Call for new regulations to give parents a bigger say

An urgent call has been made for the introduction of new regulations giving school councils the power to boost the participation of parents in school matters and in the education of their children.

Frans Borg, the general secretary of the European Parents Association and a co-founder of the Association of School Councils, their umbrella body, said councils needed to be able to take decisions on the formulation of educational strategies and the organisation of family involvement programmes.

School councils, which operate within state schools, are composed mainly of elected parents and teachers. One of their primary tasks is to look at how parental participation can be increased and relations between parents and staff improved. But they can only go so far as to discuss these issues and make proposals.

Mr Borg wants to give them more teeth. Their 12-year existence "has not served to see them develop, flourish and gain in strength to the expected level," according to the findings of a working group on parental participation dealing with the implementation of the National Minimum Curriculum.

The curriculum calls parents one of the most important partners in the educational process and urges teachers to collaborate with them.

But the working group found that although the idea of partnership denotes some sense of equality, parents do not yet interact with school staff or administrative personnel on an equal basis.

Still, Mr Borg's call for councils to have greater powers comes amid a growing movement towards giving parents a bigger role in schools and in their children's academic development, as local and international research continues to confirm a strong link between parental involvement and children's success at school.

A prime example of parental involvement in schooling is the Parents Foundation for Education, set up by parents and educators working together. The two private schools run by the foundation try to practise the concept of partnership between home and school for the benefit of the child.

In the Church sector, the Association of Parents in Church Schools was established with the aim of developing parental participation initiatives.

And within state schools, the Foundation for Educational Services, set up as an agency of government, has been running family literacy and parental empowerment programmes all over Malta for a number of years, mainly targeting children at risk of school failure.

It was at a conference on parental involvement organised by the foundation a fortnight ago that Mr Borg made his case for new school council regulations that would support parental involvement measures at school level.

Outlining some of the possible measures that could be taken by schools, he said they should see to it that they were "open, helpful and friendly" to parents in all respects. Communication with parents about their children should be "frequent, clear and two-way".

Schools should also view parents' knowledge and expertise as essential to the children's success, provide them with information and advice, and seek their views in developing policies and solving school-wide problems, suggested Mr Borg.

He then argued that "more pro-active school councils", operating under "more forward-looking regulations", would be able to strengthen this sort of parental participation, improve school/home communication and increase parental influence on the curriculum.

"In this way, school councils would work towards creating an environment that welcomes all family members and eliminates barriers to involvement by holding school events that are comfortable for parents, including the provision of a family resource room....

"School councils should also be legally empowered to establish an outreach network in which involved families reach out to other families, create a system where families partner with other families to bring them to events, and publish regular newsletters that are jointly written by parents, students and staff."

Mr Borg said the councils should also take the lead in providing opportunities for volunteering during after-school hours and provide information for parents on their role in supporting their child's education.

"They should also document opportunities, challenges and barriers that are faced by both parents and school personnel and work towards solutions."

In addition, "it is important for school councils to be more involved in designing and planning for the educational policies and strategies of each particular school according to its needs and wants".

"Then at the end of each scholastic year, school council members should come together to draw up the school's annual report that has to be presented to the Division of Education and parents for evaluation. The report should include, among other items, such sections as administration, finance, curricular development, extra-curricular activities and the council's achievements."

Mr Borg also suggested that courses for parents and teachers - on the parents' role within the school and in the education of their children - could accelerate reform.