Australian Parent's Council

The Australian Parents Council and the Australian Council of State School Organisations have contracted Erebus International to do some further investigation into the parental engagement elements of the Promoting Intercultural and Interfaith Understanding project that was conducted between a number of Sydney schools as part of the Australian Government's Values Education Program.

An exploration of strategies to assist parents and local communities to become more engaged in diverse interfaith and intercultural school settings.

Project Outline

Background

Over the past three years, significant work has been undertaken in relation to family-school partnerships.  Recent research commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations entitled "Family School Partnerships Framework- a Guide for Schools and Families" and undertaken by the Australian Parents Council Inc and the Australian Council of State School Organisations highlights the importance of this area. This Framework identified seven key dimensions as guidelines for planning partnership activities. These include:

• Communicating;
• Connecting learning at home and at school;
• Building community and identity;
• Recognising the role of the family;
• Consultative decision-making;
• Collaborating beyond the school; and
• Participating.

Published in 2006, the above report demonstrates that partnerships between families and schools can:

• Improve educational outcomes for students;
• Contribute to the building of social capital in the community;
• Positively alter school culture;
• Stimulate self-growth among parents; and
• Enhance the professional rewards for principals and school staff.

 In addition to this work, Erebus International recently completed a project that focussed on the development of interfaith and intercultural understanding in diverse school community settings. This project was entitled "Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings" and was conducted over 2 years from 2007 to 2009. A key finding emanating from this project related to the reluctance of parents and school community members to become engaged in this area.

A close consideration of the outcomes of the work undertaken in these two projects begs the question of how school-family partnerships can be enhanced in culturally diverse school community settings. Those issues represent the core of the issues being explored in this project.

Project Objectives

The objectives of this project will be:

• To recognise both formal and informal structures that exist within culturally diverse schools that seek to engage parents, families and community members in school activities.
• To identify school based strategies that contribute to enhanced engagement with school by parents, families and community members in relation to interfaith and intercultural understanding.
• To test the strategies developed and implemented by each school against the seven key dimensions (listed above)of the "Family School Partnerships Framework- a Guide for Schools and Families"
• To test the strategies developed and implemented by each school against the five key learnings from the evaluation of the "Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings" Pilot Project of goal clarity, place-based focus; leadership density; continuity of support, and curriculum relevance.
• To assist schools to further refine their strategies based on a consideration of the seven dimensions of the "Family School Partnerships Framework- a Guide for Schools and Families" and the five key learnings of the evaluation of the "Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings" Pilot Project.

Methodology

 The methodology for gathering data for this project will be undertaken in four separate school sites that have been previously involved in the "Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings". While school sites will be the major data gathering sites, three key methodologies will be employed:

1.        Document Analysis

Key documents, both national and international, relating to the scope and purpose of the project will be examined before physical data gathering begins. This is done to ensure that Erebus has a sound understanding of the context and background of the project before onsite data gathering commences

2.        Focus Groups

Focus Groups will be employed to explore a range of perspectives and strategies in depth around issues relating to success in enhancing parent engagement. The focus groups will be interactive and provide the opportunity for discussion around key themes. The stakeholders to be invited to participate in the different focus groups will include teachers, parents, families and local community members. 

During focus groups, participants will also have the opportunity to identify and analyse the success of their school based strategies against the seven key dimensions of the Family School Partnerships Framework and the five key learning identified from the evaluation of the "Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding in School Settings" Pilot Project.

It is envisaged that in each school site, the following focus groups will be conducted:

• 1 focus group with teachers working with parents, families and/or community members
• 1 focus group with parents, families and/or community members that are currently engaged with the school

 3.      Interviews with key stakeholders

As a key part of the data gathering process, opportunity will be provided for the pursuit of specific issues with key individual stakeholders. These interviews will be face to face. They will include interviews with selected members of school leadership team and key school community members in each school community. The structure and purpose of these interviews will be determined in accordance with the evaluation objectives and will build on the insights during the focus group sessions.

It is envisaged that in each school site, the following key stakeholder interviews will be conducted:

• 1-3 interviews with selected members of the school leadership team
• 1-3 interviews with key community representatives or parents.

Project Timeline

Data gathering for this project will occur during September 2009. The project is scheduled for completion in November 2009 following a submission of the final report to the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.