Page 73 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

and can improve their self-confidence in their ability to navigate the process. It
can also increase the likelihood that they will pursue lifelong learning
opportunities themselves. Further, greater parental involvement in schools can
lead to greater social cohesion in the wider community, bringing people together
who may not normally have met.
Mainstream education policy is increasingly recognising the importance of
parental involvement and the associated benefits. Examples of programmes
promoting engagement of parents in their children’s education can be found
across Europe. Individual projects or initiatives are being carried out by schools
and parents independently of national or regional programmes.

Examples of methods to engage parents

• Listening to parent feedback and actively communicating with parents through printed
newsletters, e-mail/Internet communication, messaging, meetings, etc.
• Encouraging parental participation in school improvement efforts and involving parents in
school decision-making, to give parents a sense of shared responsibility.
• Organising school meetings in the evening and at weekends to accommodate families’ work
schedules. Organising family and community events and open days.
• Inviting parents and other family members to volunteer in school, either in a classroom or in
after-school activities (see for example the Spanish learning community).
• Inviting the family members of immigrant children and children from cultural and ethnic
minorities to share their experiences with pupils and/or their parents.
• Staff development can help teachers to understand the benefits of family involvement and
show them how to remove barriers to involvement (Downey, 2002). It can also explain
techniques for improving communication between home and school.
• Making parents feel welcome. Sometimes the first time a parent comes to school is when a
child is in trouble. Schools can help reduce tensions by making initial contacts with parents
friendly and respectful. Schools can also reduce distrust by arranging contacts in neutral
settings, away from the school (Downey, 2002).
• Organising after-school classes for parents (e.g. programmes helping to build parenting skills,
trust between families and schools and educating parents about the importance of education
for their child’s future) or school-family partnerships. Such programmes are common in
southern Italian regions where ESF funding is being used by networks of schools to arrange
after-school programmes for students and their parents.
• Arranging group trips to further education and training establishments.
• Overcoming language barriers. Reaching families whose first language is not English
requires schools to make special arrangements. This can include translating materials into a
parent’s first language, having someone (e.g. another teacher or parent) to communicate with
parents in their first language and helping them identify language classes they could attend.
Based on information CREA, 2007b; CREA, 2008; Downey, 2002.

Initiatives first begin by addressing the reasons behind the lack of parental
interest in taking part in their child’s education. In certain cases parents may not
be able to take an active role due to practical difficulties such as working hours or
language issues (CREA, 2008). Others simply do not know how to participate

67