Schools Enhancing school/family partnerships to improve student outcomes
The latest AEU–Monash research paper, School Staff, Parent, Carer and Community Partnerships in Victoria’s Public Schools is calling for a system-wide reset on expectations for respectful and appropriate conduct for all stakeholders in Victoria’s public schools.
The paper – based on a survey of more than 8,000 public school staff, plus a further survey of over 1,600 public school parents and carers – shows strong recognition of the importance of family and community partnerships within schools, but also exposes the many barriers to their effective implementation.
It has long been known that solid relationships between schools and families are crucial for positive student outcomes both in terms of education and wellbeing. However, the AEU–Monash research found that schools and their staff simply do not have the time or resources to maximise the potential of relationships with families and their broader communities. This is particularly the case for disadvantaged schools, which are “more keenly impacted by resourcing challenges”, including an increased likelihood of facing staff shortages, still pervasive across the state.
Less than half of the principal class members surveyed felt they had the necessary resources for effective family/school partnerships (49%) and even fewer felt they had the necessary resources for effective community/school partnerships (35%). Only 36% of principals believed they had the necessary resources for effective partnerships with local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander parents/carers and/or communities. The paper notes that “radical shifts in schooling are necessary if we are to change an education culture that too often excludes First Nations students”.
With parents/carers and public school staff agreeing on the issues urgently requiring additional resources and policy change, we now need to build a case for political action.
More than half of the parents and carers surveyed said that a lack of time was a key barrier to engagement with their children’s schools. A large majority of parents/carers recognised that there were more students with complex behavioural support needs (83%), more students requiring additional support for learning (72%), complexities associated with covering for the teacher workforce shortage (64%), and increased workloads (61%).
With parents/carers and public school staff agreeing on the urgent need for additional resources and policy change, we now need to build a case for political action. The Victorian government has shown some commitment to supporting school/family/community partnerships through a range of programs and initiatives. If the challenges facing schools and communities are to be addressed – with the ultimate goal of ensuring educational excellence and equity – then families, educators, governments and communities need to work together in more collaborative, purposeful and ambitious ways.
It is clear that we need system-wide processes for working with students with complex and challenging behaviours.
Among its key recommendations, the paper highlights the need to consider how expectations of respect and appropriate conduct improve the status of the profession and contribute to improved learning outcomes for students; and to find ways to enhance mutual respect between families and school staff.
It is clear that we need system-wide processes for working with students with complex and challenging behaviours. This should involve investigating the policies and resources required – whether the impact of class size and/or access to appropriate specialist support – to enable schools to respond to students’ needs.
We need to learn from the variety of school, family and community partnership arrangements already in place across Victoria, and scale up through cohesive and comprehensive initiatives. And, like all of the necessary reforms identified in the AEU–Monash research, this must be underpinned by full funding for Victoria’s public schools to deliver additional resources quickly as a first step to combating entrenched inequity.
View the third AEU–Monash research paper, School Staff, Parent, Carer and Community Partnerships in Victoria’s Public Schools, and provide your feedback.
