Engaging families in children's learning..a practical approach

For some time now I have worked with numerous schools, principals,parents,senior leaders,teachers and others here in Victoria. More recently I have had the good fortune to work in Edinburgh Scotland and in Saskatchewan Canada as well .The focus "Engaging parents in their children's learning" With these new experiences of other sectors and countries I have come to the conclusion that we cannot even begin to be effective in undertaking this work unless we understand the difference between parent involvement and parent engagement and then act on it.

Parent Involvement or Family Engagement?- where do we put our limited time and energies at home and in the school?

The realization that activities such as,working bees, canteen duty, fund raising, social events, concerts, mother's,father's & grandparents days, "walk to school day" celebrations, art shows,covering books etc etc. are not high impacting family engagement in learning opportunities is the starting point for a re imagined focus in schools and in homes on authentic family engagement in learning. Letting go or tweaking these existing and traditional involvements gives life to the mantra "different not more"

What constitutes or defines a family Engagement activity in a "hands on' reality?

There are many different definitions of Family/Parent engagement. From my viewpoint they fall sort when the omit the "in learning " part of the definition Here are a some that I think are on the mark that I have randomly selected for an internet search (you can do the same if you are interested). Each of these definitions offers a clarification and challenge about the roles for both parents and schools

•  Effective parent engagement cuts across and reinforces learning in the multiple settings where children learn- at home, in prekindergarten programs, in school, in after school programs, in faith-based institutions, and in the community.
• Think of parent engagement as an interactive process that brings together parents and other family members, children, and early childhood professionals at all levels. Everyone works together in partnership in service of children’s learning, healthy development, and well being. With parents in the driver’s seat, parents and program personnel share their unique knowledge of the individual children they teach and care for, and the contexts and communities in which they live.
• "With engagement, you bring your parent knowledge to decisions that affect your child and their schooling." According to Pushor, engagement means parents are a partner, they have a meaningful place and voice in the kinds of things that are happening with their child. Feb 11, 2019

"Different not more" and a practical understanding of the difference between family engagement and family involvement...in learning.

Returning to the many activities that both schools and families traditionally undertake connected (sometimes not) to children's learning let me illustrate how one of these can be tweaked to be more influential and impacting. Here is an example of what one of my very smart principals did with a traditional Art Show. He changed what traditionally happened each year.

From-children displaying their art work on a board set up in the hall to show their parents followed by a family BBQ--nice but!!!!

To- children displaying their art work on a board set up in the hall to show their parents To-inviting parents to display their own or favorite piece of art work along side their child's

To -having the learning intention on display with each art work

To - providing each family with a passport that asked them to nominate their three favorite art pieces (other than their own)

To-requiring that each family travel the exhibition together where the specific role of the child was to host the parents and explain the learning.

A parent engagement in learning -Great result, great conversations and parent engagement in learning because learning was at the centre of the event, children's voice led the parents engagement in their learning the learning intentions on display made the learning explicit for parents (parents always appreciate this and are surprised by the intentional nature of teaching and learning) Note there was also a very limited use of teacher voice.

Parent engagement in learning is ..................

• about relationships,parents and children together, their voices the dominant ones, it is active and interactive, it can be at school as well as on the way home, at and in the home (the most impacting) and in the community, it has learning at the centre and recognizes that parents have knowledge about their children that is critical for successful learning...and a whole lot more

Parent engagement in learning is not ..................

• parents doing things for the school, schools telling parents about learning or doing things to or for families. The expert voice of schools dominating the conversation and leading parents....and a whole lot more
• A mindset change to know the difference between family engagement and family involvement ....."in learning" is the starting point for greater effectiveness

I help schools make the shift from parent involvement to parent engagement .....in learning. if I can help your school let me know I am easy to find