WHY BUILD BRIDGES:Between School and

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Created by

Virginia Bartel, Ph.D. Department of Teacher Education College of Charleston bartelv@cofc.edu 843-953-5821

ALTHOUGH THE RESEARCH LITERATURE HAS LONG SHOWN THE BENEFITS OF FAMILY INVOLVEMENT, SCHOOLS ARE NOT GENERALLY KNOWN FOR MEANINGFUL INVOLVING PARENTS.

PERHAPS GOOD HOME-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS WOULD BE EASIER AND MORE PREVALENT IF THEIR VALUE WERE BETTER KNOWN.

HERE ARE RESEARCH-BASED REASONS TO GET PARENTS INVOLVED IN THEIR CHILD’S EDUCATION WHETHER AT HOME OR SCHOOL:

...“PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT HAS BEEN POSITIVELY LINKED TO INDICATORS OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, INCLUDING TEACHER RATINGS OF STUDENT COMPETENCE, STUDENT GRADES, AND ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES.”

(Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Sandler, Whetsel, Green, Wilkins, & Closson; 2005, p. 1).

STUDENTS FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES.

(Bandura, Barbarnelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996).

GRADUATION RATES INCREASE.

(Henderson, Jacob, Kernan-Schloss, & Raimondo, 2004).

CHILDREN LEARN TO BETTER SELF-REGULATE.

(Xu & Corno, 2003).

ATTENDANCE INCREASES.

(Haynes, Comer, & Hamilton-Lee,1989).

CHILDREN ARE MORE READY TO DO HOMEWORK.

(Rich,1988).

IF THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD REASONS, WHY AREN’T MORE PARENTS INVOLVED?

OFTEN SCHOOLS ARE THE PROBLEM.

SCHOOL PRACTICES CAN ACT AS DETERRENTS TO INVOLVEMENT THROUGH LESS THAN FAMILY-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTS OR MINIMAL AND/OR MEANINGLESS METHODS TO INVOLVE PARENTS. (Epstein, Sanders, Simon, Salinas, & Van

Voorhis, 2002).

TEACHERS ARE SOMETIMES RELUCTANT TO CONTACT PARENTS; THEY MAY NOT FEEL IT IS THEIR ROLE, OR SEE THE VALUE, OR WANT TO TAKE THE TIME.

(Broderick & Mastrilli, 1997; Greenwood & Hickman, 1991).

OFTEN IT IS THE PARENTS WHO DON’T WANT TO BE INVOLVED. WHY?

THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE, OR KNOW HOW TO HELP, OR MAY LET THEIR OWN NEGATIVE SCHOOL EXPERIENCES INTERFERE...

(Walker, Wilkins, Dallaire, Sandler, & Hoover-Dempsey, 2005).

…..OR FEEL INTIMIDATED, OR BELIEVE TEACHERS DON’T CARE, OR HAVE A LANGUAGE BARRIER, OR ONLY HEAR FROM SCHOOL WHEN THERE IS A PROBLEM.

(Hoover-Dempsey et al).

SO WHERE DO YOU START?

MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPECIFIC STRATEGIES ARE:

Foundational knowledge of Families Systems Theory, (Christian, 2006).

Ecological Systems Theory, (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman, 2005).

And an understanding of the critical role that trust plays in home-school communication, (Adams & Christenson, 2000).

FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF FAMILIES SYSTEMS THEORY, (CHRISTIAN, 2006).

TIME, RESOURCES, AND THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING NECESSARY TO CHANGE SCHOOL CULTURE AND TO DEVELOP DIFFERENT PATHS FOR ACCESS TAKE DILIGENCE.

IN A SOUTHEASTERN COASTAL CITY, SUMMER CLASSES WERE HELD FOR PARENTS AT A HIGH-POVERTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. CLASSES INCLUDED COMPUTER AND PARENTING SKILLS, ENRICHMENT (I.E., COOKING), AND EXERCISE (I.E., YOGA AND BELLY DANCING).

THE “CAMP” AT THE SCHOOL WAS HELD FOR SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN OF PARENTS WHO PARTICIPATED. THE SUMMER PROGRAM WAS GRANT-FUNDED.

THE FOLLOWING SPRING, PARENTS AND TEACHERS WERE SURVEYED TO DETERMINE IF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AFTER CAMP WERE DIFFERENT THAN THE YEAR BEFORE CAMP.

Themes derived from the results are presented in the following using representative comments from parents, teachers, and camp staff:

PARENT INVOLVEMENT POSITIVELY INFLUENCES PARENT PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS.

PARENT PARTICIPATION INFLUENCES TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR CHILDREN’S MOTIVATION.

INVOLVEMENT AT SCHOOL BREEDS MORE INVOLVEMENT, ALTHOUGH TEACHERS AND PARENTS VIEW INVOLVEMENT DIFFERENTLY:

TEACHERS THINK OF IT AS PARENTS’ BEING IN THE CLASSROOM;

PARENTS PERCEIVE IT AS HELPING THEIR CHILD AT HOME AND FREQUENT COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR CHILD’S TEACHER.

WHEN THERE IS AN AWARENESS OF CARING; POSITIVE ATTITUDES BETWEEN PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND CHILDREN ARE MORE POSITIVE.

POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS, TRUST, RESPECT, AND FAIRNESS HELP COMPRISE A GOOD SCHOOL CLIMATE.

SO, WHY NOT START NOW! SHOW PARENTS YOU CARE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THEIR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION CAN TAKE PLACE AT HOME AS WELL AS SCHOOL.