Drăguț Violeta
Tsetska Kamenova
PARENTAL COFFEE
Costești, 2018
2018
PARENTAL CAFE ERASMUS+ AK2 PROJECT Strategic Partnership for Schools Only 2016-2018
,,The European Commission is not responsible for any uploaded or submitted content. The content reflects the views only of the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein�
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Teacher
Coordinator
Mrs. Drăguț Violeta -Technological High School, Costești, Romania
TeacherS
Coordinators on chapters
Mrs. Tsetska Kamenova, Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria Mrs. Telescu Violeta--Technological High School, Costești, Romania Mrs. Caterina De Maria -IISS "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italy Mrs. Canan Kartal -Sule Muzaffer Buyuk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Manavgat, Turkey
Teachers
Collaborators:
Mrs. Mandzhukova Evlogiya- Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria Mrs. Anna Maria Lo Bue, I.I.S.S. "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italy Mrs. Stoian Preda Tatiana Florica, Technological High School, Costești, Romania Mrs. Ghițulescu Daniela, Technological High School, Costești, Romania Mr. Onur Arslan, Sule Muzaffer Buyuk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Manavgat, Turkey Mr. Luciano Sgarito, I.I.S.S. "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italy Melis Agar- Sule Muzaffer Buyuk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Manavgat, Turkey
Editor Mrs. Drăguț Violeta,- Technological High School, Costești, Romania
Corrector Mrs. Tsetska Kamenova, Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria
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PROJECT FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or any means, without permission in writing from the authors.
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TEACHERS - STUDENTS - PARENTS PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LEADERS
students
teachers
school
parents
students
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... an element of the good school puzzle
The better the relationship between school and parents, the more successful students are (Rutter 1979) Parents are ready to cooperate and support their children more when they feel that teachers takะต them seriously and understand them. (Vuille 2004) The most faithful friends - the parents. The greatest donors - the teachers. The best teachers - the children. Mother Teresa
CONTENT Introduction...................................................................................................................................5 Communication forms -Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria…………………...........................................................................................................7 Objectives- Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria..................8 Tasks in the Bulgarian School Sistem -Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria…….……...........................................................................................9 Activities in the Bulgarian School Sistem -Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev”-Vidin, Bulgaria…………..….....................................................................................10 Conclusions..............................................................................................................................12 Final decisions..........................................................................................................................17 Parental involvement at institutional level in Bulgaria.......................................................18 Inclusion Through Cooperative Learning in the Italian School Sistem -IISS "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italia...........................................................................................................21 Collaboration Between School and Family in the Italian School Sistem -IISS "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italia...........................................................................24 The Collaboration With Parents of Students in the Turkish School Sistem- Sule Muzaffer Buyuk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Antalya, Turkey……..28 School collaboration system with parents in Romania- Technological High School, Costești......................................................................................................................................33
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Introduction About the parents and education in Bulgaria Modern life requires teachers and parents to work together to give children the best of education and training. A new study by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led by Professor Gianni de Farzha, finds that parents' efforts to be engaged in the learning process of their children is of utmost importance for the quality of their education. The attention of parents is the factor that is ranked first in importance compared to the efforts of the school specialists and the personal motivation of the child himself.
That is why creating successful communication and good interaction between parents and teachers is of utmost importance to themselves and to children.
Children do better at school, they are more popular among classmates, have good emotional health, and develop as full-fledged individuals when the parent has an active role in education and school life. This participation shows the child that the parent is genuinely concerned and interested in his education and that the school is the place where it will receive valuable knowledge and develop relationships and skills. Mrs. Mandzhukova Evlogiya- Vocational School of Tourism “Mihalaki Georgiev�-Vidin, Bulgaria
• •E-mail,
• Student gradesbook • Parents meeting at school • Telephone call tension Parent visit at school SMS
OBJECTIVES 1. Purposes which were founded to attract the parents 'attention to the problems of their children and the education as a whole and draw up the parents to the activities in the school. To look for new ways to work with parents, that includes parents of children at risk, children of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds and especially students’ parents to whom education is not value and priority in their lives, thus to answer the new realities and in the new social relations. To reduce the number of pupils threatened by dropout and motivate parents with the parents’ support to complete their education and acquire a profession. To update and upgrade the forms of teaching and communication with children in order to keep them in school,
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TASKS 1. Attract parents as spectators and participants in school initiatives. 2. Overcoming tensions in student-parent-teacher communication. 3. Stimulating students’ creativity and sporting activities by recreating leisure time.
4. Building team skills. 5. Improvement of the microclimate in classes and between classes
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ACTIVITIES 2. Implemented activities to obtain the objectives Drawing an information board Involving parents' school boards to support the implemented activities – a school board, a public council to control the school's activities, public council on project activities at the school. Involving active public institutions /city library, folklore groups, community centers, municipal authorities, public support centers, NGOs and others / for joint activities with the school to celebrate holidays and anniversaries and inviting parenting community to participate in events. They feel flattered to attend and participate in the activities of such joint events with ther institutions.
Organizing open-door days, thematic meetings and the day of newly enrolled students and their parents
Encouraging parents as collaborators and observers in conducting external evaluation.
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Involving parents in the preparation of school events - professional competitions, school celebration, charity initiatives, project activities, excursions, etc. Supporting families by providing textbooks for their children and free transport for the travelling students together with Vidin municipality. Promoting students at risk by their joining different clubs for additional activities with them and in extracurricular interest clubs. Organizing meetings with representatives institutions related to developing ethnic
of
other
Providing free breakfasts for children with severe social problems
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CONCLUSIONS 3. Achieved Results • During the observed five-year period we have a great reduction in the number of school dropouts or early school leavers
• Conducting yearly charity events to support children from socially disadvantaged families and graduates.
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• We have attracted effectively more than 30% of children’s parents of weak risk groups to participate in school activities. We have learned to work in a team regardless of background, education, social status.
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• We attracted parents who have not finished secondary education in the classes in the form of a part-time and independent form of education and with moral and pedagogical support from our side we helped them to complete their education.
• We strive to create a sense of security, an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect when pupils and their parents cross the threshold of our school and thus help to restore the trust both to the school in the parents and to the parents in the school as an institution. As a result we exchanged experience with each other and created the conditions to be together in the learning process and entertainment. 14
• Active parent cores were formed and they are in the bodies supporting the activities of the school - the school board and the public councils.
• Teachers' capacity to work with pupils and parents of a new type was developed, as well as the pedagogical counselor’s skills for counseling parents and students, who have different social problems to work with external institutions -support
social services, centers lic support, for pub NGO
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• The capacity of the pedagogical staff to work in a multiethnic environment and to follow a policy of tolerance in teaching and communicating with students, and above all as form teachers was developed. • All this requires a great deal of effort on the part of the pedagogical colleagues and the school's administrative staff, but when it works out, it motivates all of us to look for new ways and forms to involve parents effectively in school activities in the name of our students who are their kids.
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FINAL DECISIONS PARENTAL PARTICIPATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL Parents have the obligation to: Observe compliance with school rules; Ensure regular attendance of classes; Inform teachers about circumstances that are important to the child's school life;
To success…
Participate in parent meetings and conversations organized by teachers or school management.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AT INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL IN BULGARIA Forms of involving parents in the organization of school life: • parents meetings, mutual holidays, lessons; • school for parents; • volunteering; • Forms of cooperation directed towards strengthening the social function of the school
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
STUDENT’S ACHIEVEMENTS
a teacher's personality: class management and style of communication
school: climate, pedagogical engagement
parents: education, motivation and methods of bringing up the children
class: climate, structure, dynamics
Didactics / Methodology &Forms of Education
Student’s Achievements
a student: IQ, entrance level of knowledge, motivation
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INCLUSION THROUGH COOPERATIVE LEARNING- IN THE ITALIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM By teacher Caterina De Maria IISS "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italy
In the last decade Italy has been the target of continual migratory flows that make our society more and more multicultural and multiethnic. These people not only come from underdeveloped countries, but some of them also come from eastern European countries. Most of these immigrants are children and teenagers who are promptly involved in educational project within the Italian school system. These young people often come from disadvantaged and depressed social and cultural contexts, they usually do not know the language and may also have problems with dyslexia, dysgraphia , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyscalculia. As a result, teachers have to face an increasing number of students with learning difficulties, permanent or temporarily, and even with Special Educational Needs who require Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Therefore the role of a classroom teacher has become increasingly multifaceted and challenging as more children, Italian and foreigners, are put onto IEPs each year and the amount of children who are identified as exceptional is becoming greater and greater. In addition to their regular classroom duties, teachers’ responsibilities in this context include collaborating with others to write the student’s IEP and facilitating classroom activities that foster inclusion of these students. Teachers have to implement instructional strategies that are responsive to the needs of these students while still maintaining an inclusive environment and taking into consideration the curriculum standards. In other words, inclusive education is an education that includes and accepts all students, avoiding any form of marginalization and isolation. It is an approach to fostering equity by educating children, with learning differences, in general classrooms rather than creating separate spaces for their learning. Cooperative learning could be a fundamental tool for successful educational inclusion since it is an effective didactic strategy that allows educators to individualize instruction while still providing students with meaningful social experiences. In order to 21
facilitate such learning, teachers need to be committed to planning and implementing these strategies within the school classrooms. It is obvious that cooperative learning could be successfully used especially for the inclusion of students on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) because it provides each student with the opportunity to engage and learn with their peers. Students who work together collaboratively help their peers who do not understand a concept and explain the concept in terms that the student can understand; students relate to one another on a level that teachers have difficulty reaching in some contexts. Cooperative learning has many benefits in the classroom including increased motivation, participation, self-esteem and confidence, socialization and higher levels of the student’s achievements in learning. It also creates a safe environment where students feel compelled to participate and put forth their best effort. Cooperative learning creates a classroom community where students are motivated to participate and, as a consequence, increased student motivation leads to increased student achievement. Actually cooperative learning is an instructional method in which students work together in groups in order to carry out a task or activity. There are five basic elements that are essential to the successful implementation of cooperative learning in the classroom: positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, social skills and group processing. Positive interdependence is the understanding that peers influence their own learning, whereby an individual cannot succeed on their own. Individual accountability means that all students must be responsible for achieving the goals of the group and each member must contribute with his or her work. Face-to-face interaction requires students to work in small groups where they will interact with one another closely. Students need to be taught the social skills that are required for working in cooperative groups. Students cannot be expected to understand how to interact collaboratively without being taught how to do so. Group processing occurs as students work through their academic tasks, strive to achieve goals and solve problems along the way. The students can then process their cooperation with a view to learning how well the activities went and what can be improved for future experiences. During cooperative activities, students learn from one another in a meaningful way and deepen their understanding of the content being discussed. This type of learning has been found to have the potential to diminish the competitiveness of traditional classrooms and focuses on bringing students together to complete activities. Students work collaboratively to discuss topics, argue their own opinion as well as enhance one another’s understanding. 22
It is advisable for students to work in heterogeneous groups, with high achieving students working with lower achieving students. These groupings can have positive effects on inclusion and can promote more positive attitudes towards students with learning difficulties. Moreover heterogeneous grouping can promote acceptance and enhance the social skills development of all children involved. Cooperative learning opportunities allow students to engage in a different type of instruction where they are learning more from their peers and less from their teacher. These strategies allow students with learning difficulties to speak with their peers about the misunderstandings rather than always going to the teacher or being singled out. Providing students with cooperative learning opportunities promotes their ability to succeed in the classroom environment. Working together, rather than alone is much more effective for students with learning differences, especially when they work in heterogeneous groupings. To sum up, the literature on this topic proves that cooperative learning may be an effective strategy to include students, both Italian and foreign, on IEPs in the classroom. This type of instruction allows students to work with their peers, rather than individually and helps them to understand the material at a higher level of thinking. Cooperative learning also increases effect on learning, specifically in the areas of motivation and understanding, because it allows students to learn meaningfully and authentically with their peers in their own way. The inclusive instructional strategies within cooperative learning provide students with opportunities to feel part of a community where their voice is well heard and represented regardless their nationalities and cognitive skills.
REFERENCES Artzt, A., Newman, C. (1990). How to use Cooperative learning. The Mathematics Class. Bellotto, M. (1988). Le metodologie didattiche attive. In Aif (a cura di). Professione formatori. Milano: Franco Angeli. Comoglio, M., Cardoso, M. (1996). Insegnare ed apprendere in gruppo. Roma: LAS. Comoglio, M. (1996). Educare insegnando, apprendere ed applicare il cooperative learning.Roma: LAS. Comoglio, M. (2005). Il cooperative learning. Quaderni di animazione sociale. Torino: Gruppo Abele. Comoglio, M. (1999). Il cooperative learning. Torino: Gruppo Abele. Cucciarelli, L. (1999). Le modalità dell’apprendimento collaborativo. IRRSAE: Emilia Romagna. 23
Deutsch, M. (1972). The resolution of conflict. Constructive and desctructive processes. Yale University Press, New Haven. Johnson, D. W. (1979). Education psychology. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R.T., (1989). Cooperatin and compettion: Theory and research. Edina: Interaction Book Company. Johnson, E. W., Johnson, R. T. (1998). L’apprendimento cooperativo. Trento: Erickson. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., Holubec, E. (1998). Apprendimento cooperativo in classe. Migliorare il clima emotivo in classe. Trento: Erikson. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., Holubec, E. (1994). The nuts and bolts of cooperative learning. Interaction Book Company. Tr. it. (1996). Apprendimento cooperativo in classe. Trento: Erikson. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R.T., Smith, K. (1991). Active learning: Cooperative in the college classroom. Edina: Interaction Book Company. Polito, M. (2000). Attivare le risorse del gruppo classe. Trento: Erickson. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/68665/1/Lawther_Sarah_C_201506_MT_M TRP: Inclusion Through Cooperative Learning by Sarah Lawther ( 2015) - Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN SCHOOL AND FAMILY IN THE ITALIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM By teachers: Caterina De Maria, Anna Maria Lo Bue IISS "Carlo Maria Carafa" Mazzarino, Italy
Society in general, and educational researchers in particular, have long been interested in the positive effect that parental involvement may have on the educational system. The meaningful involvement of parents in the school establishment can enhance the educational process. Parents can contribute insights and knowledge that complement the professional skills of schools' staffs in ways that strengthen academic and social programs. However, for parent involvement initiatives to be successful, they should be part of a 24
contextually focused school improvement process designed to create positive relationships that support pupils’ total development. Parent involvement programs are likely to yield positive results when they are part of a more collaborative organizational structure. In Italy the school establishment tries to involve parents at all levels of school life, through general support of schools' educational programs, active participation in daily activities and in school planning and management. Parents work together with schools' staffs to develop and implement comprehensive school plans. However, parents do not supersede or challenge the authority of principals and their staffs. They provide perspectives on matters that serve the best interest of the pupils. In particular, in our school, as in all the other Italian schools, in agreement with the laws well-known as “decreti delegati” ( No. 416,417,418,419,420) of May 31st 1974, there is the establishment of several collegial councils at different levels of the school structure with the aim of making more active participation of all members (teachers, students, parents, auxiliary staff) in the educational activity and management of school life. In general, the members of the collegiate councils are elected by members of their category; for example, the students elect their representatives who will attend the collegial council among the students. Through the collegial councils, it is also possible to achieve the opening of the school to the contribution of the local communities and other educational institutions operating in the social field. This provides the opportunity to practice the exercise of freedom and democracy through the habit of confrontation and collaboration. The establishments of these collegial councils dates back to 1974, but recently with school autonomy, they have gained a greater role and parents have been given greater centrality with their representation in most of them, except for the teachers’ council alone. As said above, there are different collegial councils, but the most important and effective involving parents’ participation are: Class Council, Institute Council, Parents’ Assembly. The Class Council has mainly advisory function and makes proposals concerning school planning. It is elected every year. In the lower secondary school it is composed of all class teachers and four parents' representatives; chaired by the schoolmaster or a teacher delegated by him. In the upper secondary school it is composed of all class teachers, two parents' representatives and two students’ representatives, chaired by the schoolmaster or a teacher delegated by him. 25
The Institute Council includes representative of all the members of the school: teachers, parents, students, auxiliary staff and administrative staff. It has a deliberative function and is elected every three years. It consists of 14 or 19 components depending on the number of pupils enrolled in the school. Inside there is an Executive Council. Nest we can mention the parents’ assembly: parents have the right to meet together to discuss issues concerning the whole school or the classes attended by their own children. As we said before, the establishment of these councils promotes more active participation of all members in the educational activity and management of school life. But we have also to say that in our school we adopt very effective measures in order to inform our parents about the educational achievements of their own children. Firstly, all the staff, both teachers and administrative staff, has to use “the electronic register”. The Class Register contains professors' signatures, students’ absences and justifications, assigned homework, notes about work done, and students’ personal data. Its function is also to note the disciplinary measures (disciplinary notes, suspensions), homework and the school program performed by the teachers on each single day. The Professor's Register records the absences and assessments concerning each pupil in every school subject. Parents can see their children’s attendance or absences straight away, even simultaneously, and also their written and oral assessments by accessing to the electronic register daily through a password provided by the institution. The electronic register can also be used for prompt communication between school staff and parents, i.e. for sending messages to the parents or to the teachers.
Secondly, another effective way of collaboration and communication between school and the student’s family is when the parents are summoned by the class council at midterm or at the 26
end of each term to inform them about their children's assessments in the subjects studied, their methodological approach to the study, their commitment and assiduity in doing homework, or their social relations with the teachers and the classmates. Thirdly, every teacher has one hour available a week for personal interviews with the parents, if there are some special problems concerning the student’s educational achievements or behavior.
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Finally, it is worth mentioning that at the beginning of each school year our schoolmaster summons the parents of the students enrolled in the first year of our upper secondary school to show the school building, introduce the staff in service, and explain the school rules and policy. On that occasion he also asks the parents to sign an “educational agreement” with which both the school, the parents and the student acknowledge their rights and duties and accept to respect the school disciplinary policy. All the above mentioned ways and measures adopted by our school to encourage collaboration between school and students’ families prove that the correct and positive involvement of parents in the school establishment may improve the pupils’ educational process and promote their active citizenship.
THE COLLABORATION WITH PARENTS OF STUDENTS IN THE TURKISH SCHOOL SYSTEM
By teachers Melis AĞAR, Canan KARTAL Sule Muzaffer Buyuk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Manavgat, Turkey
The most important goal of educational activities is to educate children who are the future of a country as good people and good citizens. Factors such as school, family, environment, teacher and education system are effective in the education of children. According to researches, the training of a good individual is great for both schools and the family and the environment. Many problems may arise when this cooperation cannot be achieved. This especially affects students in the negative direction. The decline in student achievement is that many of the stresses in the school are the most important consequences of 28
this situation, as children begin to acquire harmful habits at a younger age. The school is a social organization. It picks up the input from family and environment and, re-circulates the product after a specific training period. This is why it has a close relationship with the parents and environment. This work reaches for the purpose of organization in the organizations where the union is fully realized and in the unrealized organizations the education organization cannot reach its purpose exactly and problems arise. It is necessary to support schooling in the family environment as the child spends longer time in school than the time spent with family and surroundings. Increasing student achievement is a common problem for both parents and school. Each system is interrelated. On the factors that increase school success in terms of learning-teaching process research has shown that collaboration with parents of the students has a significant effect. Family support has significant influence on the academic and social success of the student. A study by Diaz (1989) Research; other students with low academic achievement and risk of being in the class. The most important factor that distinguishes the students is the parent support and lack of interest respectively. In the same research, parental rigidity, inconsistency and incompatibility were also found in low school success it was seen as a significant risk factor of the study. Parents' wrong attitudes, indifference, oppression, stiffness, lovelessness or extreme interest cause them to feel frustrated and frustrated. And also, the students who do not stay with their families, for example, students staying in residential or boarding schools, they have very serious problems compared to the students who live near their families. Research on factors that increase school success with regard to the educational process suggests that school-family collaboration on school success has a significant effect. As well as academic success, school-family cooperation has contributions to children's social, emotional success and so on. It also contributes to other development areas. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain this communication between the school and the families in order to be preventive and to make the necessary directives without any possible problems. Parents influence children's school achievement in many ways. They can make a significant contribution to the academic success of their children, both at the level of their communication with their children and at the level of co-operation they can achieve with the school. Educational communication between children and parents starting in the pre-school period and continuing in school years, family support and encouragement that children feel plays an important role in their educational life. For effective school-parent collaboration, it is very important and necessary to ensure a healthy flow of information between the family and the school. This flow of information, communication and participation in a planned way between the family and the educational institution creates opportunities for both parents and teachers to be more supportive of the development of their children. Parents and teachers can better identify children and their needs together, and make more meaningful contributions to their development through their communication with each other. Research that examines the effects of school-family collaboration has found how children, families and teachers are affected by this collaboration. 29
Through school-parents cooperation Children . They show more positive attitudes towards school life, . They have achieved higher success in reading skills, . They are more successful at school, . They are preparing homework at a better quality, . They found more similarities between their parents and the school. . They are willing to attend school activities and classes. Parents - They are informed about how children can contribute to their development, - They can learn about the functioning and educational programs, - They are much more supportive of their children, - They are more confident in helping their children, - They found teachers to be more helpful and supportive. 30
Teachers . They can see them as more helpful and supportive, . They have learned a lot about current events about the students from the parents and have seen themselves better acquainted with the students. In this context, parent meetings, individual teacher-parent interviews, interviews with school administrations, parent seminars, guidance bulletins, etc. work must be regularly carried out in order to maintain school-family cooperation and communication. Given the positive contribution of school-family cooperation to children's development, participation in these workshops is a big deal for both schools and families. The positive attitudes of the parents contribute to the success of the students. On the other hand, the negativity and the misleading attitudes of parents affect the academic success of the students negatively. For example, indifference of parents, comparison of child with other children, low income and level of education, lack of communication and incompatibility between parents, violence at home, parents' not adequately directing children to social activities, not supported or disapproved by the parents cause declining of academic success. However, today, students spend more time at schools than at home. The lives of young people at home also affect the school life. This situation affects not only their academic success but also their relationships with their peers and instructors. Therefore, educational activities should be supported by parents at home. Ensuring school-family co-operation can prevent discipline problems in the school at the same time. To sum up, the school-parents collaboration ensures that student achievement increases, participation, motivation, self-confidence and behavior change. Family involvement is also a basic tool in the development of positive attitudes of children to schools and teachers. Here is the three cycle of education. One is worthless without others as lifecycle.
STUDENTS
SCHOOL SYSTEM
PARENTS
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School- Student-Parent Cycle The results of this situation are also seen in our school. Young people supported by the family are able to make stronger and more positive decisions about their future and the develop strong and positive personality. These students are also involved in many cultural, social, artistic and sportive activities. They improve themselves in not only academic field but also other different fields. These students read more, continuously search for information, are more sensitive to the environment, other living beings, social issues, etc because their attitudes are supported by their parents. On the other hand, young people not seen and valued as an individual have some problems in their school life. They are always ready to argue or fight with each other, with their teachers and the others. They don't read much and they don't want to learn new things. Academic success is not important for them. They don't have certain goals for their future. They waste their time. They do not know how to love and value because they see themselves valueless. At this point we, teachers have important duties. We must change their view of life. We must make them feel valuable and important. While attempting to this, we must remember that the support of the families is necessary. We must communicate with parents. We must ask for help from them. We must emphasize that their support is important. There is another important point. In all of the schools, there are students from different cultures, cities or countries. They have different races, languages and lifestyles and also there are immigrants and refugees in Turkey and in the schools. The students from other nations have some problems indeed. They have communication problems, socio-cultural problems among themselves. They are having difficulty adapting to the school and their friends. And unfortunately some people have stereotypes towards them. The adaptation of these students to school easily, we must have meeting with the parents and students regularly. There are also enabled students in our schools. It is important to contact with these students' parents continuously because they should not hinder their academic and personal success.
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SCHOOL COLABORATION SYSTEM WITH PARENTS IN ROMANIAN SCHOOL SISTEM
By teachers Violeta Drăguț, Violeta Telescu Technological High School, Costești
In the educational process, the responsibility and influence on the pupils' results cannot be entirely attributed to the school, given that students spend most of their time outside school. The role of the family in child education does not end at school age and it is completely wrong for parents to think that as they sent their children to school, it is the duty of the teacher to teach them. School and teachers cannot fully compensate for the lack of concern of a parent. Educational effort becomes fully efficient only when the two factors, school and family, are intertwined for the mutual interest of educating the child. The school is interested in working with the family, making it its ally, so that its educational action is more profound and long-lasting. In order for the results to be achieved in the framework of this collaboration, it is the school, which needs to take on the main role. Teachers are more aware, considering their experience, that when parents engage in the education of their own children, the gains for the children are spectacular: they get better school results, the rate of promotion rises, school drop-out rates decrease and the likelihood of graduating on time increases. Moreover, children value learning and wish to continue their studies at post-secondary or university level. The family environment has a large influence in ensuring the emotional and moral climate necessary for the development of a child’s healthy personality and this influence is felt in the school environment. In our country there is great emphasis on the 7 years spent at home, which in reality are 6 years, representing the first seven years of life, 33
those spent with the family. During this time the child must be educated in the spirit of truth, good, beauty, love, respect and tolerance, to be offered positive models to follow. In most families, children receive such education, but there are also unfortunate exceptions where parents are less responsible or have a far below average level of culture and do not provide the children with any of the above mentioned, considering that when pupils enrol in an institutionalized environment it is the obligation of the teachers to educate them. J.J.Rousseau once said: "Children are born good in nature, perfect – what spoils them is life and educational methods ..." meaning that the way the child starts to live is extremely important for his educational progress and as a future citizen. If for many years the school-family partnership has been developed unilaterally, being often considered the "responsibility" of the school, a new approach to the development of this partnership has recently been attempted. Thus, within the school collaboration with the family, the emphasis is on a clear mutual commitment between parents and educators, based on an "educational contract". This type of contract is a system of mutual obligations in the cooperation of parents with teachers and entails parents being involved in school and extracurricular activities not only from an economic perspective by participating, supporting and evaluating the financial efforts and actions of the school, but also from an educational and cultural aspect. The contract is signed by both parties and, unfortunately, that is all some parents provide. Parents should normally support the daily program, school attendance, support lifelong learning, create conditions for expanding the children's ability to learn by means of books, magazines, exhibitions, theater, excursions, etc. Admittedly, in the early years of school parents are much more involved in school life, with differences emerging from city to village, from those with financial possibilities to those with far below average incomes. Also, in recent years, grandparents have taken over many of the parents' tasks, who are far too busy with demanding jobs, which is actually a fortunate situation considering that more and more children grow up with nannies rather than their parents. Parents or legal guardians of the pupil are the main educational partners of the school and have access to information related to the education system concerning the 34
education of their children. Parents, guardians or legal supporters of the child / student have the right to be supported by the education system in order to educate themselves and improve their skills as partners in the family-school relationship. Thus, the formal dimension of the school-family partnership is stipulated in the Education Act and implies the involvement of parents in several formal types of organizations: the Class Council, the Parents' Class Committee, the Parents' Representative Council / the Parents' Association, the Quality Assessment and Quality Assurance Committee in school as well as in other committees at the school's decision. At the beginning of each year a parent committee is formed at each class level, in order to represent the interests of other parents in various situations. The Class Parents’ Committee looks at how each parent, guardian or legal supporter fulfills the obligations provided in the educational contract, and takes the necessary measures in case of violation of the provisions contained in this document. At school level, the Parents’ Representative Committee is formed, with representatives being chosen on the School Board and in various working committees. In many schools, parents have formed associations with legal status and with duties and responsibilities stipulated in the School's Organization and Functioning Regulations. Among the school activities in which parents can and should be involved are: • Meetings with parents • Lectures • Individual consultations / discussions • Parents attending school lessons • Establishing optional classes • Participation, alongside pupils, in various extracurricular activities • Job-shadowing activities for high-school students • Volunteering • Parent committees, Parent Representative Council / Parent Associations 35
What is interesting is that mothers are extremely responsive to invitations to participate in these activities, so many schools try to organize activities like Father's Day. Whenever they feel the need to see their children during classes, parents can attend lessons, in order to observe the teacher's approach, the involvement of their own children in lessons, the ways of explaining concepts in the textbook. The attendance of parents to classes should be followed by discussions with the teacher about how to guide the child in solving homework (oral and written). This type of activity is implemented only in primary schools and not very often, as there is a reluctance on the part of some teachers who believe parents observing the lessons is actually a means of checking them, as well as class hours coinciding with the working hours of the parents. A great success is also achieved in primary school through demonstrative lessons for parents, in which teachers show them how a lesson is learned because children do not know what to learn and how to learn. When choosing optional subjects, it is mandatory for the school to consult the students and their parents, and if in primary school parents are the ones making the decision, in secondary school and even more so in high school it is the students who basically dictate the choice, with parent involvement being only formal. In order to know the child and the family, their concerns, the teachers can visit the students' families, as some problems can be easily detected in this way. Recently, these visits are no longer up to date as parents consider it sufficient to discuss on Facebook groups or Whatsapp, just as there are no longer trips organized with students and parents because they want to give children more freedom of movement and expression. The school psychologist has become a constant presence in almost all schools, except for schools in villages with a small number of pupils and located in remote areas. Usually, each parent can participate in counseling sessions on issues related to children's behavior and abilities, but these meetings are rarely organised because many parents believe that no one has the right to tell them how to educate their child and some of them do not make a clear distinction between a psychiatrist and a psychologist and consider it a shame to see a psychologist. It is also advisable that the same psychologist be involved in the 36
counseling of teachers regarding the methods of making school life more appealing to parents, as training courses teachers can attend do not focus on the needs of each school. Regarding these activities, it should be mentioned that the degree of involvement of parents is not the one desired by the school but in very few school institutions, the main excuse for non-involvement being the lack of time. An elegant way to avoid engagement is that families show their total confidence in the role the school has in their child's development. At the other end of the spectrum there are the all-knowing parents and the ignorant parents who openly show their disinterest in school. A large number of studies highlights the concern of parents for the economic future of their children, for securing a a convenient position in the job market in terms of stability and income level or working conditions. The majority of parents, including those coming from a poor social background, are reluctant to accept the idea that they lack competence and to give their full educational prerogatives to the school. In these situations the school does not want a collaboration with the family. In many cases, attendance at parents meetings is extremely low for schools where students come from poor social backgrounds, from disorganized families or with parents working abroad. In the case of our high school parents are not exactly the best allies in obtaining satisfactory results from pupils, parents only learn about the school situation and the behavior of their children when they are called by the supervisors, and not because they are directly interested. It is regrettable that many parents phone the school teachers just to request some time off school for the child, or to find out about their children absence from school and get medical proof to motivate those absences. Under these circumstances, the effort made by teachers in our school is considerably higher than that of teachers in prestigious schools where they teach students with admission marks higher than 9 or even 9.50. Therefore, in order to compensate for the poor involvement of the pupils' parents, the school is trying different solutions: working with the Police, the town halls of the places where the pupils come from, projects to attract a few parents who can disseminate what is 37
done in school with and for the pupils, organizing
attractive
out-of-school
activities, attracting parents who do not have a job, etc. Determining parents to become more involved with school has become a difficult process, which requires
a
gradual
approach
by
celebrating each small victory and learning from mistakes. Students from poor families are supported
by
Organizations,
Non-Governmental in
different
centers
where they are offered for a few hours playground, food and individual study with volunteer teachers.
In our locality there is NGO Hercules, housed in an old building where students go in the morning, eat, play and learn. They always have a support teacher, and at 12.30 they head for school. Families are very pleased with this support and we as a high school wanted to get students closer to the financial environment and through various activities we go to visit these children. We have volunteer school 38
teachers. For Christmas teachers and pupils go to these pupils and they reward us with carols and many smiles. In conclusion, it must be recognized that there are some reproaches and barriers in the school-family partnership, and that this collaboration has its ups and downs, which should be valued and avoided, respectively. The most frequent reproaches that can be made to parents are: apathy, lack of initiative and responsibility, interference on the board of impertinence, exclusive concerns about grades, which have to be exceptional, contacts with school only in crisis situations in student behavior, negative reactions to new ideas. The most frequent reproach for teachers is that they treat parents as children and not as partners. Barriers to collaboration between school and parents are: • Economic barriers and those related to natality, transport difficulties, the fact that parents have to care for more children or elderly relatives; • Psychological barriers related to parents with little or no education who lack the confidence that they can help their children; • Barriers related to the organizational culture of the school related to the attitude of teachers who cannot find the right language and the right attitude to attract parents to school and to encourage them to make a sustained effort in educating their children. Barriers can be overcome through teacher training, counseling parents, through government efforts to find viable solutions for raising the standard of living of the population. Also, the first two barriers can be more quickly removed if a school-to-family collaboration relationship is built on simple principles: trust, mutual valuing, respect and effective communication. In our school, we try to overcome the aforementioned barriers with patience and effort, participating in European funded projects being a means to find other ways to make school-family collaboration more efficient.
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It goes without saying that each country has its own school-family collaboration system, but we hope that we some methods can be borrowed or adapted, which would lead to making this collaboration more efficient so that upon graduation students are prepared both professionally and personally.
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