Parent workshops from the point of view of parents Maria Birbili* *Department of Early Childhood Education Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece mmpirmpi@nured.auth.gr Key- words: Family involvement, parent workshops, preschool education Abstract One way to encourage family involvement in children s learning is through parent workshops. No matter their topic, workshops share a common characteristic: they should give parents the opportunity to engage in hands- on activities that help them make connections between school and home learning and practice using different teaching strategies and techniques. The purpose of the study presented here was to investigate parents perceptions of the usefulness of parent workshops. The workshops were conducted in four kindergartens, in the two biggest cities of Greece, during 2009-2010. The results suggest, among other things, that although parents enjoy the hands- on aspect of workshops they also feel that they need the theory, or the why behind the suggestions made by the facilitator. They also seem to value more the activities that reveal to them how [their] child's mind works. The study also indicates that parents want to return home with specific suggestions and strategies on how to help and what to do with their children. Importance of family involvement in school A large number of research studies, since 1965, confirm that communication and collaboration between home and school improve learner achievement, attitude toward school, classroom conduct, and parent and teacher morale (Borich & Tombari, 1997, p. 5). Although family and parent involvement means different things to different people and includes a large number of practices, today, it is widely accepted that involvement means more than just getting parents to the school (NWREL, 2002). According to the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2002), effective home school collaboration utilizes parents as partners in teaching and learning, recognizes parents as legitimate participants in school governance, fosters community cohesion, and supports 1
the development of parenting skills. Based on the same principle, Epstein and her colleagues (2002) have proposed a framework of 6 different types of parent involvement: Parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with community. Families as partners in teaching and learning An analysis and synthesis of 80 studies of parental involvement in K- 12 schools led Henderson and Mapp (2002, cited in Allen, 2009) to the conclusion that family involvement has a greater effect on students achievement when a) it is linked to student learning and b) it supports student learning at home. Henderson and Mapp also found that no matter their cultural backgrounds, education and income levels, all families can have a positive influence on their children s learning and academic achievement (Allen, 2009). In other words, engaging parents in working directly with children on learning activities in the home has a greater impact on student achievement than more general forms of parent involvement. To be effective in their efforts, schools should recognize cultural and class differences, address family needs, and build on families strengths and funds of knowledge (Allen, 2009). In addition, they need to provide parents with specific strategies and approaches. Parent workshops One of the ways in which schools can help parents support their children's learning is through parent workshops. Parent workshops can facilitate links between home and school by providing parents with specific opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge that enable them to support children s learning in the home (Gorinski and Fraser, 2006). Apart from developing a repertoire of home- based support strategies, knowing what to do, empowers families to take an active role in their children s education in general (Gorinski, 2005; Gorinski and Fraser, 2006). Parent workshops are not an unknown concept in Greek schools. However, when teachers talk about parent workshops, more often than not, they refer to parent- child joint, arts and craft activities, organized by the school. In other words, the idea of parent workshops as a way of involving parents in their children s learning is not a familiar one among Greek early childhood educators, let alone parents. Within this context, the purpose of this study was to investigate parents perceptions of the usefulness of parent workshops that aim to help them learn how to support their children s learning and reinforce what school is trying to do. 2
Methodology of the study Four workshops took place in four public kindergartens, in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece, during November and December 2009. The aim of the workshop, in all kindergartens, was to help parents: Identify learning opportunities in everyday situations and daily routines. Understand the importance of observation and listening to children. Understand the importance of questions in learning. Practice using open- ended questions. Workshops took place in classrooms or dining rooms, were coordinated by the author and lasted approximately 3 hours (although they were scheduled for 2h). A total of 124 parents attended the workshops (total schools' population: 263 parents). Among them, they were 72 women and 52 men, 43 couples and 1 grandmother who came with her daughter- mother. Three groups of parents came from middle socio- economic background and one from middle and high socio- economic class. Data were collected through a questionnaire- feedback form, developed for the purpose of the study and given at the end of each workshop. Responses were received from 103 participants. In all workshops, with the help of a power point presentation, theory alternated with relevant practical examples and exercises. For example, a discussion on the distinction between open and closed questions and the use of its type for learning was followed by an exercise where parents were asked to turn a list of closed questions into open questions and identify everyday situations when they could ask children open questions. The questionnaire - feedback form was comprised of 6 questions (3 closed-, 2 open- ended and one semi- open question) which asked parents the following: 1. Do you feel that you learned something new from this workshop, about the way you can support your child s learning? (Yes/No If YES please specify ) 2. Are there 2 things you plan to do differently because of your participation in this workshop? 3
3. Is there a topic- issue that you still have a question about? 4. Which part of the workshop did you find most useful- helpful? (choice from: exercises/activities, theory, interaction with other parents, other) 5. Do you have any suggestions/comments as to how we could improve this workshop? 6. Please check which of the following statement(s) describe(s) better your feelings after this workshop? I learned new skills that I can try with my child. I feel more certain about what I m already doing. I now understand more how children function. I haven t learned anything new. I feel that I still don t know much about how to help my child. I feel that I have lost my time. Responses to open- ended questions were categorized for common themes and differences whereas data collected from closed- questions were analyzed by examining the frequency of responses. Results The answers to the question Which part of the workshop did you find most useful- helpful? indicate that parents enjoyed more the exercises/activities (91 references) and the theoretical framework (83 references) than the interaction with other parents (52 references). Some parents also found useful the examples provided by the facilitator and the use of power point presentation as a visual aid (22 references). Although the interaction with others gives parents the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and/or share common problems and concerns, it seems that the parents of the sample did not enjoy this aspect of the workshop that much. One possible explanation could be that the quality of conversation between members of the group, in all four workshops, was not as high as, the author- facilitator, expected it was, perhaps, parent s lack of similar experiences that lead some individuals to monopolize the conversation, others to express 4
their views in absolute terms and some (few) to remain silent for the duration of the workshop. Of course it could also be the facilitator s weakness to co- ordinate the discussion in a balanced way so as to enable all participants to express their views. From the exercises/activities parents reported that they liked more those that revealed children s thinking & feelings. Three parents speak for the majority (91) when they say that: I liked the activities that made me think how my child thinks. The ones that reveal how children think. Those that made me understand how my child feels when she tries to learn the letters. Referring to the theory, most parents said that they felt it was giving them the why behind suggestions or the why I should something. As one parent wrote characteristically: I want to know why I have to do something. I had enough of hearing you should do that and you should do the other without knowing the why. As a suggestion to improve the workshop, 89 parents indicated that they wanted to go home with something concrete in hand: Notes/Handouts that we could take with us (photocopies or CD) Specific ideas for activities to take home A list of books we can read with our children Your presentation (in ppt) Practical stuff arts & crafts Those who wanted something in writing justified their answer by saying that it would help them share what they have learned with the other members of their family who could not attend the workshop. Fifty seven (57) parents also suggested that they wanted this to be the beginning of a series of workshops on how to support [their] children's learning. From the analysis of the question do you feel that you learned something new from this workshop, about the way you can support your 5
child s learning? four categories of answers emerged describing parents perception of the usefulness of the specific workshop: The first category includes those parents (29) who felt that the workshop helped them clarify and/or make them feel more certain to use/apply what they already knew: 1) It became clearer that [I knew about it but now I feel more certain to use/apply it...] The second category includes those parents (23) who felt that the workshop gave them the information they needed in order to improve what [they were] already doing. 2) How to improve [what I m already doing] The third category groups together the parents (32) who felt that the workshop gave them the opportunity to learn how to do something i.e. the skills [they] didn t have before attending the workshop. 3) I learned how to [ask questions, observe, stimulate] [I didn't know how to do this...] The fourth category concerns a number of parents (17) who felt that the workshop gave them the opportunity to learn things they didn t know about, [they] haven t heard before 4) That I/we should [I didn't know about this...] Finally, after the workshop, parents felt that: I learned new skills that I can try with my child I feel more certain about what I m already doing I now understand more how children function I haven t learned anything new I feel that I still don t know much about how to help my child I feel that I have lost my time 89 references 75 references 94 references 2 references 63 references 0 references The answers to this last question, can be said that affirm those to the previous question. 6
Discussion Despite its relatively small sample, the study provides some useful findings concerning the use of workshops as a strategy for helping parents to support children s learning at home. First, the study confirms that parents want to go home with something concrete in their hands - a suggestion made often in the relevant literature indicating that parents need specific information and suggestions on how to help and what to do. At the same time, the study reveals that parents also want the more abstract, theory as it explains to them why they should do something. This finding is important not only because it gives information to teachers or facilitators as to what parent workshops should include but also because it asserts that parents can handle more information than educators often give them the credit for, as long as it is given in appropriate ways. Another interesting finding of the study presented here is that workshops serve different purposes for different parents and that those purposes might be different from the ones set by the facilitator but all equally important for parents. In other words, because parents come to workshops with different resources, skills and expectations, the information- knowledge given to them will serve different purposes: it might verify or clarify what they already know or it might teach them something new. The lesson learned here is that facilitators should acknowledge this variety of purposes from the beginning of the workshop in order to help parents see it as something useful whether it offers new knowledge or reinforces old knowledge or strengthens skills already learned. Finally, the findings of this study support those who argue that a series of workshops is more effective than conducting single, unconnected seminars (Barnes, 1978). The parents of the sample felt that they needed more than one workshop to feel that they have learned enough to guide their child's learning. References Allen, J. B. (2009): Effective home- school communication. FINE Newsletter FINE Newsletter, Volume I, Issue 1. Accessed from http://www.hfrp.org/publications- resources/browse- our- publications/effective- home- school- communication Barnes, E. (1978): A guide for parent workshops: Parents as teachers. Day Care and Early Education, 6, 1, pp. 36-42. 7
Borich, G. D. & Tombari, M. (1997): Educational psychology: A contemporary approach (2 nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Epstein, J., Sanders, M., Simon, B., Salinas., K., Jansorn, N., & Van Voorhis, F. (2002): School, family, and community partnerships: your handbook for action, (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Gorinski, R. (2005): Parent mentoring initiative evaluation. Wellington: Ministry of Education. Gorinski, R. & Fraser, C. (2006): Literature review on the effective engagement of Pasifika parents & communities in education (PISCPL). Accessed from www.educationcounts.govt.nz/.../pasifika_education/5907 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2002): Parental involvement under the new Title I & Title III: From compliance to effective practice. Accessed from www.missouri- pirc.org/.../parental_involvment_under_the_new_title_i.pdf 8