Satisfaction With the Collaboration Between Families and Schools – The Parent’s View

Abstract

Families and schools are two of the central living environments of children. Their collaboration is therefore seen as an important factor in education, having a high impact on learning outcomes, motivation, and children’s health. Nevertheless, current research also shows potential tensions in the educational partnership of families and schools, as different opinions and expectations about goals, competences and roles in education can result in conflicts. Based on a nationwide survey of Swiss parents who assessed the school situation of their children (N = 1275), this study examined parent’s experiences, needs and expectations regarding collaboration with schools, with a focus on important issues such as involvement in educational decisions, inclusion, and health. Results show a generally high level of satisfaction among parents, which is particularly related to the emotional well-being of their children at school, the quality of collaboration, and the trust in schools and teachers, both for parents of children with and without special educational needs (SEN). Nevertheless, involvement in educational decisions is perceived as rather marginal. Furthermore, the results indicate that parents of children with SEN are less confident about their children’s future. They are also less optimistic about their children’s academic self-concept and slightly more dissatisfied with their children’s school. Parents’ attitudes toward inclusion showed a wide range of opinions: on the one hand, inclusion is seen positively in terms of developing students’ social skills or promoting a more inclusive society. On the other hand, however, the resources of the school and the skills of the teachers were sometimes considered as insufficient. Our findings provide important insights regarding the further development of the educational partnership between schools and families. Good collaboration between schools and families can create an environment that promotes students’ emotional well-being as well as their academic skills. The positive impact of this partnership has been demonstrated in numerous studies and contributes to the implementation of an inclusive healthy school.

Systemic vulnerability of schoolteachers: A scoping review to compare the systemic pressures faced by teachers in countries with and without a totalitarian past

“…Lastly, teachers must increasingly balance their responsibility to teach the whole class with the needs of individual children (Kelchtermans, 1996). Parents show increasing "demands for children's academic success" in Switzerland (Paccaud et al, 2021) and "pressure relating to grades" in Croatia (Slišković et al, 2017), especially as "families' investment in education increases dramatically" as a result of the commercialization of education in China (Gao, 2008).…”

“…The indicators of these articles ranged from 12 to 23 points. The article "Satisfaction with the Collaboration Between Families and Schools -The Parent's View" (Paccaud et al, 2021) received the highest number of points -23 points.…”

Collaboration école-famille au primaire: types de collaboration et degré de relation entre les partenaires.

“…De tels résultats incitent à formuler deux constats. Le premier confirme que les écoles ont compris qu'elles avaient un rôle-clé à jouer dans la réussite de la collaboration EF puisque la totalité des activités répertoriées a été initiée par les enseignant•es (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2004;Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2010) Larivée et al, 2017;Paccaud et al, 2021), ces résultats conduisent à se demander si des activités présentant un si faible niveau d'engagement peuvent avoir l'impact positif espéré sur le parcours scolaire des élèves issu•es des milieux défavorisés qui sont très souvent à risque ou en difficulté.…”

“…Au sein de la communauté scientifique existe un consensus voulant que la collaboration écolefamille (EF) ait une influence positive sur la persévérance et la réussite scolaires des élèves (Chen & Gregory, 2010;Deslandes, 2015;Duval, 2017;Duval, Larivée, & Dumoulin, 2019;Hoover-Dempsey, Whitaker, & Ice, 2010;Paccaud, Keller, Luder, Pastore & Kunz, 2021). Toutefois, une collaboration EF efficace n'est pas une simple collection d'activités (Epstein, 2001).…”

"Parents' views Questionnaire for the education of emotions in Autism Spectrum Disorder" in a Greek context and the role of ICTs

“…The active participation of parents in the diagnostic and therapeutic process of children with ASD is considered by experts to be an important factor in the long-term education of people with ASD [3]. According to relevant literature reports, on the benefits of parental education, researchers [1] highlight the positive effects of parental behavior training programs for children with developmental disabilities, although the findings related to child communication and their socio-emotional skills as well as parent-child interactions were unclear [4].…”