Working in Relationship with Families

Toowoomba Catholic SchoolsParents and Friends Associations

May 12,2016

Parent Engagement

©Debbie Pushor

Debbie Pushor, PhD

Professor

Department of Curriculum Studies

University of Saskatchewan

Presented By

©Debbie Pushor

Bring to mind a vivid childhood memory.

All the Places to Love

©Debbie Pushor

©Debbie Pushor

How are Eli’s parents and grandparents educating

him?

All the Places to Love

©Debbie Pushor

What are they teaching Eli?

All the Places to Love

©Debbie Pushor

Education

©Debbie Pushor

Birth Forever

Education©Debbie Pushor

Schooling

©Debbie Pushor

Birth ForeverSchooling

Education©Debbie Pushor

Parent Engagement

©Debbie Pushor

The authentic and meaningful opportunity for parents’ place and voice in their children’s teaching,

learning, and development

Parent Engagement

©Debbie Pushor

• Draws on “parent knowledge”o “Funds of knowledge” (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & González,

2005, p. 72) garnered by virtue of being alive in the world

AND

o “Parent knowledge” (Pushor, 2010, in press) held and used by someone who nurtures children in the complex act of childrearing and in the complex context of a home and family.

Parent Engagement

©Debbie Pushor

• Honours parents’ hopes and dreams

• Invites parents’ voices

• Is strength-based

• Honours the capacity parents possess

• Engages parents as parents, not as teachers

Parent Engagement

©Debbie Pushor

• Is a relationship of shared decision-making and reciprocity

• Is focused on teaching and learning

• Happens on both the childcare/school and the home landscapes

• Ensures everyone is strengthened through their engagement.

Parent Engagement

©Debbie Pushor

Parents’ room

Learning about Families/Parent Knowledge

©Debbie Pushor

Family photos

Learning about Families/Parent Knowledge

©Debbie Pushor

Meet the family night

Laying parent knowledge alongside our own

©Debbie Pushor

Literacy development/Curricular engagement

Laying parent knowledge alongside our own

©Debbie Pushor

Parent planning/programming sessions

Laying parent knowledge alongside our own

©Debbie Pushor

Family scrapbooking

Laying parent knowledge alongside our own

©Debbie Pushor

In a 2005 meta-analysis, Jeynes found that the things parents do which create

“an educationally oriented ambiance”

–a sense of support and standards in the

child’s mind – produce the strongest impact on student achievement results.

Why Parent Engagement Matters

©Debbie Pushor

Parent engagement has been positively linked to

indicators of student achievement:

･ higher grades and test scores (teacher ratings, achievement and standardized tests)

･ enrolment in higher-level programs/advanced classes

･ greater promotion rates

･ higher successful completion of classes, and earned credits

･ lower drop-out rates

･ higher on-time high school graduation rates

･ more likely to go on to postsecondary education.

(Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001; Fan & Chen, 1999;

Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005: Jeynes, 2005; Redding et al, 2004; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996)

Why Parent Engagement Matters

©Debbie Pushor

“…families have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school and through life. …When schools, families, and community

groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in

school longer, and like school more.”Henderson & Mapp, 2002, p. 7

Why Parent Engagement Matters

©Debbie Pushor

Credits

All The Places to Love

Patricia MacLachlanPaintings By

Mike WimmerHarperCollins Publishers

1994

Debbie Pushor, PhD

debbie.pushor@usask.ca

www.debbiepushor.com

(306) 966-7573

Presented By