Home School Relationships: Challenges for Teachers and Head Teachers in Pakistan

Qamar Safdar*
Senior Instructor, AKU-IED
Periodicity:September - November'2006
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.2.2.850

Abstract

The connection between home and school is referred to in various ways such as parent involvement, home-school relations or community involvement in schools. This paper conceptualize that connection as a ‘partnership’ with parents being viewed as partners with teachers in educating children. Parental involvement at all stages is crucial for children’s learning, but especially in the early years parenting role is seen as a driving force in their success (Pascal, Henry, cited in Bridge 2001) The idea of such a partnership is one that has been the focus of attention and debate for quite some time though it is not without tensions and problems in many countries.

In Pakistan, a large number of Parent-Teacher Associations and School Management Committees have been formed but a recent newspaper report (Amir, 2004) suggests that many are ineffective due to non-representative membership or they are non-functional, existing only on paper. Troublesome though it may be, few would argue that there should be no connection between home and school. So the purpose of this chapter is to explore some ways to strengthen the relationship between teachers and parents.

The present need is to continue to build learning communities involving parents and teachers working in partnership with each other. It is recognized that building bridges between home and school needs marathon efforts from both the teachers and the parents and what is absolutely vital is mutual understanding and cooperation on both sides. Parents and teachers can be partners and they have an excellent opportunity to demonstrate what can be achieved when working together in the best interests of the student.

Keywords

How to Cite this Article?

Qamar Safdar (2006). Home School Relationships: Challenges for Teachers and Head Teachers in Pakistan.i-manager's Journal on School Educational Technology, 2(2),18-28. https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.2.2.850

References

Amir, I. (2004). Parent-teacher bodies rendered ineffective. Report in Dawn newspaper, p.4, 31 January.
Baker, K. (1987). The Churchill Lecture, Cambridge. Quoted in P. Munn (1993). Parents and schools: Customers, managers or partners? London: Routledge.
Bastiani, J. & Wolfendale, S. (1996). Home-school work in Britain: Review, reflection and development. London: David Fulton.
Berk, L. (1989). The parenting role and its influence. In S. Wolfendale (1993). Empowering parents and teachers: Working for children. London: Cassell.
Bray, M. (2000, April). Community partnerships in education: Dimensions, variations and implications. Paper prepared for World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal.
Bray, M. (2003, August). Community partnerships in education. Paper presented at the International Conference on Impact: Making a Difference at AKUIED, Karachi.
Bridge, H. (2001) Increasing parental Involvement in the Pre school Curriculum: what an action research study revealed in International Journal of earlyYears Education, Vol. 9, No.1, 2001.
Crump, S. & Eltis, K. (1995). School home connections: Political relations in policy implementation. Cited in M. Sanders & J. Epstein (1998). School-familycommunity partnerships and educational change: International perspectives. In A. Hargreaves et al. (Eds.). International handbook of educational change. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Dean, J. (2001). The effective school governor. London: Routledge.
Edwards, R. & Alders, P. (2000). A typology of parental involvement in education centering on children and young people: Negotiating familiarization, institutionalization and individualization. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 21(3), 435-455.
Govinda, R. and Diwan, R. (2003). Community participation and empowerment in primary education. New Delhi: Sage.
Grotevant, H.D. (1989). Child Development within the Family Context. In S. Wolfendale (1993). Empowering parents and teachers: Working for children. London:Cassell.
Jones, J. (1993). What governors need to know. In J. Dean, The effective school governor. London: Routledge.
Kogan, M. J., Packwood, T. & Whitaker, T. (1986). School governing bodies. London: Heinemann.
Morrow,G. and Malin, N.(2004) Parents and Professionals working together : turning the rhetoric into reality. In Early years, Vol.24, No. 2,September.
McLachlan, K. (1996). Good mothers are women too: The gender implications of parental involvement in education. In J. Bastiani and S. Wolfendale, Homeschool work in Britain: Review, reflection and development (pp. 28-38). London: David Fulton.
Ousten,J., and Hood, S.(2000) Home School Agreements: A true Partnership? in The Research and Information on State Education Trust(RISE) London.
Plowden Report (1967, April). Children and their primary schools. A Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education. In M. Bray (2000). Community partnerships in education: Dimensions, variations and implications. Paper prepared for World Education Forum, Daker, Senegal.
Pugh, G. (1989). Parents and professionals in pre-school services: Is partnership possible? In P. Munn (1993). Parents and schools: Customers, managers or partners. London: Routledge.
Sanders, M. & Epstein, J. (1998). School-familycommunity partnerships and educational change: International perspectives. In A. Hargreaves et al. (Eds.). International handbook of educational change (pp. 482-502). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Stacey,M.(1991). Parents and Teachers Together , Open University Press. Philadelphia.
Tizard, B.& Hughes, M. (1984). Young children learning. In S. Wolfendale (1993). Empowering parents and teachers: Working for children. London: Cassell.
Topping, K. (1986). Parents as partners. In S. Wolfendale (1993). Empowering parents and teachers: Working for children. London: Cassell.
Windham, D. (1992). Education for all: The requirements. In M. Bray (2003, August). Community Partnerships in Education. Paper presented at the International Conference on Impact: Making a Difference held at AKU-IED, Karachi.
Wolfendale, S. (1993). Empowering parents and teachers: Working for children. London: Cassell.
Wolfendale, S. (1996). The Contribution of Parents to Children's Achievement in School Policy and Practice in the London Borough of Newham. London: David Fulton.
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Pdf 35 35 200 20
Online 35 35 200 15
Pdf & Online 35 35 400 25

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.