GUIDE FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL - Participation of Parents in The Academic Success of Elementary School Students

GUIDE FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL- Participation of parents in the
academic success of elementary school students
1) Category:
• Tool
2) Issues:
• In order to increase students’ odds of successfully tackling the challenges of school,
parents need to be involved in the educational process.
• However, parent involvement is not necessarily automatic. Certain conditions stimulate
their desire to be part of this process. The forging of a genuine teacher-parent
partnership is beneficial for teachers and parents alike.
3) Objectives:
• Help teachers exercise critical judgement about their interaction with their students
and the students’ parents
• Suggest strategies, activities and tools that foster the participation of parents in their
children’s academic success
4) Environment:
• Primary schools
5) Target Group:
• Teachers
6) Key Words:
• Guide for School Personnel, cœuréaction, school-family-community partnership, tool,
guide, parent participation, critical judgement, academic success, strategy, activity,
communication, MELS, Acti-Jeunes, Youth Health
7) Description:
• The Guide for School Personnel is a tool designed to encourage parents to participate in
their children’s academic success. The Guide provides primary school teachers with
food for thought and strategies, activities and tools for improving their practices.
• The ultimate purpose of the Guide is to strengthen action by schools and school
partners (parents, childcare, CLSCs, municipalities, community organizations, etc.) that
contributes to the social and personal well-being of the students.
This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/. Page 1 of 3
• The Guide opens by discussing parents’ attitude towards the school and teachers’
attitude towards the parents. It goes on to describe what teachers can do to promote a
"parent-actor" attitude, followed by chapters on leadership styles, classroom
atmosphere, and the tasks and activities suggested for parents.
8) Steps:
• The steps are left to the teachers’ discretion. Some may look through the Guide and
work at their own pace to try to modify certain of their attitudes and practices in order
to establish a positive relationship with the parents and actively engage them in their
children’s academic success.
9) Activities/Actions:
• Here is an overview of the subjects covered by the Guide:
o Chapter 1: A question of attitude: Encourage parents to play an active role by
involving them in a process of empowerment.
o Chapter 2: Teacher leadership: Through their behavior, teachers must show that
they have the skills required for teaching, especially communication and
organization skills, while creating conditions that make parents feel more confident
about their abilities and, in turn, that prompt shared leadership.
o Chapter 3: Atmosphere: Create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in which
students and parents feel acknowledged and appreciated. Several activities are
suggested for achieving this goal.
o Chapter 4: Suggested tasks and activities for parents: Adapt and diversify tasks
and activities, put parents in pro-active and inter-active situations and involve the
students in this process.
• The Appendix provides teachers with a number of templates and tips for activities
complementary to chapters 1 to 4, for instance:
o Examples of humorous and creative written messages intended for parents;
o Introduction activities and icebreakers for use at parent meetings;
o Starting points and strategies for making homework time more enjoyable and
effective;
o Suggestions for encouraging children to read and write at home;
o Etc.
10) Resources Required:

• No extra resources are needed.
11) Roles of the Participants:

• Teachers:
o read the Guide;
o think seriously and objectively in order to identify the things they could improve in
order to enhance parent participation and involvement;
o modify some of their practices and attitudes by taking their cue from the Guide.
12) Scientific Basis or Validity:
• "When parents take an active role in their child’s education, the children get better
marks, are absent less often, have few behavioural problems, a more positive
perception of the classroom and the school environment, self-regulating skills, better
orientation toward employment and greater academic aspirations." (Rollande
DESLANDES and Richard BERTRAND, La création d’une véritable communauté éducative
autour de l’élève : une intervention cohérente et des services mieux harmonisés,
rapport de recherche, CQRS/MEQ, 2001, p. 6.)
• "When parents put effort into their parental duties, value education and pass high
aspirations on to their children, while imposing firm rules and demands and showing
that they care, students increase their chances of success." (Conseil de la famille et de
l’enfance, Pour une plus grande complicité entre les familles et les écoles,
Gouvernement du Québec, 2000, p. 22.)
13) Material:
• Guide:
http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/DGFJ/csc/viescolaire/pdf/participation_of_parents.pdf
14) Additional Information:

• Most of the Guide’s suggested activities and tools were tested by Commission scolaire
de la Côte-du-Sud teachers.
• The information contained in this factsheet was taken, in whole or in part, from:
o http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/DGFJ/csc/viescolaire/pdf/participation_of_parents.p
df.
15) Contacts:
• Jean-François Giguère, Coordinator, Complementary Educational Services
Services éducatifs complémentaires et intervention en milieu défavorisé
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS)
1035, rue De La Chevrotière
Québec (Québec) G1R 5A5
Tel.: 418 643-4208, extension 3163
Email: [email protected]

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11) Roles of the Participants:

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