School - Community Relations_070734.pptx

School Community Relations

1. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION (MEAM 825) AUTHOR

2. COMMUNITY POWER STRUCTURE AND POLITICAL REALITIES

3. 1.THE MEANING OF CPS What is your understanding of community Power structure

4. THE MEANING OF CPS Community power structure is the complex network of relationships between the recognized power holders and the interplay of their roles in a community . These power holders, direct the affairs of the community towards the achievement of objectives set by the community members. This also suggests the distribution of power at the local community level.

5. Understanding Community Power Structures Power: Who has it in communities? How do they gain it? When do they lose it? These are important questions to explore in an attempt to understand local community power structures.

6. Understanding Community Power Structures Power is a descriptive attribute or quality we attach to: leaders, heroes, the “rich & famous”, politicians, actors & actresses, sports figures, and other persons in society’s perception as “influential”.

7. Understanding Community Power Structures Community power actors have been: the royal family members, the highly educated citizens, middle to upper income workers, self-employed, professional, and males These people make up power networks in almost any given community.

8. Understanding Community Power Structures Current trends in community power structure the traditional power actor is changing. Gradually, more and more women are becoming power actors either through: connection power – (based on the person’s connections with influential or important persons inside or outside the organization) or referent power - (based on the person’s ability to be liked or admired by others because of personality).

9. Understanding Community Power Structures The most successful strategy for a community leader/ school leader is to recognize: who are the power actors in their community and identify the source of their power base. Power may be classified in its simplest form, as the ability to exercise control or influence over another person or organization.

10. Understanding Community Power Structures Why then, is it important for school leaders to know who the community power actor/leaders are in your community?

11. Understanding Community Power Structures It is advantageous for some of the following reasons: Gives official sanction for actions. Provides suggestions or ideas for improving community and school projects. Provides various resources unavailable to most community members. Provides access to other resources otherwise not available to you. Promote programmes to the rest of the community with legitimacy.

12. Understanding Community Power Structures N ature of the distribution of power at community level. community studies identifies and presents two major contentions: the elite thesis t he pluralist thesis.

13. Understanding Community Power Structures The era of change in communities is accelerating rapidly due to the dramatic increase in power groups operating inside local communities. These power groups seek and desire to improve quality of life for themselves and others. Future gains or rewards are determined by the nature of school leaders’ interaction with the power network.

14. Understanding Community Power Structures Hence, as an educational leader, community member and advocate who supports improved lifestyles, it is highly desirable to possess the skills necessary to be successful with community power actors. Such skills are needed in order to minimize potential conflicts and maximize access to valuable resources.

15. GROUP WORK Groups must identify the political skills that are needed to be successful with community power actors. How will these skills minimize potential conflicts and maximize access to valuable resources for schools and community development?

16. 2. THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION It seeks to analyse how types of political settlement shapes the level of elite commitment and state and community capacity to improving learning outcomes. This reinforces the reasons for communities’ success in expanding access to education but have made such limited progress on the outcomes of education. It emphasise the goals of education to be highly political and hence, as a means and way for social change.

17. THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION Education is classified as political in nature and therefore it cannot be seen as a neutral ‘mechanical method of instruction’. This is rooted in history: As a right Working class living standards Citizenship Ideologies and collective beliefs

18. THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION Education is one place where the individual and society are constructed , through a social action which can either empower or domesticate students. Education can also be seen to protect a certain order. So there is always a tension between educations goals to support and sustain key values and institutions in society and to educate critical citizens that aim for social change .

19. THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION The idea that the goals of education is highly political and it is a means for social change, is also suggestive that, the goal of critical pedagogy is to: be emancipatory develop theoretical frameworks for teachers, students and pupils that should be seen as alternative educational practices, policies and discourses. Giroux (2006) has suggested that critical pedagogy is related to social agency, self-reflection and critical awareness.

20. THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION Freire (1973) has argued that humans are not passive spectators of history, but they interact with the social world to change it . Per this logic, a chieving social change is a goal of critical pedagogy. It is: not a call to armchair revolution’ but that true reflection will lead to action and an authentic praxis (Freire, 1993). t o equip the student ‘with skills that enable them to reflect and critically engage their experience’ and ‘to equip them to challenge social conditions that shape and influence their experiences’ .

21. THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION Division of politics and education is unnatural by the nature . It manifests distinctly in the history of education. The first extant theory of education that has survived is set forth in how Plato understood Paideia as shaping of a person’s character in accordance with the dominant ideas and ideals in society. In African culture, the connection between politics and education had long been regarded as an obvious phenomenon. In Europe, education was considered “as the motor of global capitalism and the production of human capital” ( Nordensvard , 2014 ).

22. Modern opportunities of politics of education In the modern world politics of education is fallaciously interpreted as ‘ educational reform’. Fabricant and Fine point to politics of education to be considered as schooling in the context of world economic and political ideology and practice .

23. Modern opportunities of politics of education Politics of education has a direct impact on the modernization of teacher training. Teachers are taught: new technologies to influence the formation of unconscious and conscious behaviour of younger generations. to communicate effectively, t o form appropriate habits, preferences, inclinations, etc. Politics of education turns teachers into important actors in strategies for adapting a person to the characteristics of the existing political system (Nesterova, 2017).

24. Modern opportunities of politics of education Through the training of teachers: the established political system use teachers to appropriately select school curriculum to mould the younger generations with a political ideology and image of a higher idea. their professional qualities and political convictions, the political system ensures the continuity and necessary modernization of the foundations of society. politicians and government executives use a wealth of methods and methods of politics of education to form their own strategies in the worldview of the younger generations, which are planned to be implemented in the near future.

25. Modern opportunities of politics of education Politics of education has a direct impact on community and family policy of the State: The community/family creates an emotional environment in which the worldview of the child is formed. Building and maintaining an adequate family support policy forms the attitude towards the family as a social value, and as a feedback, the family provides the evolution of the political system as a macro-social system. Influence on the family eliminates a number of key risks for society and the political system.

26. Modern opportunities of politics of education The family creates conditions for involving children in new ideas that the political system plans to implement in the near future e.g . the idea of digitizing society. Politics of education has the ability to regulate access to information . The society receives a highly qualified specialist in the field of information and communication technologies, whose direction of self-realization was formed precisely by politics of education.

27. Understanding Community Power Structures

28. DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS Emotional Well-Being: a unity of physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual health, encompassing factors such as safety, environmental and material security, education and socialization as well as a sense of being loved, valued and included in their families and societies. Parental Involvement: Having an awareness of and involvement in school-work, understanding of the interaction between parenting skills and student success in schooling, and a commitment to consistent communication with educators about student progress. Resilience: The ability to cope with challenges or stress in ways that are effective and result in an increased ability to respond well to future adversity.

29. 1. Introduction Educational practitioners and policy makers understand and accept the importance of parental involvement in schools. There is however, very minimal understanding regarding how to meaningfully engage parents for the benefit of all children. This leads to challenges for school administrators and teachers to: Reach out to all parents in positive ways implement strategies that will result in improved student achievement, and balance the needs of parents and at the same time maintain educators’ professional autonomy.

30. It is important to understand that when parents participate in their children’s schooling, students may experience more academic and social success. Epstein (2001) has suggested that parents who get involved in their children’s school positively affect their child’s attitude and performance. This stems form the view that p arents’ awareness and interest in their children’s learning and school activities portray to these children the importance of school, and lead to positive behaviours. This happens at all grade levels.

31. Establishing a causal link between PI and SA It is difficult to draw a causal link between parental involvement and student achievement Most of the research conducted on the subject so far have been correlational (Scott Stein & Thorkildsen , 1999). This difficulty results from the many intervening and contextual variables that are associated with the logic. That said, a number of advantages are attributed to parental involvement.

32. Important Questions What factors contribute to parents being involved in or disengaged from their children’s school? What impact does parental involvement have on student performance? What types of parent involvement might produce positive outcomes?

33. The relevance of PI in wards learning PI leads to: Improvement in children’s morale, attitude, and academic achievement across all subject areas, And most importantly, promotes better behaviour and social adjustment. helps children to grow up to be productive, responsible members of the society.

34. 2. Relevance of the Family From early childhood through high school, the family makes critical contributions to student achievement. Efforts to improve children’s outcomes are much more effective if they encompass their families. What are the significant effects when schools engage parents and students?. Henderson & Berla (1994) have argued that when parents are involved at school, children do better in school and they stay in school longer.

35. The accurate predictor of students’ achievement The most accurate predictor of a student's achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which that student's family is able to: Create a home environment that encourages learning Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children's achievement and future careers Become involved in their children's education at school and in the community

36. 6. Types of PI in schools Epstein (1995) has described six types of PI in schools. These are: Parenting: This refers to the basic obligations of parents include housing, health, nutrition, and safety for their children. Parents also should provide home conditions for learning at all levels. Communicating: This portends the basic obligations of schools. Thi s include: school-to-home communication and information on schools, courses, programmes, and activities. Parents provide home-to-school communication, making a two-way channel for interaction and exchange.

37. Volunteering: Parents volunteer their time and talents at school activities and fundraising. Learning at Home: Parents help their children with homework and with setting educational goals. Decision Making : Parents participate in school councils, organizations and school decisions on policy, leadership, and advocacy. Collaborating with the Community: Parents encourage partnerships with community resources and services.

38. The benefits of PI (Henderson & Bella (1994) i . Student Benefits Studies have documented these benefits for students: Higher grades and test scores. Better attendance and more homework done. Fewer placements in special education. More positive attitudes and behaviour. Higher graduation rates. Greater enrolment in postsecondary education.

39. ii. School Benefits Schools and communities also profit. Schools that work well with families have: More support from families. Improved teacher morale. Higher ratings of teachers by parents. Higher student achievement. Better reputations in the community.

40. iii. Other outcomes of parent involvement leads to improved educational performance (Epstein et al., 2002; Fan & Chen, 2001; NMSA, 2003; Sheldon & Epstein, 2002; Van Voorhis , 2003). fosters better student classroom behaviour (Fan & Chen, 2001; NMSA, 2003). Parents who participate in decision making experience greater feelings of ownership and are more committed to supporting the school's mission (Jackson & Davis, 2000). increases support of schools (NMSA, 2003). olicy Process

41. improves school attendance (Epstein et al., 2002). creates a better understanding of roles and relationships between and among the parent-student-school triad (Epstein et al., 2002). Parent involvement improves student emotional well-being (Epstein, 2005). Types and quality of PI affect results for students, parents, and teachers (Epstein, 1995).

42. 4. Effect of family involvement on families &communities Becoming involved at school has important effects, not just for students, but for all members of the family. Parents: develop more positive attitudes towards the school, become more active in community affairs, develop increased self-confidence, and enrol in other educational programmes. This strengthens the family not only as a learning environment, but as an economic unit” (Henderson & Berla , 1994).

43. 5. Support for students Communities must endeavour to set up strengths-based educational resource to support student learning. This resource support must use a proactive delivery model, to intentionally build skills and knowledge that supports students in successfully navigating through challenging situations like: Bullying cyber-safety pressure to engage in substance abuse or any high-risk behaviour. Such models are delivered through: affirming messaging engaging activities, and fostering positive relationships between police officers, school communities, and families.

44. Diverse community-school collaboration emphasize moving education and law enforcement toward a progressive, research in-formed model of ethical citizenship. The key (in children’s learning) is not to separate teaching children to handle conflict from other kinds of academic teaching, but combine social, emotional and intellectual skills. Through discussions, writing exercises, and role-play, children learn how to appraise complex situations, and then are taught how to resolve conflicts in these situations (Galinsky, 2010).

45. PI is important to this approach. Parental feedback, participation, and support for such programmes reinforces the learning of the child in the home environment, as well as allow the knowledge to permeate into other areas of the community as well. Programmes that promote interacting more positively as a family and in the community, support a sense of belonging within those groups. Working through a strengths-based lens, in collaboration with children, families and communities, these programmes can enhance the innate resilience that exists in communities , promoting a rich and vibrant community to live in.

46. 6. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT Wondering what?

47. Davies (1991) has proposed three ways that schools can promote parent involvement and closer working partnerships between educators and parents: Creation of a Parent Centre The parent centre is a special room for parents at the school. staffed by paid coordinators as well as unpaid volunteers. offers parents a welcoming atmosphere, conversation, and school information. Various activities can be offered through the centre, such as recruitment of parent volunteers, English as a second language (ESL) and General Educational Development (GED) classes for parents. the centre makes possible the continuing and positive physical presence of family members in the schools. The room can be equipped with various materials to help parents: adult-sized table and chairs, a telephone, snack, and ICT equipment.

48. b. A Home Visitor Programme The home visitor programme can consists of paid staff who visits homes to help families understand what they can do to encourage their children's success in school. The home visitors can provide information about reading programmes, school activities, curriculum, expectations, child rearing, and student camps. They also serve as liaisons to convey parent concerns back to the school.  

49. c. Action Research Teams These teams can consist of teachers who study ways to improve their own methods of involving parents. They can meet at least monthly to do: background discussion in parent involvement receive training interview other educational workers about attitudes toward parent involvement discuss the success of past efforts to involve parents, and design projects to increase teacher-parent collaboration.

50. 7. Epstein’s framework of parental involvement in schools Epstein's Framework of Six Types of Involvement (Including: Sample Practices, Challenges, Redefinitions, and Expected Results)

51. END OF UNIT