Making partnerships real

Caz Bosch believes that the culture of the school can be altered to reduce parental hostility, stimulate parents' personal development and help to build community capacity and social capital.

The idea that families and schools should now see themselves as partners is a radical departure from (the accepted view) that these are parallel but largely disconnected institutions.
Denis Muller, Family–School Partnerships Project, 2006

Maybe it was a bit rich to tie federal funding for schools to flag-poles and posters, but let's face it—at least these conditions weren't all that hard to meet. What if Australian schools were required to systematically address parental involvement as is the case in America? More to the point, what if our schools were required to be accountable for the implementation of effective family–school partnerships?

Some progress has been made since the Australian Parents Council (APC) and the Australian Council of State School Organisations (ACSSO) persuaded the federal government to invest in the development of a Family–School Partnership Framework in 2004. But not enough: the nuts and bolts of effective partnerships are understood by too few people, and support in the form of policy development, resource allocations and home-grown research is insufficient to drive the required cultural change.

Family–school partnership is a phrase that has slipped into the schooling sector's lexicon with relative ease, but translating it into meaningful practice is an entirely different thing.

As Denis Muller pointed out in Family–School Partnerships Project: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study, historical and other circumstances have inadvertently conspired to encourage many parents to step back from the education of their children. Parents expect schools, often unfairly, to shoulder more and more responsibility. Parents feel disempowered, if not disenfranchised, by the ever-widening gap between what they learnt and what their children are learning. Parents are busier, lack understanding or confidence in their role as continuing educators, and all too often believe they're not really wanted—except to fundraise and front up when there's a problem or school event.

Schools often bemoan the lack of parental involvement, vow and believe that they're working hard to address this, and ultimately turn in frustration to the 'same old, same olds' when things need to be done. But the research clearly shows that parent beliefs and attitudes are only part of the problem. Teachers are more likely to reach out to families for negative rather than positive reasons and to value involvement when it fits their definition of what is important. They are also inclined to measure involvement on the basis of what they see and therefore fail to appreciate the active support parents provide in home and conversation contexts.

New ways of thinking about the respective roles of parents and professional educators are needed along with a substantial re-think about what empowerment means and how it can be achieved. School language often focuses on 'needing to empower parents to engage in their children's education' and 'bringing parents along for the ride' but there is good reason to also talk about educating and empowering teachers to engage and partner with families. The lead role of principals in the development of best practice family–school partnerships, and the extent to which school systems support or constrain them in this role, is another leverage point if the intention is to make partnerships real.

Much has been learned from the 2005 trial of the Family–School Partnership Framework, which involved 61 schools and delivered 26 key findings and 12 best practice case studies. We know that genuine family–school partnerships produce significant educational and social gains. We know that five key characteristics underpin such partnerships: the school leadership's willingness to consult and listen, to be responsive, to be welcoming, to find out the real needs of parents rather than make assumptions, and their efforts to nurture an open, inclusive culture. We know that the single most important factor in the achievement of best practice in partnerships is the school principal. We also know that principals and teachers, not just parents, will need to be educated if partnerships are to grow and embed in school cultures.

While the draft Family–School Partnership Framework and related recommendations were on the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs' (MCEETYA) agenda for a long time, the Council's recent endorsement of the framework is most welcome. Sectors and jurisdictions will now be challenged and obliged to proactively respond to the inherent potential of familyþschool partnerships. And let's not forget—these don't just improve educational outcomes for students, although this alone would be a worthy cause. They can also positively alter school culture, reduce parental hostility, stimulate parents' personal development and help to build community capacity and social capital.

APC and ACSSO are pushing ahead. They welcomed the Rudd Government's commitment earlier this year to seed fund the establishment of another joint venture, the Family–School & Community Partnerships Bureau. Now open for business and with a dedicated website under development, the Bureau first intends to produce some partnership 'talk tools' and undertake a select review of the schools that participated in the 2005 trial. Down the track, it aims to consolidate learnings from other APC/ACSSO initiatives, including APC's highly effective Successful Learning in the Early Years of Schooling: The Indigenous Parent Factor, and progress the development of teacher pre- and in-service training curricula in respect of parent engagement and partnerships.

It sounds like a hefty agenda and it is, given available funds and other resources. But if the Productivity Agenda Working Group that sits under the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is serious about its stated policy intention to boost parental engagement in schooling and early childhood development, it is just the tip of a very big iceberg.

Reference

Muller, D et al (2006). Family–School Partnerships Project: A qualitative and quantitative study, prepared for DEST, ACSSO and APC. © Commonwealth of Australia

Web reference

www.austparents.edu.au

Caz Bosch is president of the Australian Parents Council, Immediate past president of the Federation of Catholic School Parent Communities (SA) and Rostrevor College Board Chair.

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