Homeschool cooperation

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Dr. NG Shun Wing Department of Educational Policy
and Administration Hong Kong Institute of
Education
Home-school cooperation
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Home-School Relationships
Teacher
Parent
We are on the same boat.
We are on the same boat.
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Family
Community
Cooperation
School
Global Trend
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Why !!!!!!!

• Home-school cooperation (Partnership)
• Parental involvement
• Parental participation
• Home-school Liaison
• Parent-teacher partnership
• Home-school communication
• Home-school relationships

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Research findings from Greenwood Hickman (1991)
and Jowett Baginsky (1991) indicate
Parental involvement can Ø    benefit students
writing and reading and performances Ø    make
students happier and healthier Ø    encourage
students to attend school regularly Ø    make
students perform positively in terms of attitudes
and behaviours. Ø    raise the effectiveness of
teachers Ø    make parents have high expectations
of their children Ø   deal with students
disruptive behaviours effectively Ø develop
positive school cultures
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Family and School
Primary Socialization
Secondary Socialization
School
Family
children
Community
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Home-school cooperation Objective 1
Decent development of students
Cooperation Communication
Family
School
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Home-school Cooperation Objective 2
Objective 2 Shared responsibility
Children
Home
School
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What are they doing?

How will you interpret the picture in terms of
parent-teacher relations?
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Parents expectations of teachers

• Be responsible
• Love their children
• Be patient
• Look after childrens emotion
• Be enthusiastic
• Diversify teaching strategies
• Be able to motivate students
• Be easy to get along with
• Be willing to communicate with parents
• Be professional and competent
• Be models of their children

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Teachers expectations of parents

• Look after their children
• Be model of their children (Dont smoke and
  gamble)
• Dont criticize teachers in front of their
  children
• Dont complain of the teachers in front of the
  principals
• Make effort to communicate with their children
• Comply with teachers requests
• Be proactive to communicate with teachers
• Encourage but not scold their children
• Supervise their childrens learning at home
• Check home-work

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Parent-teacher conflicts
Conflicts

• Teachers expectations

• Parents expectations

Emotional responses Disappointed Angry Helpless
Not being respected Irritated
Emotional responses Disappointed
Angry Helpless Not being respected Irritated
Factors Different objectives Different
expectations Different perspectives Different
values
Social status Friend
Family Education
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Parental involvement
School

Parents
Identity

• Sense of belongings
• Stakeholder

Teachers
Students
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School Management Initiative (SMI,1991)
Recommendation 10 School Management
frameworks should allow for participation in
decision making, according to formal procedures,
by all concerned parties including all teaching
staff the Principal the SMC and (to an
appropriate degree) parents and students
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School Based Management (Power decentralization)
Democratization in Educational Sector
School Empowerment
Teacher Empowerment
Parent Empowerment
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Paradigm shift of home-school relations
Parents are trouble-makers incompetent not
cooperative.
Parents are governors educators learners
participants and partners.

• Complementary roles
• Shared responsibility

• Education is an endowment Separate responsibility

Multi-level parental involvement
Home-school communication
Regular communication for collaboration
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Theories and Models of Home-school cooperation
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Model of home-school cooperation IEpstein(1995)

• (Parenting)
• (Communicating)
• (Volunteering)
• (Learning at home)
• (Decision making)
• (Collaborating with Community)

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Six-level Model of Home-school Cooperation (MHSC)
Ng (1999) (II)
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• Level 1 Two-communication
• Illustrations
• Attending parent-teacher conferences
• Giving responses to school circulars
• Regular contacts between parents and teachers
• Sunshine telephone calls to parents
• Developing mutual objectives for children
  development

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Level 2 Supervising children at
homeIllustrations

• Looking after childrens health
• Supervising children learning
• Checking home-work
• Taking part in parent-child school projects
• Signing the handbook

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Level 3 Participating in parent
activitiesIllustrations

• Organizing and joining Parent-teacher Association
• Raising funds for schools
• Participating in seminars on parent education
• Participating in school events such as sports
  day, picnicking, parent-child talent show, etc.

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Level 4 Assisting in school operation
Illustrations

• Helping organize and conduct extra-curricular
  activities
• Helping develop curriculum
• Being volunteers in assisting school operation,
  such as library assistants
• Assisting in classroom teaching such as story
  telling, making teaching aids, reading to
  children, etc.

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Level 5 Helping decision makingIllustrations

• Being consulted on school policies, such as
  school admission, curriculum development.
• Representatives in different committees in
  school, such school uniform, school meals, school
  bus, textbook committees.
• Conveying influential opinion from PTA to school
  management

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Level 6 Participating in decision
makingIllustrations

• Being member of the school management committee
  (school board)
• Taking part in teacher appraisal, recruitment of
  staff and promotion.
• Promoting educational innovation

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?????? ? (???, 2000)
Nature
Development
Making decision
Decision
School

Helping decision making
Assisting in parent organization
Collaboration
Parent
Helping school operation
Participating in school activities
Learning
Assistant in learning
Children
Taking care of children
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Ng (1999) research findings
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Group discussion

• Examine the six-level model of home-school
  cooperation developed by Ng (1999).
• Discuss what level of MHSC your schools reach.
  Give examples.
• Discuss the way you can involve parents in your
  schools.
• What difficulties do you foresee?

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How to involve parents (1)

Parent-teacher Association approach

• Home (parent)
• Communication
• Supervising children

School

• parent representative to school board
• representative to school committees
• recruiting volunteers
• assisting in classroom and school activities
• organizing parent education

PTA
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How to involve parents (2)
(School-led approach)
Parent college Parent education
School
Parent participation in school operation
Parents as resources
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The ultimate aim of home-school cooperation
parents
teachers

• Co-learners
• Co-Educators

• School effectiveness
• Childrens growth and development

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End

• Thank you