The partnership between the family and the school is essential to guarantee the good development and safety of children. In addition to playing an essential role in the training and education of citizens, schools also have a great responsibility for the emotional and physical safety of all students . For this to be possible, it is essential to establish a school-family partnership that allows for an assertive and efficient communication process.
Last January 24th, International Education Day , a date created to recognize the importance of teaching in the development of children and in the acquisition of awareness of Human Rights for all. Established by the United Nations, this date serves as a way to reinforce the role of educational institutions and the participation of parents in the process of educating children.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, reinforces the importance of education and the value that this process has in the formation of good citizens:
However, we need to remember that, although it is the responsibility of schools to guarantee the teaching and education of students, this participation does not happen unilaterally . The school-parent partnership is also extremely important to optimize the use of established education and ensure that the educational process occurs in the best possible way.
It is necessary to understand that, although it is the school's role to provide intellectual and academic training, human development and the establishment of principles and values must occur with the participation of everyone . In other words: parents must be present throughout the educational process to ensure complete training and offer all the affective and emotional support necessary for this development.
The more involved parents are in the child's daily life, the better the results obtained on a daily basis .
Regardless of the type of institution the child is in, this continuous collaboration can deliver more assertiveness and quality to all learning.
Browse the content of this article:
- Importance of school-family partnership
- Presence of parents at school
- School and family combined in academic performance
- What do parents expect from school management?
- Transparent communication
- Active listening
- Integration
- It is necessary to go beyond the academic
- Safety and well-being
- Strengthening the school-family partnership: strategies to demonstrate value
- Institution values
- Physical structure
- Teaching method
- Qualified teaching staff
- Personalized service
- Using technologies to optimize learning
- Online security
- The importance of digital protection to solidify the school-family relationship
- Secure internet with school internet access control
Importance of school-family partnership
Family members and people who are part of a child's daily life and growth also play a crucial role in the entire process of students' training and education. Together with the school , this continuous contact will allow for the complete development and improvement of students' well-being.
It is necessary to remember that the family environment is responsible for contributing to the development of foundations for the children's education process . It is in this environment that the values, language, social dynamics and behaviors that will be expressed throughout life are assimilated.
For many years, only the school was delegated the role in training and educating students, and as a result, many factors and skills were undervalued. What happens is that, by establishing a school-family partnership, it is possible to contribute not only to academic training, but also to the development of problem-solving skills, more assertive communication, ethics and empathy when living in society.
Although schools are able to provide technical knowledge and academic capacity, it is only through a partnership between the school and family that this student will be able to understand the society in which they are inserted and what the expectations are regarding their values and behaviors.
In this sense, the more committed the family and education are, the more prepared this student will be to play their role as a citizen and guarantee the evolution of society and peace.
Presence of parents at school
Based on everything we mentioned above, the presence of parents at school is essential. This means that more than just choosing a good institution and ensuring that the student has all the necessary infrastructure for their development, the participation of family members in the students' academic routine is essential.
Moacir Gadotti, a Brazilian educator, highlighting the thought of Paulo Freire, emphasizes the importance of the school-family partnership aimed at changing paradigms. In this way, the family abandons “old habits of passivity for new habits of participation” Gadotti (1996, p. 96) . It is possible to corroborate, with this, the importance of family engagement and participation in the school routine.
In addition to providing the feeling of welcome and value that this child will have in relation to their environment, the school-family partnership is fundamental to improving performance and ensuring more complete learning. When family members are actively involved in the child's school and daily routine, the expectation is that the student will show more interest and feel more supported and loved.
Another important aspect is that many inappropriate behaviors or difficulties that children present end up being noticed in the school environment. By actively participating in the child's school life, family members are able, together with education professionals, to establish ways to face everyday challenges and ensure that the child has all the necessary support.
School and family combined in academic performance
As we said previously, the presence of family members in children's academic routine is extremely important to be able to identify possible needs or difficulties. This means that more present parents are able to contribute to school performance and ensure even more effective learning.
According to a survey carried out by the International Student Assessment Program (Pisa) , students who had the participation of their family members in their school routine were able to deliver superior performance. The results of this study are surprising: students who had family participation achieved 414 points, while the group that did not have this continuous support achieved 357 points.
Working together with education professionals will not only ensure that everyone understands the difficulties and needs of students, but also allows the development of more efficient strategies to contribute to improving this performance. Considering that each person has their own particularities and specific needs, this union between family and school will allow this student to have complete support.
Children often present needs or difficulties that are only demonstrated in the school environment and when interacting with other classmates. If parents remain prepared to identify and combat these difficulties, the results will be better in the long term.
What do parents expect from school management?
The school and the family environment represent fundamental pillars for the formation of value and together provide a complete education . Just as the professionals involved in this process have expectations regarding the participation and involvement of family members, parents also have expectations regarding school management.
These expectations must be studied and evaluated so that parents feel more welcomed and have more security regarding their child's presence in this institution. See below the main needs presented by parents regarding school management:
Transparent communication
Knowing what happens at school is one of the main demands parents have regarding the institutions their children attend . In this sense, we are not only talking about students' academic performance, but also about events, actions carried out by the school, needs presented by children, etc.
For this reason, communication between the school and family members must be clear and transparent . This way, it is possible to ensure that everyone has access to information and avoid a feeling of neglect in relation to the school.
Active listening
Active listening is fundamental in any social or commercial dynamic today. It is very important that both parties have their needs and questions heard so that, together, it is possible to establish improvements and more efficient dialogues.
More than just exchanging information, active listening allows the information delivered to be absorbed and understood. This way, it is possible to create an even better school environment and with a more assertive integration of family members with the institution.
Integration
Creating a complete and efficient curriculum will certainly contribute to the student's academic development. However, this is not the only aspect that must be considered during the school routine. It is also necessary to ensure the integration of children with the family and the educational institution so that this entire process happens more efficiently.
The development of activities that include family members is essential for the education process to take place based on the expectations of both the institution and family members. Furthermore, students will feel more welcomed when their family members participate in their routine.
This integration can also count on the help of technological resources that allow family members to integrate with the school routine without giving up their routine. To do this, the school can provide an active email, a text messaging service, or profiles on social networks that allow parents to fully visualize how their children's education process is going . These platforms can also help establish a school calendar and answer family members’ questions.
Beyond academic support
Recent global events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, have highlighted the need for students' mental health and well-being. Due to social isolation, for example, many children ended up impacted and developed anxiety , damaging their social life and school performance.
It is essential that the school offers psychological support to students and is able to understand their needs, in addition to the curriculum. This way, parents will have more confidence about the school environment and the routine that is established for their children.
Safety and well-being
We know that it is the institution's responsibility to guarantee the physical integrity of children while they are in the school environment. To achieve this, the school can adopt a safer infrastructure that allows everyone to remain protected during class hours.
However, in addition to physical integrity, the school also needs to guarantee the well-being and mental health of these children. As we have seen over the years, there are several threats in the digital environment that can pose a great risk to children, such as the challenges of social networks and Trends that circulate in the digital environment. For this reason, it is essential to establish strategies that block these dangers and prevent them from causing any type of problem for children and their families.
Strengthening the school-family partnership: strategies to demonstrate value
There are currently several educational institutions that offer basically the same resources and training for children. For this reason, schools need to adopt strategies that add value to their image and that can convey to family members the security they expect.
Among the main strategies to guarantee this prominent role, we can mention:
Institution values
It is essential that parents know what values are implemented by the institution and how the school deals with day-to-day issues . These values are usually transmitted to students, and for this reason, it is a great concern among family members.
Although it is obvious, the educational institution must demonstrate to families and students that they have exactly what is being sought. In this sense, it is essential to understand what is valued by family members and how this need can be met by the institution.
For example: if the mental health of their children is a major concern for parents, it is important that the school demonstrates how this aspect is understood and valued by the institution. To achieve this, it is essential to implement anti-bullying measures, psycho-pedagogical support, school monitoring, conversations with experts, among others.
Physical structure
As we said above, many educational institutions have similar characteristics, and it is essential to establish a difference that helps the school to stand out . In addition to providing a quality curriculum, this school must have an adequate and differentiated physical structure.
This means that it is possible to implement well-equipped laboratories, social areas, accessibility, among other measures to ensure that all students are well served and welcomed at the institution.
Teaching method
The teaching method is also a fundamental aspect in the process of standing out and differentiating yourself from the competition. The chosen method must be done through intense research into the best current strategies with the aim of delivering a complete and efficient education.
More than just teaching, the school also needs to provide the necessary tools so that students can develop in the best possible way and achieve their goals in the future.
Qualified teaching staff Personalized service
It will only be possible to ensure that the institution stands out from other competitors if its teaching method and quality are implemented with the help of qualified professionals. For this reason, it is essential to hire a team that is prepared for the needs of students and delivers the methodologies and objectives offered by the school in the best possible way.
It is important to remember that there is a vote of confidence made by parents, who trust the educational institution to guarantee the health, integrity and education of their children. For this reason, having a team of trained professionals is essential. In this sense, we refer not only to teachers but also to all professionals who are part of the children's school life.
Personalized service
Providing personalized service will help improve contact between family members and the educational institution. Currently, parents expect the school to provide adequate support so that their concerns and needs are heard and addressed as necessary.
For this reason, investing in customer service is a priority within educational institutions. The school needs to demonstrate to family members that their children are not just a number within the institution and guarantee a more intelligent and transparent communication process. Events that unite students with their families within the school environment, for example, tend to strengthen bonds and help demonstrate how each student is seen by the institution.
Using technologies to optimize learning Online safety
The use of technology in everyday school life has become a reality in practically all educational institutions in the country. The advancement of digital transformation has also brought efficient tools that help contribute to the learning process and ensure that students have a complete infrastructure in their daily school lives.
There are several platforms that can be used by schools, many of them combined with the academic material used by students. For this reason, the choice of content and methodology used must take into account the use of technological tools that contribute to the teaching process. Platforms such as Google Education and Kahoot (educational gaming platform), for example, are widely used to bring more interactivity and dynamism to the school routine.
Online security
Recent events have highlighted the need for digital protection for children and adolescents. Internet challenges that are disseminated through social media platforms and games end up attracting children and teenagers to dangerous behaviors.
Because of this need, it is essential that the educational institution adopts a protection tool that helps keep its students away from digital dangers . An internet access control can help block malicious or violent content and prevent children from accessing this type of information.
The importance of digital protection to solidify the school-family relationship
We know that children's safety is a priority when choosing an educational institution. What we need to understand is that, in addition to physical integrity, it is also necessary to take care of online security.
As we mentioned, the challenges present on the internet can be extremely dangerous for children and teenagers, making it necessary to adopt resources that help block this type of content . The internet is a very complete and necessary environment, but it is also full of malicious and dangerous content.
Establishing internet access control will help increase digital security and prevent threats of this type from reaching students. Considering that cybercriminals develop more efficient ways to implement traps , divert information and collect personal data every day, implementing security features is vital.
The school-family relationship is responsible for ensuring that children and adolescents are protected not only physically, but also from threats present in the digital environment. It is very common for cybercriminals to hide violent or pornographic content on seemingly harmless pages, giving children access to this type of content.
Having security resources is an essential strategy within educational institutions, helping to keep the digital environment free from these threats and ensuring that students always remain protected.
| How Schools Can Improve Online Safety: A Guide for Educators
Online security Secure internet with school internet access control
We know that most educational institutions use technological resources to optimize and complement the children's training process. These resources are extremely important and must be used in the best possible way and, above all, safely.
However, considering that these resources require internet access to function, many children end up diverting from these tools and using the internet for other purposes. For this reason, schools must implement security tools that block malicious or dangerous content, keeping students away from digital dangers.
Lumiun has developed assertive and complete tools that can be used by educational institutions that wish to increase their protection . Lumiun for Education has exclusive solutions to increase student protection and increase the focus of classes.
With the help of the right tool and the school-family partnership, it is possible to guarantee a more complete and safe education for everyone.
