. Parents too reliant on 4. Those parents who educators Key most needed to engage, did not. concerns of educators 30
Language Due to their lack of sanctioned cultural capital and knowledge of the • Australian educational school system, many parents with limited English language skills delegated responsibility for education to their children Parents were unsure how to influence school discipline policy and • educator’s pedagogy as they felt ill -equipped educationally to intervene in the school processes. ARACY 31
Barriers and enablers Barriers Lack of Time-work No Social Failure to cultural constraints common Isolation acculturate capital language Move from Intercultural Connection Understand Good Involvement Understand- with language planning to barriers ing families engagement Enablers ARACY 32
Schools with successful CALD parent engagement have: Community Liaison Translation officers Services Bilingual Teachers Teacher Strong Effective Professional Community Communication Development links ARACY 33 33
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