Managing and Organising FamilySupport

Why is it important for teachers to involve andform partnerships with families?

• Enhances the child’s learning and well-being optimises the child for classroom learning

• Enhances the professionalism of teachers parents view teachers as more professional if teachers communicated more and developed more positive relationships with them.

• The remit of the teacher extends to include supporting parents to offer a stimulating home learning environment

Understanding family structure

• Traditional families• Normed families• Vulnerable families

Traditional families

• The normal in the society.• A relative concept – what is considered

traditional today is different from what was considered traditional in the past.

Traditional families

Normed families

Would have been considered uncommon a generation ago but are now increasingly considered part of “normal” life in contemporary societies. Include:

• Single-parent families• Step-families• Grandparents as caregivers

Vulnerable families

Families whose functioning and well-being are negatively impacted by life circumstances such as financial hardship, emotional distress, and physical stress. Include:

• Homeless families• Working-poor families

Understanding family structure

Children can be effectively raised in many different family systems. It is the emotional climate of the family, rather than its kinship structure, that primarily determines a child’s emotional well being and healthy development.

Name one characteristic of these parents

• Teenage parents• Parents who are often absent school events

Unemployed parents• Illiterate parents• Parents who are deaf• Parents of a minority ethnic group

Avoid pre-judging and stereotypingparents

• To be able to develop constructive relationships with parents n your setting, it is important not to pre-judge them but have an open mind to their way and their style of parenting.

• Taking time to get to know individual parents, their interests, concern and ideas will prevent teachers from stereotyping the, as well as ensuring that they feel more valued and respected foundation for effective partnership working.

Parents’ view of professionals

How would parents like to be treated by teachers? Parents want• someone who cares about them and their children.• respect and to be seen as effective member of the child’s education

team.• to have a part in shaping the agenda that impacts them.• to see their ideas respected and used in creating quality care

environments.• competent teachers who deliver services effectively and in ways that

truly meet their needs.• to be part of a relationship that is collaborative and communicative.• a close relationship with teachers.

Understanding parenting styles

• Authoritarian parentsDisplay a high level of demanding behaviour but a low level of responsiveness to their children’s ideas and expressions of independence

• Permissive parentsTake a hands-off approach to parenting. Make few demands and instead allow their children to make their own choices and assert their independence.

• Authoritative parentsResponsive to their children’s wishes but also demand that they follow clear standards of behaviour.

What can teachers do?

• Communicate with parents using their native language.

• Translate written materials.• Use a trustworthy interpreter if needed.• Avoid using children as interpreters.• Involve parents in activities or assign parents

roles that they are comfortable with and can contribute.

PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITHLEARNING DIFFICULTIES

Parents’ reactions to children’slearning difficulties

• Grief• Ambivalence• Optimism

Parents’ reactions to children’s learningdifficulties: Grief

• It can be sadness about their child’s learning difficulties or for themselves.

• Adds to the stress of the family.• It can be a sense of loss for what the child may not become.• It may be a realisation of how their lives are different from

those of families of children who do not have difficulties.• Denial is often a part of grieving.• May be temporary or chronic.• Parents have the right to grieve about their child – a right

that teachers should respect.

Parents’ reactions to children’s learningdifficulties: Ambivalence

• Mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about the child or the learning difficulty.

• May occur as parents attempt to confirm that the child’s difficulty is not temporary or fixable, as they try to determine the best educational options for their child.

• They may ponder how their child will live as an adult.

The decisions that parents of children with learning difficulties have to make are often difficult. Parents are often given tremendous amount of information with little time for explanation. It is no wonder they may feel ambivalent!

Parents’ reactions to children’s learningdifficulties: Optimism

• To the optimistic parents, learning difficulties is just part of the configuration of needs that any child in the family might have.

• The emphasis is on the child, not the learning difficulty.• Parents may work diligently to optimise their child’s

education, and they are hopeful about their child’s future.

• They work closely with educators and others to ensure that the child’s life, whatever it may be, is the best one possible.

Principles for empowering families

• Facilitate constructive communication• Collaborate rather than direct (use “we” instead of “I”)• Control your private thoughts• Select your words appropriately• Pay attention to your body language• Respond appropriately – active listening• Defer judgement• Be helpful

• Instill realistic hope• Know your strengths and limitations

Control your private thoughts

• We often conduct private conversations with ourselves when listening to others talk. Examples: Why is she telling me this? I feel sad for him. What am I going to say when she stops talking?

• While such thoughts are normal, they nevertheless prevents us from focusing on what the other person is communicating.

• To address this challenge, follow these three rules: STOP your private thoughts, LOOK at the parent who is speaking, and really LISTEN to what the parent is saying.

Challenges of family involvementSome of the challenges…• Parent-child relationships• Parental stress• Financial hardship• Families with disabilities• Concerns about child safety, acceptance and inclusion• Families that are grieving• Families from non-dominant cultures or non-English speaking parents• Authoritarian or permissive parents• When education is not a priority in the family• Poor family attendance• Poor staff support• … and the list goes on!

Goals of family involvement• Goal #1: Support children’s education

• Parents and teachers share information about children’s learning experiences, social interactions, daily routines, health status, child’s accomplishments, strengths and weaknesses.

• Goal #2: Link children and families to community resources• Use community professionals (e.g., doctors, nutritionists, police officers, counselors) to attend to the needs of children and their families and to introduce children to community life.

• Goal #3: Build human capital• Promote children’s full potential.• Address children’s needs through programmes such as school-based after-school programmes, health clinics, individual and group counseling, foreign language enrichment programmes.• Address parents’ needs through programmes such literacy classes, computer and math classes,mental health counseling, nutritional counseling,medical services.

Strategies to organise family support

Family support centre

• Develop a family resource centre with families.• Provide space and reading materials.• Consider a virtual centre.

Family portfolio

• Develop family portfolios that are similar to classroom portfolios.

• Help families to collect samples of children’s work that documents their developmental and educational progress.

• Encourage children to work with their parents to select items they produce together.

Family workshops

• Provide families with opportunities to learn new information and develop new skills.

• Types: informational, educational or makeand- take workshops (or a combination of any of these)

Family festivals

Take family involvement activities to theworkplace

• Useful when there is a number of parents working at a local workplace.

• Contact the employer and ask if you might conduc family involvement activities or schedule parent-teacher conference onsite.

• While at the workplace, use your observational skills to identify potential topics that can be incorporated into classroom lessons.

• Remember to follow and coordinate yours, teachers’ and parents’ workplace policies.

Thank you note

• Acknowledge and honour the contributions families make to their children’s development and education.

• Feed them and they will come – also allows parents to relax and socialize with teachers and other families. Find local stores to provide meals or organise a potluck.

Task: Plan one family-school or family-school-communitypartnership that you are likely to pursue. (30 minutes)

• What will be the title of your event?• What will be the goal of your event?• What activities will you provide that support children’

development and education?• How will you involve families in the event?• Describe the roles and responsibilities that teachers and agency

personnel will assume in planning and carrying out the event.• How will you ensure sustainability of goal after the event?• What sort of information will you include in your event materials

(e.g., power point slides, handbook).• Develop an informational flyer that explains why and how families

should work with teachers to support the goal of the event.

Thank You