Family-School relations differ between schools and between families. Some families are very involved, others are not. Some schools throw their doors open to parent volunteers, others do not. The question of, “where do we want to go?” encourages us to develop an ideal scenario for our children, incorporating the positive input of families, schools and greater society.

The Best Case Scenario

In my opinion, the best case scenario for primary school students is to see their parents regularly interacting with teachers, other parents and students in the school grounds. Similarly, I like the concept of parent volunteers in the classroom for reading support, weekend working bees in the school vegetable garden to generate a sense of belonging at school, as well as open communication between educators and parents on any given day. Younger siblings who feel welcome in playgrounds with parental supervision are more likely to experience an easy transition from home to school upon commencing Kindergarten.

The Reality

In reality, our child psychology clinic commonly receives referrals from frustrated parents seeking support when their children are refusing to attend school, or when both parent and child would like to change schools after months or years of family-school conflict. Other parents report strict school policies limiting parent-teacher contact to avoid a bottle-neck of parental traffic in classrooms before and after school. We also work with the parents of children with diagnosed Learning Disabilities or an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These families most regularly request classroom or playground observations. Some mothers sing the praises of schools, doing everything possible to increase classroom support for their child and others reports teachers have suggested they seek out another school option to gain more appropriate support.

Inside a Brazilian School

The Quirky Kid Clinic started researching school culture in 2006 as part of the School Days Project. The video below offers insight into what a school in Brazil looks like, through the eye of 10 year old, Riana, a student from Curitiba in Southern Brazil.

When parents disengage

A global perspective on Family-School relations suggest many schools are struggling to receive any support from parents. In Northern Brazil, for example, teachers often report minimal involvement from parents despite their attempts to make contact, particularly when there are large sibling groups attending the local school. In some cases, parents are working long hours to support their large families while others with limited educational opportunities in their own childhood, may lack confidence and avoid engaging with teachers.

There are many reasons parents disengage with teachers and this phenomenon is common across all socioeconomic groups. How many time-poor parents in Australia put school activities on the bottom of their agenda? And how many others find the active parent community overzealous and off-putting? Most importantly, how can we reach all parents and teachers in a meaningful way to ensure a common connection in the interest of the student community?

When I ask the young clients I work with about their family’s involvement with the school, they commonly report their parent’s opinion of the school, stating, “Mum wants me to change schools because my teacher won’t tell us anything”. In my experience, when parents have a negative opinion of the school, the teacher or the homework policy; students typically follows suit, with an identically negative opinion. Mental note, never put a teacher down in the presence of a child! Parental opinions count, at least in the eyes of your school-aged children.

Research findings

Educational psychology research emphasizes the importance of consistency between home and school to increase a child’s sense of stability in both settings. A student’s connection to school is increased with parental involvement in activities such as reading support or canteen duty. Students with a sense of stability and connection to school are less inclined to ‘drop-out’ of school or struggle with academic motivation. Parental motivation to become involved in school activities is similarly relevant in this story, as a means of modeling a positive life skill to young people.

Generating change in Family-School relations

School events, such as a disco, fete or sports carnival often generate support from parents when resources are limited. Importantly, parents have the capacity to positively influence the school-family relationship. An active parent community will generate ideas for fundraising or similar and delegate jobs between themselves. Schools soon learn the value of this input. Alternatively, schools wishing to generate more parental involvement would do well to promote the benefits by acknowledging families for their participation while providing diverse opportunities to appeal to a broad range of skills, from gardeners to craft assistants. Parents who volunteer to assist with sports or weeding at school, typically report the benefits of physical activity as well as fostering the parent-child relationship. Being present at school is also an opportunity for parents to observe their child’s friendships; to gain insight into teaching techniques and to gain confidence within the school community.  Making a start on Family-School relations requires both parents and teachers to find traction and build momentum before the results become clear.

Summary

So, family, society and school: where do we want to go? My aim is to be part of a supportive, functional and resourceful community where educational aspirations are achieved and dreams are encouraged. Every school could be a microcosm of the same ‘warmth and generosity’, demonstrated by the most committed and kind-hearted teachers and school volunteers. The ones who dig deep within themselves to present all children with a world of opportunities and unwavering stability. But let’s not forget to mention the potential of time-poor working parents, who would love nothing more than to volunteer and see more of their school-aged children! By making the family-school relationship a priority in our society, children not only have the pleasure of recognizing a familiar family face in the school crowd; we also begin to work towards a common goal.

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More than 120 women and girls as well as 70 men attended the four-day gathering and while grateful for the asylum they receive in India, the refugees said they faced many challenges. “Our children can go to school but I fear for their safety as the local children tease them, laugh at them, make fun of their skin colour and clothes and sometimes even beat or harass them,” claimed a Somali mother, who fled her country five years ago (UNHCR, 2010).

See some photos of our trip to India:

Our dual role was to participate in the Consultation with Woman and Girls project as part of regional dialogues involving meetings with community leaders, documenting and researching human rights violations. Secondly, we worked closely with the Burmese refugee community by facilitating workshops to encourage regional solutions to local livelihood issues in view of developing funding proposals. Our intensive work served to support the refugee’s  Community Based Organizations (CBO’s).

We were privileged to be part of such a great project, meet amazing people and in helping to fund-raising over $7000 for their projects.

You can find more about the dialogues by visiting the UNHCR website.

Leonardo Rocker participated in this project as an Intern for the Centre for Refugee Research at the UNSW in Sydney. The Quirky Kid Clinic provides supervision for other refugee organizations, such as the Malaleuca Refugee Centre and we currently consults to STARTTS.

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Group Activity

Last nigh, I was honored to facilitate a workshop on leadership and governance for 12 incredible members of the Sudanese community in Mount Druit, on behalf of the Quirky Kid Clinic and STARTTS.

The Quirky Kid Clinic has been selected as a consultant organization for the Communities in Cultural Transition Project (CiCTP) which is  been operated by STARTTS. STARTTS is the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors .The CiCTP project aims to assist non-funded associations and groups from newly arrived small and emerging refugee communities to develop governance and leadership capacity.

My role with the Sudanese community will hopefully be continuous. They are an incredibly inspiring community with already great projects in existence including settlement assistance, relocation and new child support, language skills for they children and social activities for the community.

They goal now is to establish an incorporation, apply for funding, create a community shopping initiative and extend these projects to reach more people and consolidate this already vibrant, genuine and active community.

The Quirky Kid Clinic is committed to the local and international community by engaging in several community

development projects. Our community development projects are founded in a Human Rights framework,  a Social Justice philosophy and a Community Development approach. Visit our community pages for more information or navigate on our Tag’s for current information about our projects.

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The Quirky Kid team has extensive experience in working with multicultural communities. Visit our community pages for more information

Please contact us if you require early intervention with an interpreter assistance.

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Burundian family in Australia

The project will work with great small communities like the Mandaean, Karen, Hazara, Sierra, Leonean, Liberian, South Sudanese, Burundian and Congolese. Leonardo Rocker, who is a Social Developer, will be the principal consultant working with these communities. The Quirky Kid is proud to be working in such interesting and unique project. The Quirky Kid Clinic is committed to the local and international community by engaging in several community development projects. Visit our community page for more information.

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3. Interpreter Assistance The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs...

Kimberley addressed the mentors about the positive impact mentoring has on children and young people’s lives, and how they are making a positive difference by volunteering their time and energy.

YWCA’S Big Brothers Big Sisters Program is a nationally accredited program.

Through YWCA’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program each year around 160 children benefit from having a Big Brother or Sister.

Mentoring brings about profound positive change in the way these young people feel about themselves and how they view their world. YWCA research suggest that Children with a Mentor as opposed to those without were:

* 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
* 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
* 53% less likely to skip school

The Quirky Kid clinic also offers a mentoring program. The Quirky Kid Mentoring Program is a dynamic non-judgemental and responsive mentoring project providing young people with the opportunity to develop the skills to implement changes in their lives.

The unique approach of the Quirky Kid program allows greater flexibility and accountability to referring sources as it works in conjunction with therapy. We achieve outstanding results with community based support.

Contact us for more information

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