A landmark longitudinal study shows that parent-teacher partnerships are an untapped resource for schools to expand learning opportunities, writes Ella Doyle.
The three-year Engaging Parents in Curriculum (EPIC) project found that engaging parents in teaching resulted in positive outcomes for students, parents* and schools.
Running across 10 diverse independent schools in Queensland, EPIC 2021-2023 is a collaboration between Independent Schools Queensland, Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network and Griffith Institute for Educational Research.
Project leads Dr Linda-Diane Willis and Professor Beryl Exley are experienced classroom teachers and current academics at Griffith University.
The EPIC project draws on over 60 years of scholarship, highlighting the social and academic benefit engaging parents can have on students in day schools, boarding schools and distance education, including:
- increased confidence and motivation
- improved school attendance, and
- enhanced wellbeing and academic outcomes.
Dr Willis said engaging parents features prominently in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) so it should be front of mind for all schools.
Untapped resource
The EPIC report recognises teachers as facilitators of knowledge rather than the fountain of all knowledge.
“It’s about reframing from a school-centric mindset to a child-centric one,” Dr Willis said.
“Teachers can’t be expected to know everything.”
Dr Willis said children have been learning since birth and come to school with years of experience.
“Children don’t come to school as blank slates and parents can help integrate knowledge of their child in the classroom,” she said.
The value of parent-teacher partnership also extends into the curriculum.
“A parent might be an expert in a classroom topic and be available to share real-life knowledge and examples with students,” she said.
Dispelling myths
Dr Willis said engaging parents took an active approach.
“To put it simply, parent engagement is about bringing parents closer to what their child is learning,” she said.
“Engaging parents is more than just responding to a complaint or attending a music performance.
”It’s a continuous process that allows parents to actively connect with the school and their child.
Dr Willis said another common myth in engaging parents is that as a child gets older, parents get less interested.
“Our research showed parents across all year levels are invested in seeing their child thrive,“ she said.
“Parents don’t just suddenly lose interest in their children.
“We sometimes operate on the assumption that because we don’t see a parent regularly, they’re disinterested and disengaged.
“When in fact they could just be reading the school’s social media and newsletter and don’t see the point in contacting teachers if there are no issues.“
In these instances, Dr Willis recommends teachers re-evaluate how they engage with parents to see if there are other opportunities to connect.
Starts from the top
For parent engagement to be most effective there should be buy-in from the entire school community.
School leaders set the culture of a school and thus should be looking at school-wide (macro) ways to embed parent engagement in all they do.
Some suggestions include providing professional development to all staff, embedding parent engagement into policy and curricula, creating advisory committees involving the school community and addressing barriers inhibiting parents from getting involved.
“Throughout the project, we developed Parent Engagement Leadership Teams (PELTs) comprised of school community members which were highly successful in working towards macro-level changes that were relevant and reasonable for schools and parents.”
Small steps
In the age of workload intensification, Dr Willis said engaging parents does not mean adding extra work.
“I understand teachers may feel like they don’t have the time to engage parents but our research demonstrated parent engagement often involves a small switch in existing practice,” she said.
Dr Willis encouraged teachers with concerns to look at their situation and do what seems manageable or sustainable at a micro (classroom) level.
“Our research highlighted that effective communication with parents should be Short, Sharp, Often, Optional, with a Purpose and Personalised to the parents and their child (SSOOPP),” she said.
The SSOOPP (pronounced soup) framework is a tool Dr Willis and Professor Exley created to help teachers examine their practice when engaging with parents.
“It may seem daunting but ‘souping it up’ is about looking at what you normally do and seeing if anything can be adapted,” Dr Willis said.
“It can be as simple as leaving an invitational space on the week’s homework for parent feedback on the things their child enjoyed or found easy/challenging or asking students to ask their parents/families a question related to a lesson/topic.
“We need to bridge the gap so parents are closely aligned with what their children are learning,” she said.
Another framework Dr Willis and Professor Exley have developed is the Connections, Home-school alignment, Agency, New and different roles, Generative collaboration and Empathy framework (C-H-A-N-G-E).
For leaders and teachers looking for macro and micro-level strategies and examples, Dr Willis recommends reading the latest EPIC report.
Right to disconnect
Last month, new Right to Disconnect laws came into effect meaning members have the right not to read emails, take phone calls or respond to parents after school hours.
When asked about how teachers can balance their time off with engagement with parents who may also work full-time, Dr Willis said teachers absolutely should set and communicate boundaries.
“There are a lot of nuances,” she said.
“We need to respect that teachers deserve and need their time out to be the best teachers they can be but also recognise that sometimes parents need to contact teachers.
“It’s about using professional judgement and common sense.”
Dr Willis recommends schools set policies and procedures so that teachers and school leaders know what reasonable contact is in line with the Right to Disconnect provisions.
“These should be communicated to students and parents through newsletters and school-wide events like assemblies,” she said.
“I know one school has created a traffic light system to categorise the priority of response to calls.
“That way teachers know whether a call or email is urgent,” she said.
Dr Willis also re-emphasised that engaging parents is not about creating extra work outside school hours.
“Regular communication with parents will also help teachers and school leaders learn about parents’ schedules,” she said.
She offered an example of parents who are shift workers.
“Once you know this information you will be able to exercise professional judgement about how and when you respond,” Dr Willis said.
“Both parent and teacher want the best for the child so it’s about building genuine dialogue built on empathy for the other,” she said.
Resources and references
EPIC resources for teacher and school leaders: bit.ly/4d6j08D
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: aitsl.edu.au/standards
Willis, L.-D., & Exley, B. (2023). Engaging parents and communities in children’s learning and wellbeing: Exploring sustainable models through school leadership teams. Engaging parents in curriculum (EPIC) 2023 Final Report.
Our Schools – Our Future. Report to Independent Schools Queensland and Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network. School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. bit.ly/OurSchools–OurFuture
* Parent is described generally to include carers and families and broadly to include communities with the responsibility and care for a student’s learning and wellbeing.
