1. Families as Partners in Learning
What does this mean
Why does it matter?
Why should we care?
How do we do it?
Explanatory Notes:
This presentation is intended to provide families with:
An overview of the research supporting the need for the development of family-school partnerships
An understanding of why partnerships are important
An understanding of the different aspects of partnerships and the impact on your child’s learning and education results
Advice on how family-school partnerships can be started or improved
Where to go for more information.
The presentation draws on an extensive amount of research and practical experience from Australia and around the world.

2. A few definitions before we start
Partnership
Education / Learning
Families
Some Definitions
Partnership - By partnership we mean everyone who is involved in your child’s education working together to improve their learning results.
Education / Learning – Education most often refers to the formal process of educating (usually performed by a teacher) or being educated. Learning can be considered more broadly to refer to the knowledge, skills or attitudes obtained or developed by a learning process that may or may not happen at school.
Families - The terms parents and families are used interchangeably in this presentation to refer to all adults who have responsibility for any child or children.

3. We need a change in focus: From
Families
Students
School/Teachers
We need a change in focus - WHY DOES THIS MATTER
Traditionally, family involvement has been seen as families being invited to come into the school to be involved in a range of activities such as reading, fundraising, special activities etc. The focus in the past has mainly been on what suits the school or on the ‘way we’ve always done it’ and not necessarily on meeting the needs of the child or young person. While many families report they are often quite often actively involved in the Early Years of education (such as at preschool and early primary school), it is not surprising that much has been written about the drop in family engagement when children move onto secondary school.
This is what needs to change. We need to have a better way of actively involving families in their child’s education, because the research shows that when families are involved in their child’s education and learning, children and young people simply do much better. Parental engagement is one of the best predictors for how well a child will do at school. It is more important than the family’s own educational level, earning income and a range of other factors.
Some parents and teachers say that “parents in this school are not interested in their children’s education”. This view is often based on the absence of parents from school functions. However, family members do not come into schools for a variety of reasons – they may have had poor experiences at school themselves, their work or other family commitments may make this difficult, or there may be cultural barriers. This does NOT mean that they are not interested in their child’s learning. Research shows that the vast majority of parents ARE very interested in their children’s education and in fact, most schools are hard pressed to really find a parent who does not care at all about their child’s education.
Indeed, teachers often underestimate both the actual amount that families are involved in their children's learning and also families’ very real desire to be able to help their children more with their education

4. We need a change in focus: To
School – Early Childhood Service
Family
Community
Resources
Services
Child
Political
Social
Cultural
Economy
Labour Markets
We need a change in focus - WHY DOES THIS MATTER
However, if family engagement is viewed from the perspective of the child or young person, it is clear that families do continue to play a role in their children’s learning throughout their school years. This involvement involves more than just helping with homework. Family engagement in education is all the things families can and do to help their child to learn. It ranges from ensuring their child has a space to study, is free from distraction and is getting adequate rest, to asking their child to explain what they are learning, to helping their child access sporting or community based programs, and lots more.
Indeed, as young people progress through secondary school many families find it difficult, if not impossible to keep up with everything their child is learning at school and to be able to help them with the content of their school work. However, there is a lot that they can do that makes a very positive impact on their child’s education.
The partnership focus recognises that learning occurs in a variety of environments and in many ways, (much of it outside of the school or classroom) and it is the role of effective schools, the community and families, to support that education.

5. Where do we do most of our learning?
Life-long and life-wide learning
Learning starts at birth.
If we take into consideration all the environments in which children and young people learn, we start to consider the formal environment (ie school) as well as the informal environment (eg the home, sporting clubs, extra curricula activities, technology, media, peer groups etc) as places where learning occurs.
This slide shows that the formal learning for the years P-12 (that is, while the child is at school) , the peak times, still only amounts to 18.5% of all learning that occurs.
It is therefore critical that the other 81.5% of children and young people’s waking hours be recognised as legitimate and important learning environments, and that schools and families put in place actions to enhance the education that occurs during this time.
Source: Banks, J et al, 2007, Learning in & out of school in diverse environments

6. The research in unequivocal…Kids do better at school when parents are involved in their child’s schooling
High performing schools have high levels of family and community involvement
This holds equally true for ‘high poverty’ schools as it does for white, middle class schools
In fact, family participation in education has been found to be twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socio-economic status
Greatest impact in areas of highest disadvantage
Holds true across ALL levels of education – all ages, all stages
What does the research say?
The research is very clear: High performing schools have high levels of family and community involvement. This holds true regardless of the families’ income level, culture or education background.
In fact, children and young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds do much better when families and school staff join together to bridge the gap between home and school cultures.
The more actively families are involved in their child’s education the better the education results - put simply, kids do better when their families are involved in their education.
The sooner parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects will be.
Schools with the most effective family partnership programs offer a variety of ways in which families can participate.
Family-school partnerships lead to increased retention rates, reduced absenteeism, less substance abuse or disruptive behaviours, and better social skills at both home and school.

7. Benefits for children & young people
Higher grades and test scores
Higher self-esteem
Improved social competence
Concerns are sorted more quickly when parents have a positive relationship with staff
Improved school graduation rates
Increased enrolment in post secondary education
What are the benefits of Family-School Partnerships for children and young people?
Higher grades and test scores - it is easier to learn with support from home.
Higher self-esteem - children and young people have a greater sense of personal competence which results in the belief that they can make a difference to their own learning.
Improved social competence
When families take an active interest in what children and young people are learning, they are all more likely to have a positive attitude to school
Young people are less likely to undertake high-risk behaviours (such as substance abuse) when the school and the family work together.
Concerns are sorted more quickly when parents have a positive relationship with staff - Issues are therefore much less likely to escalate.
Increased on-time school graduation rates at the age young people would expect to graduate.
Increased enrolment in post-secondary education - young people value formal education more when they see their parents are involved, and are therefore more likely to enrol in post-secondary education programs.

8. Benefits for families
Their children do better at school and achieve more
Families show more sensitivity to their children’s social, emotional and intellectual developmental needs
Families are better able to help & encourage their children
Use more complex language with their children and encourage their children to verbalize more
Have more information about their children’s education
Build their own confidence & skills
Build trust in educational institutions
What are the benefits of Family-School Partnerships for families?
Families want the best for their children. When they partner with the school, their children do better and achieve more. Put simply - they do better at school.
Families who are involved in their children’s learning tend to show more sensitivity to their children’s social, emotional and intellectual developmental needs.
Families who are engaged in their children's learning use more complex language with their children and encourage their children to verbalize more. This is critical for language development.
Engaged families have more information about their children’s education and can therefore make more informed decisions about what is best for their child.
Families’ own confidence and skills are built:
Families are better able to help and encourage their children
Engaged parents tend to have a stronger belief that they can make a difference in their children’s learning
Partnership also builds trust in schools and other educational institutions.

9. Benefits for schools Improved student achievement
Families bring skills which complement the teacher’s skills & expertise
Improved communication to and from families
Improved community support
Increased public support for schools
Families contribute their time which frees up teachers to do more with students
Improved student behaviour
Parents can give help & advice on how to reach other parents
Improved teacher morale
What are the benefits of Family-School Partnerships for schools?
Improved student achievement.
Families bring skills which add to teachers’ skills and expertise
Families bring different knowledge and perspectives about their children, their culture and their community.
Improved communication to and from families.
Improved community support
Schools that embrace partnering with families enjoy higher levels of trust and support from the community as well as among families.
Families contribute their time which frees up teachers to do more with students.
Improved student behaviour and improved student achievement which also leads to a better reputation in the community.
Parents can give help and advice on how to reach other parents which can in turn lead to improved community capacity
There are also often spin offs in improved literacy and other skills for families.
All of these tend to feed into improved teacher morale.

10. Family-School Partnerships Framework : What does it look like?
7 key dimensions:
Communicating
Connecting learning at home and at school
Building community and identity
Recognising the role of the family
Consultative decision-making
Collaborating beyond the school
Participating
What do Family-School Partnerships look like?
Family-school partnerships are much more than just having families volunteer at school. The Commonwealth’s Family-School Partnerships Framework identifies 7 aspects (they call them dimensions) as guidelines for planning partnership activities. These are:
Communicating – to and from school and home.
Connecting learning at home and at school – this is much greater than homework – it includes all the opportunities to connect and build on the learning that happens in both the formal and informal learning environments.
C. Building community and identity – respecting and valuing the diversity of families in the community.
D. Recognising the role of the family – and the lasting impact families have on their children's attitudes & achievements at school.
E. Consultative decision-making – School Council and more.
F. Collaborating beyond the school – with community members and organisations to strengthen school programs, family practices and children and young people's learning and development.
G. Participating – welcoming and valuing family contributions to the school community.
Note: This framework builds on the work of Joyce Epstein and the National Network of Partnership Schools

11. Impact on student learning
Connecting learning at home and at school has the greatest effect on student achievement
This is often one of the hardest things for schools to do as teachers need to explicitly connect with families around curriculum/programs
The challenge here is to broaden thinking beyond homework and families monitoring compliance with homework
Are all partnerships equal?
Connecting learning at home and school has been found to have the greatest impact on improving student achievement.
This is also often one of the hardest things for schools to do as teachers need to explicitly connect with families around curriculum and the programs on offer at school.
The challenge here is to broaden thinking beyond homework and families monitoring compliance with homework.
Examples of connecting learning at home and at school include:
Making tips available on how to assist children and young people with their learning – eg reading, questions to ask, how to link learning at school with everyday activities, etc – made available via the school website, newsletters, blogs;
Having a broad range of options for family involvement in classrooms;
Home projects that value and acknowledge the different nature and structure of families;
Sending home ‘learning packets’ for families and their children to do together;
Asking families how they best like to help their children and what works for them in terms of being involved in their child’s education; and
Ensuring there are multiple opportunities for families and teachers to discuss student progress.

12. Barriers to the formation of Partnerships: School perspective
Belief systems
Perception that families don’t understand the school, the education system, its constraints etc
Perception that families don’t care about their children / don’t know how to parent and therefore are likely to add little (if any) value
Lack of knowledge of the positive research findings on the part of schools & parents
Little understanding of how to effectively engage with families and little preparation for this role
Structural constraints
Reporting and communication from a deficit model ie what’s not going well
Language & cultural differences are not understood by schools and no strategies to involve ‘hard to engage’ families
Barriers to effective partnerships from a school perspective:
Barriers are likely to include:
Belief systems – partnering may be seen as an attack on the authority or professionalism of the staff: “Just let us get on with doing our jobs” or “every parent thinks they’re the teacher”
Perception that families don’t understand the school, the education system, its constraints etc
Perception that families don’t care about their children/ don’t know how to parent and therefore are likely to add little (if any) value. Lack of family involvement on the terms of the school/teacher is taken as evidence that the families ‘just don’t care’ about their child’s education.
Lack of knowledge of the well accepted research findings on the benefits of family-school partnerships on children and young people's learning outcomes.
Little understanding of how to effectively engage with families and little preparation for this role
Structural constraints –eg, lack of child care, limited access to the school by public transport, especially out-of-school hours, teachers feeling time-poor and concerned about their own time availability
Reporting is often from a deficit model - that is, parents are told when their children don't meet expectations (behavioural or academic) but may not be contacted otherwise
Language and cultural differences may not be understood by schools and/or they may have no / few strategies to involve families that are considered ‘hard to engage’

13. What might get in the way of families partnering with schools?
Believe an authoritarian Principal / teacher is to be valued so leave them to get on with the job
Feel they have little to offer
Concerns about their ability to help (time commitment required etc)
Unsure of their role or what they have to offer
Embarrassed about own education level / language abilities
Feel unwelcome / intimidated / talked down to / not understood by the school or its parent organisations
Teacher's assumptions of parental disinterest or inability to help with children's schooling
Carry own baggage from their school years
Barriers to effective partnering from a family / parent perspective:
Some families believe an authoritarian Principal /teachers are to be valued and so leave them to get on with the job eg “That’s what the teachers are there for, to teach my kid. What would I know about it?”
Some families or cultures see engagement differently to how the school sees engagement.
Families may feel they have little to offer or not able to be involved on ‘the school’s terms’ - ie where there is a significant time commitment demanded that does not fit in with other responsibilities.
Families may be embarrassed about their own education level / linguistic abilities, if they perceive these to be lacking.
Families may feel unwelcome / intimidated / talked down to / not understood, by the school or its parent organisations.
Teacher's assumptions of parental disinterest or inability to help with children's schooling may deter families.
Family members may carry their own negative baggage as a result of their school years.

14. What can families do? Use everyday opportunities to educate
It’s the little things we do everyday, not the occasional special, event, that are of most value
Take an active interest in what’s going on at school - ask your children what they are learning
Encourage your child to read – at all ages
Show how you use maths and science in everyday applications
What can families do?
Use everyday opportunities to educate. It’s the little things we do everyday, not the occasional special, event, that are of most value.
Take an active interest in what’s going on at school. Ask your child what they are learning – you don’t have to understand all they are learning. Research shows that simply asking helps children to become clear about what they are learning and therefore helps their learning to improve
Encourage your child to read all through their school years. Encourage your child to join the local library; when they are young, take them to story time; encourage older children to keep reading; ask them what they are reading – what their book is about, why they like it etc.
Encourage maths and science by showing how you use it every day – in shopping, cooking etc

15. What else can families do?
Be aware of the possibilities offered by technology
Visit the school, classrooms, attend parent-teacher interviews, ask questions
Show interest in your child’s homework and assignments
Raise concerns early with the teacher
Show that you value education
Have high expectations of your child and your child’s school
What else can families do?
Be aware of the possibilities offered by technology and how your child can access computers – eg at the local, library, check if there is a computer club at school
Visit the school, classrooms, attend parent-teacher interviews – be prepared to ask questions of the teacher to help you get the most out of this time. Ask the teacher what they are teaching next term and how you can best help at home (and if its possible for you, at school).
Show interest in your child’s homework – you don’t need to do it (or again even understand it). Monitoring homework helps with homework completion and also demonstrates your interest in your child’s education.
Raise concerns early with the teacher. It is always much easier to resolve issues early before they are given time to escalate into something big.
Show that you value education. Children need to complete year 12 to be able to have as many chances as possible for the rest of their lives. More education means more choices in work and in life. Have high expectations of your child and their school.