Strategies+in+Homes+and+School+Collaboration+among+Early+Education+Teachers

Anna Miles Smith EDU 713 June 1, 2011

Reference:

Hirsto, L. (2010). Strategies in home and school collaboration among early education teachers. //Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 3,// no. 2, 99-108.

Introduction Collaboration of home and school is an important part of children’s lives. It connects children’s spheres of life and enhances their achievement in school. Exactly what practices to use to promote collaboration needs clarification. Where communication is lacking, blame and low achievement are likely. Achievement is enhanced when communication lines are open. Teachers provide parents with knowledge of how to build a positive home environment for education (Hirsto, 2010). Therefore, a study was performed to determine what strategies teachers use most often to successfully cooperate and collaborate with parents.

The Study The researcher based the study on 5 classifications of parent involvement from previous research done by Epstein and Dauber (1991) and a sixth classification added by the researcher herself. These are 1) parents as recipients of information, 2) parents as a societal resource, 3) parents as supporters of learning at home, 4) the teacher as a supporter of parenting, 5) the teacher as an everyday source of comfort, and 6) parents as a resource in the elaboration of learning. Teachers were given questionnaires regarding their use of parent-involvement strategies. Each statement fell into one of the 6 categories. Methods 365 early education teachers in Helsinki were given the questionnaire. Teachers were to rate how often they used each strategy, ranging from “never” (1) to “frequently” (4). The study had a 44.4% response rate (//n//=162) of which 92.6% were female. 45.9% of those had been teaching for 12 years or more. Results Means of written communication were used most often. These responses were “I inform parents about events in class via letters” and “We use //reissuvihkoja// [traveling notebooks] to exchange information between school and home.” The next most frequently used strategies were those that represent learning at home, trying to engage parents in their children’s learning process. These responses were “I give parents ideas on how to help their children to learn” and “I ask parents to help their children with their school work.” Items to do with parenting were in the middle, such as “We have educational conversations with the parents of my pupils”, “We talk about educational issues that are meaningful to the school with parents”, and “Parents tell me about the difficulties they face in child-rearing”. Volunteering was the least common. These responses were “The parents of my pupils take part in the teaching” and “The parents of my pupils come into the class to talk about their fields of expertise.” Teachers most often used strategies that represented parents as recipients of information. In addition, those that represented the teacher as an everyday source of comfort were often used. There were fewer references to strategies that represented parents as supporters of learning at home and the teacher as a supporter of parenting. The most rarely used strategies were those that represented parents as a resource for the elaboration of learning and as a societal resource. One interesting result from the study was the relationship of parent-involvement to teachers who have their own children, especially with respect to the teacher as a supporter of parenting and parents as a resource for the elaboration of learning. Discussions, Implications, Recommendations It is essential to define the concept of collaboration between home and school for early education teachers. Lack of a comprehensive definition of parent involvement is a problem in schools internationally. We need to look beyond traditional definitions and see parents as full partners in the education of their children (Hirsto, 2010). The finding that implied that the fact that teachers have their own children is related to the amount of parental involvement may be due to several reasons. Teachers who have parenting experience may be more confident discussing matters of parenting with parents. Teachers with children may also understand the need for more intense collaboration by seeing it through their own child’s point of view. Overall, teachers need concrete skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes to achieve goals of collaboration. My Thoughts I believe that this study showed an interesting view of the different types of parent-involvement in student learning, and what strategies are used for each of those types. It was not surprising to me that the most frequently used strategies were those that involved both one-way and two-way communication and that fit into the category of parents as recipients of information. This is the best way to involve parents in their child’s education. I was also not surprised to see a correlation between whether teachers had their own children and the level of parent-involvement. I believe teachers with children would better understand parents, and parents would be more willing to trust the advice of a teacher with children. This study did have its limits. The questionnaire only consisted of 24 strategy statements for the teachers to rate. While the number of participants was large enough (162), the population was limited only to teachers of 7-9 year olds who lived in Helsinki. The researcher made broad statements relating these findings internationally. The results may have been completely different if they had been tested in a different location or in a different culture. For example, I believe that many teachers in parts of the world would consider volunteering a large part of collaboration. I also believe the research did not go as in depth as it could have. The findings would have been more substantial had there been deeper research. Why, for example, did teachers use those kinds of strategies the most often? And what exactly did those strategies entail? Connections to Course Material The findings in this study of the relationship between parent-involvement and whether a teacher has children of her own reminded me of our discussions of frame of reference. If the teacher has children of her own, she and the parents are coming from a frame of reference that is the same in that sense. They start off on the same playing field, and can go from there. If the teacher does not have children of her own, then the relationship between the teacher and parent starts off on separate playing fields. The parent will be less willing to trust the teacher’s advice, and the teacher will not have a full understanding of family life. I am interested to find out how to bridge that gap, seeing as I have no children!