Parents as partners

How to work together with parents

Content of the training

This course contributes to your personal development with regards to parent involvement. Parent involvement is used to widen the changes that help to enhance children’s learning and help children to become empowered by learning. Teachers learn how to communicate effectively with parents and how to plan and implement different types of parent involvement.

The course is based on Epstein’s types of parent involvement and contains the following modules:

Module 1: Opening module
Module 2: Parent participation (incl. a case study)
Module 3: Sharing in relation to the learning process
Module 4: Supporting learning at home
Module 5: Supporting parents in raising their children
Module 6: Course completion

Epstein’s framework distinguishes six types of parent involvement in schools. This course uses the following five most relevant types for teachers:

1. Communicating
2. Learning at home
3. Parenting
4. Volunteering
5. Decision making

The last module combines everything covered on the course in the final assignments.

Each day the training starts with a devotion based on a passage from the Bible. These devotions put the themes of the day in the light of the Kingdom of God. It may also encourage you to have your values and ambitions aligned with God’s purposes for education and the collaboration with parents.

Results 

The results and impact of the training will differ from person to person. The success depends on the extent to which you will be involved in the course. In other words, it comes down to having an open (learning) mind. In addition, there is the input and approach given by the trainer. He or she will encourage you to continue to develop yourself during the training but also afterwards. Of course, the success also depends on the training course itself. An evaluation form will enable you to give feedback after the training. We hope the training will contribute to an open attitude, necessary skills and new insights in your own way of working with parents!

Target group

Any teacher who needs (more) knowledge, skills and a change of attitude in collaborating with parents.

Course objectives

After the training you:

• Know how to reflect on the responsibility of raising and educating children from a biblical perspective in order to act as a partner of parents in raising and educating their children.
• Are aware of the importance of parent participation.
• Are able to use the step-by-step model in analyzing and dealing with a problem related to parent participation.
• Are able to analyze communication with parents (related to appropriateness)
• Are able to describe the different types of parent participation
• Know how to share important aspects of the learning process with parents in an effective way.
• Know how to share with parents how they can improve their home situation to make it more favourable for learning.
• Know how to support parents in fulfilling the basic needs in the development of their children within the boundaries of your role as a teacher.
• Are able to combine the knowledge, skills and attitudes developed in previous modules with real life situations.

Costs

The costs of the products and services developed by INCE Office depends on the local context of the country.

Partners of the INCE network

Please, contact the project coordinator of your country for purchase options.

New customers can make a request for quotation directly.

INCE Office can offer this product to your (educational) organisation.