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Parental engagement re-imagined new beginnings and fresh starts
By Elisabeth Neiada
It is early September 2019 and we are in Athens, Greece. September brings with it the first day of school, a day filled with emotions that characterise new beginnings and fresh starts. On that day, Dr Seuss’ words would always replay in my head: ‘You are off to great places, today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!’. These words perfectly encapsulated my feelings, not only as a student but later as a teacher and parent. For me, the first day of school was exciting and magical, infused with parents’ hopes, expectations and/or fears for the academic year; students’ curiosity about their new classrooms, teachers, and often new classmates; and teachers’ passion and commitment to instil a love of learning in their (new) students. I remember that a pinch of hope and sense of positivity would reign this day, reminding me to enjoy the journey and not only to anticipate the destination.
Fast-forwarding to early September 2021, we are in Athens, Greece. Our journey has been overshadowed by the covid-19 pandemic, which has turned our world upside down and still keeps our destination unknown. More than exciting and magical, the latest two ‘first-days of school’ have been marked by fear and uncertainty on people’s faces, cleverly hidden behind face masks. Fear about what our ‘new normal’ will be for students, teachers and parents, and uncertainty about potential school closures and disruptions to learning.
It is said that in times of uncertainty, people reconsider, refocus, and reprioritize by considering questions such as ‘What is most important right now?’, ‘How can we turn misfortunes into opportunities?’ and ‘In what ways can we support, motivate, and help each other?’. The Save the Children report of 2015 identifies education as one of the highest priorities for children in times of crises, and reads: ‘children feel safe and protected at school, and they feel better at school. Education is the key to their future, their protection, their happiness, and their health’ (Save the Children, 2015). As an IB educator, I cherish those words that have informed my educational pedagogy and teaching in my classroom. Apart from being an educator though, I am also a former IB Diploma Programme student and proud parent of two children. It is with all the different facets of my identity that I write this article, to draw attention to my most pressing priority in the last two years, from both a professional and personal standpoint: parental engagement in schools, which forms part of the wider umbrella of parent-school relationships.
Parental engagement in IB schools in Athens, Greece, is my research interest as a current doctoral student in Education. My research seeks to understand how parental engagement is constructed and manifested in five IB schools in Athens. The aim of this article is to describe my study and invite readers’ thoughts on parental engagement, in a time of constant change.
Parental engagement as a term signifies parents’ orientations, attitudes, practices, behaviours, and identities when involved in their child’s school education (Barr & Saltmarsh, 2014). Existing literature suggests that parental engagement includes the involvement of parents not only in students’ academic studies (Epstein et al, 2002), but also in students’ learning inside and outside of school, particularly at home (Goodall, 2017). Several researchers consider engagement in students’ learning a holistic
process, intrinsic to the development of the student as a whole individual (de Oliveira Lima & Kuusisto, 2019). The assumption underpinning this argument is that engagement in children’s learning leads to strong ties between parents and educators, creating fertile ground for trust and partnerships to flourish between parents and schools. This in turn renders parental engagement a continuous, interactive, and mutual process between parents and schools. Studies have shown that active and ‘successful’ parental engagement has a positive impact on the whole school community, and is linked with: increased quality of education for students and higher levels of academic attainment (Sterian & Mocanu, 2013); a positive school culture, including an orientation toward innovation, continuous learning and improvement (Connolly et al, 2019); and stable and nurturing home environments, with emphasis on parental confidence and skill (Lawson, 2003).
In practice, however, parental engagement is more intricate to unravel as, it is argued, it is culture- and contextbound (Barr & Saltmarsh, 2014). This means that diverse family and school factors play into parental engagement, which – individually or collectively – influence its course in each school. For instance, family factors include parents’ capabilities, cognition, confidence, aspirations, and backgrounds, while school factors include a school’s type, mission, profile, policies, and leadership practices. Second, the nature of parental engagement is underpinned by human relationships, relational trust, positive interactions, and open communication (Connolly et al, 2019). On this, Barr & Saltmarsh have observed a wide range of ways in which schools ‘manage their relationships with parents, as well as variation in what parents themselves view as important for engagement with their children’s schooling’ (2014: 491-492).
Where does parental engagement stand in IB schools that represent a range of cultures and contexts? I have chosen to work with IB schools in Athens, as their school profiles and characteristics provide a framework with interesting antitheses. IB schools in Athens are ‘same, same but different’, exhibiting both similarities and differences. Their main apparent similarity is that they offer one, two or three of the IB Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, Diploma Programme. Naturally, IB schools in Athens abide by the IB mission, Learner Profile and education centred around international mindedness (IB, 2021). Also, IB schools in Athens use English as their formal language of instruction, as opposed to the Greek national system of education which is taught in Greek. As a result, IB schools in Athens are viewed as ‘international’ schools in Greece. At the same time, IB schools in Athens include Greek elements to various extents because of their geographical location. ‘Greek’ elements are embedded in a school’s culture, composition, administration, and/ or organisation. For instance, all IB schools offer Greek as a main or additional language of instruction, celebrate Greek national holidays along with Greek traditions and customs, and create ties with the wider local community in Athens through service learning and community service. Finally, all IB schools in Athens are private schools with high tuition fees, often described as ‘elite schools’
(Valassi, 2009), the implication being that IB schools in Athens cater for families of higher socio-economic status (SES).
With regards to their differences, IB schools in Athens vary in terms of their history, mission, size, type, curricula offered and nature of the teacher, parent and student populations. Some schools date back to the early 1900s and carry significant history, whereas others are more recent, established after the 1960s. Then, besides the IB universal mission, IB schools in Athens have their own school mission that characterizes the school’s entity, vision, and outlook. Moreover, alongside the IB programmes, IB schools in Athens may teach other curricula too: examples include the Greek national curriculum, the College Preparatory Programme (CP) and Advanced Placement (AP) courses in High School. Consequently, the way in which each IB school defines itself ranges from ‘International’ to ‘GreekAmerican’, ‘American’ and ‘modern Greek’. Finally, IB schools in Athens vary in their parent, teacher and student populations in terms of nationalities and native languages spoken. The majority of IB schools in Athens are Greek in their student population, with just two of them demonstrating significant presence of international parent, teacher and student bodies.
Considering that parental engagement is influenced by the culture, context and make-up of a school, I am critically examining factors and processes that affect parental engagement in IB schools in Athens. Each school constitutes a stand-alone case study, with schools then being studied collectively to pinpoint similarities and differences in engagement practices. More specifically, my research raises the following questions in the context of participating IB schools: • What approaches exist with regards to parental engagement? • In what ways, if any, is parental engagement linked to parental choice? • What are the diverse family and school determinants that influence parental engagement? • How do parents and educators perceive their individual and collective roles in supporting parental engagement?
Answers to these questions are being sought through the viewpoints and lived experiences of parents and educators. Participant observations, interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis are the basis for gathering data in this qualitative study. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study to be undertaken that marries the two fields of parental engagement and IB schools. IB schools in Athens do not appear to have been researched at all before now, let alone with regards to parental engagement. Literature indicates that parental engagement as a phenomenon has been researched in the context of public schools in countries including the US, the UK and Australia, and using teachers as the prime point of reference rather than the whole school community (Barr & Saltmarsh, 2014; Epstein et al., 2002).
So here I am today, off to great places, academic ‘new beginnings’ and ‘fresh starts’. My hope is to support, motivate and inspire parents, educators and schools in prioritizing human interactions and human relationships. The novel situation of covid-19 has noticeably impacted parenting quality, family dynamics and parental engagement practice. We are thus called to reflect on ‘lessons learned’ from covid-19 and turn misfortunes into opportunities. The time spent at home with my children, the enforced physical separation from schools and the feeling of resilience developed during this crisis have changed my understanding of parental engagement. I believe it is time, now more than ever, for us to be fully present with our children: to engage with them with love, respect, care, flexibility and perserverance, in order to equip them with qualities and skills needed for a stable future of happiness and health. ◆
Elisabeth Neiada is a doctoral candidate in Education. She has taught at international schools in Athens, London, Paris and New York. ✉ een26@bath.ac.uk
References
• Barr J & Saltmarsh S (2014) ‘It all comes down to the leadership’: the role of the school principal in fostering parent-school engagement. Educational Management
Administration & Leadership. 42(4): 491-505. • Connolly M, Eddy-Spicer D H, James C & Kruse S D (2019) The SAGE Handbook of School Organization. Los Angeles, Calif: SAGE • de Oliveira Lima C L & Kuusisto E (2019) Parental Engagement in Children’s Learning: A Holistic Approach to Teacher-Parents’ Partnerships. In Pedagogy in Basic and
Higher Education-Current Developments and Challenges: IntechOpen. • Epstein, J L, Sheldon S B, Sanders M G, Simon B S, Clark Salinas K, Rodriguez Jansorn N & Van Voorhis F L (2002) School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your
Handbook for Action. Retrieved from www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ERIC-ED467082/pdf/ERIC-ED467082.pdf • Goodall J (2017) Narrowing the Achievement Gap: Parental engagement with children’s learning: London: Taylor & Francis. • IB (2021) IB World Schools in Greece. Retrieved from www.ibyb.org/ib-world-schools-in-greece • Lawson M A (2003) School-family relations in context: Parent and teacher perceptions of parent involvement. Urban Education. 38(1): 77-133. • Save the Children (2015) What Do Children Want in Times of Emergency and Crisis? They Want an Education. Retrieved from www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/ global/reports/education-and-child-protection/what-children-want.pdf • Sterian M & Mocanu M (2013) Family-school Partnerships: Information and approaches for educators. Euromentor Journal. 4(2): 166. • Valassi D (2009) Choosing a private school in the Greek education market: a multidimensional procedure. Atelier. 6: 13-14.
