Parental involvement : models of good practice

Abstract

Over the past two decades in European countries and more recently in Malta, greater importance has been given to the issue of PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT in education. It came widely recognised that parents have a unique contribution to make to the academic development of their children. Like professionals, parents are responsible for and accountable to the educational process and outcome of their children. Yet, though home-school links seemed to have flourished in the primary sector, local research indicates that like in foreign countries parental collaboration is low in the secondary phase of education. By adopting MULTI-SITE case study methodology, our aim was to uncover any GOOD PRACTICES of parental participation in the MALTESE SECONDARY SCHOOLS. In actual fact, our ethnographical investigation shed light upon the prominent characteristics of collaborative headteachers and parents as the two essential parties of a joint educational enterprise. Moreover, data identified evidence of effective co-operative endeavours and the outcomes of and difficulties encountered in an effort to foster home-school links. The contention of this study is that parental involvement in secondary schools is a practical venture once both parents and school staff work hand in hand for the educational benefit of the students.