Children tend to achieve more when their parents are involved with schooling. 91���� researchers have now published recommendations for improving how schools and parents from diverse communities interact.

Parent engagement encompasses everything from active participation in learning activities to attendance at school events or simply being up to date on their child’s progress. “With growing awareness that parents’ contributions make a difference, there has been interest at the government level to strengthen engagement,” explains study lead, Associate Professor Christine Woodrow, from Western’s Centre for Educational Research.

The government, in partnership with the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), commissioned researchers from Western’s Centre for Educational Research to conduct focus groups on parental engagement. Woodrow focused on low socioeconomic families whereas Associate Professor Loshini Naidoo focused on culturally and linguistically diverse families, and Professor Margaret Somerville focused on Aboriginal families.

The team found that parents of low socioeconomic status frequently felt insecure about being involved in their child’s education, especially if they had been unsuccessful in school themselves. “Schools have a tendency to reinforce the insecurity. The research indicated that the only interaction that some parents have with schools are phone calls for their children’s bad behaviour,” Woodrow explains. “The implication here is that schools should establish rapport with the parents as soon as the children progress into primary school, so that they have grounds for better communication.”

The challenges differed considerably for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families. “Most parents from CALD backgrounds felt that there was a cultural mismatch between the teachers and students, and a lack of effort to develop intercultural sensitivity,” says Naidoo. The lack of a common language was also a hurdle.

On the other hand, for Aboriginal parents, there was a discord with schools in the understanding about learning, one issue was the loss of cultural authority. “For Aboriginal parents, the framework for learning must be based in Aboriginal culture, with land, language, history and story playing an integral role. They also regard learning as lifelong and themselves as the child’s first teachers,” says Somerville.

The team translated their findings into a series of recommendations at the policy level, including the need for professional learning, training and resources for parents and educators that support children from low socioeconomic, cultural and linguistically diverse, and Aboriginal backgrounds. “A clear message from the study was that school administrators are genuinely interested in getting parents involved,” says Woodrow. “A challenge now is overcoming the lack of school resources to foster relationships with parents.”