Partnering for Sustainability: Parent-Teacher-School (PTS) Interactions in the Qatar Education System

Abstract

The interaction avenues, levels, and impacts between parents, schools and teachers have changed drastically due to the ever-increasing responsibilities, frequent and rapid changes in the curriculum, the invasive dominance of the internet and digital media in the lives of all stakeholders, and the digitization of learning materials, to name a few. This pilot study follows a design-thinking approach to investigate the current practices, needs, and challenges of parental involvement in public schools in Qatar to improve student achievements towards sustainable living and habits by identifying problems, developing solutions, and improving student achievement in conjunction with all local and relevant stakeholders. To this end, building on extensive and comparative studies on theories, models, and best practices within and outside the selected domain, a qualitative study is conducted to obtain insight from local teachers and parents in preparatory public schools. The grounded theory method is employed to analyze the data via the qualitative coding technique. The results indicate that parental involvement practices in Qatar public schools occur in different forms, including home-based and school-based learning. Furthermore, while almost all parents recognize the significance of parental involvement and show a high level of interest in being on the ‘Board of Trustees’, in reality, very few participate or volunteer in school activities, and they rarely visit classrooms or interact with teachers or schools, mainly due to their increasing job-related commitments. In addition, the majority of parents indicate the need for additional flexibility in communication with the school to increase their involvement. Meanwhile, the teachers highlight the significant lack of parental involvement in understanding, overcoming and improving student achievement in both academic subjects and sustainable living habits and actions. The study outlines a few key suggestions to overcome these challenges and improve the parent-teacher-school (PTS) partnership, including offering mandatory parenting classes, developing and implementing effective communication mechanisms to facilitate parent-school interactions, and involving parents in decision-making process relating to their children and other school-related activities. Despite the sampling limitation, this study’s findings represent a starting point for understanding the needs of PTS partnerships, current practices of parental involvement, and mechanisms to improve their contribution to Qatar’s schools.

Distress following the COVID-19 Pandemic among Schools’ Stakeholders: Psychosocial Aspects and Communication

“…The relationship between perceived levels of communication, psychosocial aspects, and perceived stress were found to be positively correlated in this study. Communication has previously been established as a protective factor from distress among school children, and improved well-being across the various stakeholders [ 26 , 29 , 50 ].…”

“…As a result of COVID-19, school closures have shifted education from the classroom to the home, where parents had to fill an educational role as well (at least partially) [ 25 ]. It has previously been widely discussed in the scientific literature that communication between various stakeholders of school systems promotes improved well-being for all [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The findings of Lv et al, {2016} indicate that parent–teacher/ school communication plays an important moderating role in student emotional well-being and academic achievement, and Kuusimaki and Uusitalo-Malmivaara (2019) found that interactions between parents and teachers improve the well-being of teachers [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Examining Conflict Management Strategies Used in Tanzania’s Secondary Schools: A Case in Biharamulo District, Tanzania

“…Conflicts between teachers and students result from disciplinary actions, with students resisting punishments that disrupt their academic pursuits [27]. Parents cite disagreements over academic performance and corporal punishment as triggers for conflicts with teachers, while teachers point to parents making decisions without verifying facts [29]. An internal conflict emerges between teachers and employers due to low wages, teachers taking part-time jobs, and violating employer requirements [25].…”

Analisis Kemampuan Literasi Linkungan bermuatan Tri Stimulus Amar Pro-konservasi pada Pembelajaran IPA SMP Kelas 7

“…Penggunaan bentuk kegiatan kerja dan keterlibatan orang tua dalam kerja sama aktif akan memungkinkan pemecahan masalah. Seperti pada penelitian sebelumnya (Al-Hail et al, 2021), salah satu solusi ini adalah pengembangan kegiatan proyek konten lingkungan oleh guru dengan keterlibatan orang tua dalam kerja sama aktif. Ini akan memungkinkan untuk menggabungkan kegiatan belajar, bermain dan bekerja secara harmonis, di mana setiap tindakan anak menjadi alat pengetahuannya, penemuannya sendiri, cara untuk memahami kebenaran (Gianoutsos, 2006).…”