Sharing Good Practice
HOW TO INVOLVE PARENTS
IN THE LEARNING JOURNEY
BY GEORGE STOKES
strengths and commitments – as well
as information about school events
and developments – put parents
in a stronger position to help their
child's learning, and ensure children
get the most out of the education
system. With all of the improvements
in communication occurring in the
rest of the world around us, parents
quite rightly don’t just want blanket
whole school emails or letters; parents
want to know that their child matters
and are therefore more interested in
personalised communications that are
directly related to their own children.
C
lassroom performance and
academic achievements are
significantly influenced by
the extent to which a child’s
parents become involved in school
life and the interest they take in their
child’s education. Simply by being
aware of their child’s progress and
understanding their achievements,
parents provide additional motivation
for their child to work hard in class.
However- in order to establish and
maintain this interest, there needs to
be regular and reliable communication
and sharing of information between
the teacher and pupils’ families. Class
teachers must create an effective
partnership by providing an open
and communicative environment with
its wider community, forming a link
between the classroom and the home.
So how can teachers begin to involve
parents more in the learning process?
In the past, messages from the school
to the home relied heavily upon ‘pupil
post.’ Frustratingly for teachers and
parents, numerous painstakingly,
handwritten letters rarely arrived
home in one piece, with many not
showing up at all. This method of
communication provided a natural
barrier to developing any sort of
relationship between the school
and the home, while the alternative
face-to-face meetings are a logistical
nightmare to arrange.
The good news is that it has never
been easier to strengthen links with
parents. Technology can play a key
role in bridging the gap. Contact
can now be established with parents,
irrespective of location – so parents
living apart, traveling or even parents
living abroad, can be kept up to
date with their child’s progress or
achievements.
Apps such as Sharek, Class Dojo,
Seesaw and many others are
bridging the gap. Sharek meaning
‘to participate, share or collaborate’
in Arabic, is the region’s first learning
application, dedicated to transforming
the communication loop between
teachers, students and parents.
These applications are designed
to give families an immediate and
personalised window into their child’s
school day, which is much more
effective and efficient for teachers
than the traditional paper-based
parent messaging system.
Parent feel included in their child’s
education and classroom community.
Teachers are able to instantly share
what is going on in lessons and give
timely feedback about students’ work.
The benefits of this approach are
wide-ranging. Communicating on
matters relating to homework and
passing on details of achievements
and rewards can generate positive
relationships between home and
school and helps combat the negative
image of schools contacting parents
only when things go wrong. Sharing
information regularly about a child’s
progress enables parents to develop
a clearer appreciation of their child's
true strengths and weaknesses.
Parents can be notified earlier in the
learning process, should their child be
experiencing difficulties or problems.
Ultimately, allowing parents to monitor
and take part in their child’s education
means they can reinforce the
standards set by the school, helping
raise standards of overall attainment.
Parent co-operation and support
can make a real difference to
how children see themselves as
learners and engage in learning.
Regular communication about the
child’s individual development and
achievements is a key component
of successful partnership work and
an area in which schools can either
enhance their reputation or leave
themselves open to criticism. Schools
have the opportunity to build great
parent relationships by engaging
families in the learning process from
the very beginning.
Full visibility of a child’s interests,
George is currently the Head of Innovation at the Arbor School. Around three
years ago, he built his own learning platform called Sharek, which is now
widely used across the UAE. George was a finalist in the Middle East Education
Influencer Award 2018.
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