The main research question guiding this study is: “What strategies can be established to enhance parental involvement in primary schools in disadvantaged communities in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth”? To answer this question, this study examines parents’ and teachers’ practices concerning parental involvement in the Northern Areas of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan. Parents and teachers were purposely selected from participating schools. In this qualitative study, the researcher proposed strategies to enhance parental involvement at primary schools. Qualitative research methods, associated with phenomenological inquiry were employed to explore the life-world of the participants who have had personal experience with the phenomenon of parental involvement. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with parents and teachers. This allowed the researcher to gather in-depth information about opinions, beliefs, practices and attitudes concerning the involvement of parents in their children’s education. Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystemic theory served as the theorectical framework of this investigation. Since this study is about parental involvement in primary schools educational policies like inclusive education as well as different models of parental involvement were investigated in the literature study. The results of the study indicated several barriers to the enhancement of parental involvement for instance communication barriers between parents and teachers. The researcher established four strategies for the enhancement of parental involvement and recommended that these strategies should be employed by schools and other stakeholders. She also made further recommendations for parents, teachers, school principals, Department of Basic Education and professionals in the community.

This research sought to better understand and explain the factors that account for the non-involvement of parents in their children’s school affairs. It also sought to recommend to the Department of Education developmental strategies that can be utilised towards ensuring the participation of parents by equipping them with knowledge and skills that can help them to become more involved in the success of their children in schools. This research employed a case study design to collect data from parents and teachers using qualitative methods. The qualitative approach was considered appropriate because it affords both exploration and explanation of parents’ non-involvement in the Kotana administrative Area in which three schools were selected by the researcher. Interviews with a total of nine participants constituted by both parents and teachers were conducted. These tape recorded interviews were then transcribed and interpreted by the researcher. Emerging themes were then extracted and presented as explanatory findings on the issue of the non-involvement of parents in their children’s schooling matters. The study found that the level of education; fear of victimisation; language barrier; poor communication of information; lack of personal time; lack of confidence on the part of parents; cultural expectations; transport problems; misbehaviour by teenagers; HIV and AIDS; and the new curriculum accounts for parental non-involvement, and uncovered reasons for non-participation by parents in the affairs of their children at school.

In this study, the perceptions of parents of elementary school age children with disabilities, constructs of family-centered behavior (e.g., Petr, Allen, & Brown, 1995) and empowerment (e.g., Zimmerman, 1995, 2000) were examined. Parent perceptions of the importance and frequency of an empowerment process, family-centered teacher behavior, were explored. Previous work of family support researchers is extended by exploring the effects of parents' perceptions of family-centered teacher behavior on psychological empowerment, and by considering the relative importance of parent and child variables and family-centered teacher behavior, in predicting parent psychological empowerment, specific to the elementary school context. Parents (n = 256) of elementary school-age children (ages 5-14) with a wide range of disabilities/special needs completed a questionnaire assessing: their perceptions of the importance and frequency of family-centered teacher behavior, psychological empowerment, parent status variables (income and education level) and child disability characteristics. As hypothesized, respondents rated family-centered teacher behavior as very important, but they identified that they only "sometimes" experienced it in the elementary school setting. In addition, a significant discrepancy between parent ratings of importance and frequency was found, suggesting that parents overall are not satisfied with the levels of family-centered behavior they receive from teachers. Some relationships between parent and child characteristics and psychological empowerment were found. As hypothesized, the importance of parents' perceptions of family-centered teacher behavior in predicting psychological empowerment, specific to the school context, above and beyond parent and child characteristics, was supported. Child disability characteristics (severity of child behavior and diagnostic category) also contributed to the prediction of empowerment, but parent characteristics were not important or significant in the final increment of the regression model. Implications and the potential of this study to inform practice and policy and to contribute to new directions in research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

With the rise of "helicopter" parents within primary and secondary education, school officials nationwide have started to address how to manage parental involvement in the educational system, specifically with regard to parent-teacher communication. Beginning in the 1980s, school administrators actively implemented programs targeting increased parental involvement in K-12 public schools, though the use of contact and relationship building strategies, in order to substantiate school-teacher-parent communication and further parental influence over decision making processes. While administrators and parents may view parent-teacher interactions as productive, teachers' negative experiences with parents may lead to stress, burnout, and attrition. Researchers have indicated that between 20 and 50% of first through third year teachers leave the profession due to increased, long-term stress, unrealistic workload, and an overall feeling of decreased personal and professional fulfillment. Likewise, through educational reform initiatives to standardize curriculum and increase parental involvement within public schools, teachers' roles within the educational system have shifted from positions of power, to figureheads for the system. The purpose of this study is to examine public school K-12 teachers' standpoints as they relate to parent-teacher communication.

Involving parents and community in education is vital to the success of academic excellence. It is essential that adults be involved in the education and socialization of their children for the next generation.

No description available.

abstract: Across contexts, researchers have exposed the immense impact that early childhood experiences and high-quality caregiver relationships have on a developing child, which has resulted in much motivation to increase the quality of early care and education (ECE) programs at a national level. Unfortunately, as research has revealed the positive influence that quality ECE has on a child’s ultimate outcomes, it has also shed light on a social problem that intricately affects society: preschool expulsion. To address this issue, several interventions have been created, however the teacher-caregiver relationship has yet to be a central point of solution. Therefore, a relational cultural communication training (RCCT) was developed to support teachers as they work with families whose children are at-risk for expulsion, and it served as the intervention that was studied in this action research project. This mixed method action research study (MMAR) sought to examine the constructs of empathy and culture as they pertain to teacher-caregiver relationships from the vantage point of the eight ECE teachers that participated in this project. Specifically, interview transcripts and journals were qualitatively assessed to illuminate teacher perspectives on the roles that both culture and empathy play in relationships with caregivers whose children are at-risk for expulsion. Further, the study examined teacher attitudes towards engaging with caregivers before and after the RCCT intervention using interviews, journals and an evidence-based pre- and post-survey tool as data sources. Bioecological systems theory (BST) and relational cultural theory (RCT) framed the research questions that guided this project. Results suggested that the RCCT was a useful intervention that supported ECE teachers in their ability to connect with caregivers whose children are at-risk. Particularly, findings revealed that (a) ECE teachers do feel that both empathy and culture influence their ability to connect with caregivers, (b) RCCT was helpful in shifting teacher practices with families from an empathy standpoint, and (c) cultural differences and negative interactions adversely informed a teacher’s relational capacity with caregivers, ultimately adversely affecting child outcomes. The discussion of these findings summarizes study conclusions and how they might inform practice, implications for future research and practice, and limitations to consider. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020

This study evaluated the school psychologist's perception of effective models of consultation based upon referral problem and parent, teacher, and student response to treatment. Analyses of covariance determined that (a) parents' receptivity and total number of teacher contacts significantly influenced the parents' response to treatment; (b) teacher receptivity and total number of parent contacts significantly affected teachers' response to treatment; (c) students' response to treatment was significantly affected by the model of teacher consultation and the average number of minutes spent with the school psychologists; and (d) students in a Mental Health consultation group responded significantly more favorably than s tudents in Behavioral or Collaborative consultation groups.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements of the Masters Degree in the Department of Sociology at the University of Zululand, 2004. / Previously in the early fifties, education was based on racial inequality and segregation. The perspective on school development through partnership in education with parents as a community changed after the democratization of S.A in 1994. Previously in 1984, parents were not fully involved in the education system. After 1994 election the culture of learning and teaching was launched, Parents, educators, non-educators and learners were involved in education. School Governing bodies were elected. They were formed by all stakeholders i.e. parents, educators, non-educators and learners. This partnership was designed to improve the quality of education for all South Africans. School development through partnership in education empowers schools to take responsibility for their own development. Development of schools is now the responsibility of all South Africans who have a stake in the education system. Tensions frequently exist between educators and parents. Many problems result from societal influences, values, assumption, ignorance and inadequate information. Since the democratization of the country in 1994 the emphases in education focused on educational rights for all. Democratization of education includes the idea that stakeholders such as parents must participate fully in the activities of the schools, regulations relating to the election of the school governing bodies in public schools. Regulation should suit all levels of communities, rural or urban areas. Schools in rural areas could benefit from community members who may have the useful contribution to the performance of the school. The process of school development reflects the values and the beliefs of the community. Educators, together with parents can organize different activities to bring about the bond among three pillars i.e. educators, parents and learners. In the partnership in education, parents and educators cater for the general welfare of the learners. Educators could also take a leadership role in learner counseling, guidance and discipline. For partnership in education to be successful all the stakeholders should be involved in the decision making in school matters. Both parents and educators should sometimes sacrifice their time in order to promote good partnership. Educators need to be exposed to more cognitive and co-operative learning and teaching styles. The study further reveals that parents have a very crucial role to play in education. Parents play an integral part in moulding and educating a child. Formal and informal education should work hand in hand. It is this reason that parents are involved through the school governing bodies. Parents should take a lead in the education of their children. Through their partnership in education, parents are involved in many activities at school. Activities like the maintenance of the school buildings, facilities, resources and the management of the funds. Research has shown that successful and quality improvements are most likely to be achieved when individual school takes responsibility for their own quality standards. The stakeholders should align with the goals of organization and should take initiative. They should persue goals despite obstacles and setbacks. When community are well developed, they have pride and sense of ownership for their schools.

Research indicates a connection between successful outcomes for students with significant intellectual disabilities and the individual education program (IEP) team's efforts in the IEP development process. However, little research has been conducted on the perceptions of parents and teachers of students with significant disabilities about parent participation in the IEP development process. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore parent and teacher perceptions of parent participation in the IEP development process. The conceptual framework of this study was ecological design theory, based on Bronfenbrenner's theory of human development and Neal and Neal's theory of networked systems. Participants consisted of 4 parents and 5 teachers of students with significant intellectual disabilities who have participated in the IEP development process. The interviews conducted with participants were analyzed for patterns and themes. Findings showed that teacher descriptions centered on actions connected with fulfillment of state guidelines, which create the setting in which the IEP development takes place. Parent participants acknowledged compliance to state guidelines based on teacher actions, but parent commentary was centered on elements of the parent-teacher relationship. Responses indicated that actions to strengthen the school-parent partnership may improve parent and teacher experiences of IEP development. This study contributes to positive social change by providing administrators and teachers information to better support the IEP development process toward improved outcomes for students with significant intellectual disabilities.