Collaborative Leadership in PromotingFamily/Community Involvement

Learning Outcomes

• Students are able to:• Describe the importance of collaborative

leadership in promoting family/community collaboration

• The importance of group process in enhancing participation

• Differentiate participation and collaboration according to context

• Ways to promote advocacy roles among parents/community members

• Discuss effective ways to deal with parents’ rights

Collaborative Leadership in PromotingFamily/Community Involvement

• Students are able to:• Describe the importance of collaborative

leadership in promoting family/community involvement

• Recognize the importance of group process in the leadership process

• Identify various ways to promote advocacy and governance in leadership role among parents/community members

• Recognize the importance of evaluating involvement programs for improvement

What is Collaborative Leadership?

• "...if you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the organization or community.“David Chrislip and Carl LarsonIt is a leadership of a collaborative effort

• You are a collaborative leader once you have accepted responsibility for building - or helping to ensure the success of - a heterogeneous team to accomplish a shared purpose Hank Rubin

• It is a process to guide a diverse group of people to fine solutions to complex problems that affects all of them

Movement Favoring Family/Community Involvement

• The school-based movement of late 1960’s and 1970’s• School-based management means locating the power to

make decisions about budget, personnel, and school organization and curriculum at the school level

• Goals 2000• As educational leaders in providing leadership in

community or collective collaboration in site-based management of schools

• Teachers need leadership skills to encourage problem solving and critical thinking when served on site-based or community-based committees

• To improve academic achievement in the, particularly in poor and minority districts

Leadership Roles Of Administrators in Family/Community Involvement

• As a morale builder Enabling staff members to feel positive, enthusiastic and secure in their work with children and parents

• The development of principal-parent relationship• Program designer in implementing programs that

involve parents• Program coordinator for teachers initiating family

involvement programs• Developing site-base management and leading

advisory councils and decision-making committees

Possible Roles of Parents in SchoolPrincipal’s Leadership in Making a

Difference

• Parents as:As spectatorsAs temporary volunteersAs volunteer resourcesAs employed resourcesAs policy makersAs teachers of their own children

Continuum of Collaboration

• InformingOne-way communication

• InvolvingParents supporting agenda determined by the school staffOnly limited trust exist

• EngagingThe stakeholders create the agenda, make decisions and then take actions

• LeadingPartners create a norm of engagement and all play appropriate roles and work towards a shared vision

The Importance Group Processes

• Principals/teachers who can support and motivate group can accomplish the goals of the group without undermining the responsibilities of the participants

• It helps if participants have a basic understanding of group processes and communication, whether the group is led by students, parents, principals or professionals

• Parent involvement includes shared goal setting and decision making

Parent Education

• Belief in the autonomy of parents inspires the promotion of their decision-making abilities and allows them to be full partners in the education process

• Active parent collaboration means including the parents in mutual accountability – beyond the bureaucratic control

The Continuum of Parent Education

• Parent leader with no training• Parent leader with leadership training• Parent leader with a structured

curriculum• Parent leader with professional support• Professional leader with parent support• Professional teacher

• Parent leader with no trainingUnstructured meetings with no goals, curriculum or trained leader

• Parent leader with leadership trainingMeetings led by leaders to get comments, solve problem, study an issue, or become better acquainted

• Parent leader with a structured curriculumMeetings led by lay leader who follow a curriculum devised by professional, such as Active Parenting, Parent Effective Training (PET)

• Parent leader with professional supportMeetings led by parent or professional that involve members and respond to their concerns with professional support.

• Professional leader with parent supportMeetings led by a professional, with participation by lay members

• Professional teacherMeetings called, led, directed, and controlled by the professional, with members of the audience as observers only

Determining Needs of Families/Community

Through Needs Assessment

• Generic Steps:1. Meet with group of parents representatives of diverse

ethnic/socioeconomic levels within the community2. Jot down the issues that interest or concern them

(brainstorming is strongly recommended)3. Use reports from reports or Gallup polls to facilitate the

session4. Construct a need-assessment tool listing possible

topics or format for parents5. Formulate questionnaire and disseminate them to

adults in the school/community6. Choose the items that received the most requests7. Develop programs to meet the needs of the community

Examples of Issues FromPhi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll (2001)

• Lack of discipline• Lack of financial support• Fighting, violence and drugs • Overcrowded schools• The use of drugs and dope• The difficulty in obtaining high-quality

teachers

Guidelines for Brainstorming• Choose a recorder and a facilitator• Encourage all members to contribute ideas for programs

(round robin is suggested for specific reasons)• Past successful/exemplary programs can be used as

guide • Write ideas on chalkboard, white board, newsprint, or

OHP • Caution members not to judge any suggestions good or

bad at this point• Have members choose (in writing) three to six ideas

that interest them most• Develop your program from the interest that received

the most votes (ranking process)

Problem-Solving Format

• Recognition of the problem – state the problem/hypothesisExample: Does violence on the television impact our children and cause them more violence in the country?

• Understand the problem • Data collection

Identify resources and read them before meeting• Analysis of the problem• Conclusion and summary

What Are Looking For in Leadership Training?

• Leader’s personalityAbility to think and act quicklyAbility to get along with othersRespect for the opinions of othersWillingness to remain in the backgroundFreedom from prejudice

• Leader’s knowledge and skillsKnowledge of discussion methodsKnowledge of the opinions of authoritiesSkills in asking questions

Collaboration Vs. Participation

• Collaboration is a consultative process at best, where the new actors share the burden with the traditional administrators of education and help to improve conditions of the classroom teaching, to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of schools, and to deliver their services, without becoming quite a partner in the process

• Participation would add ‘intervention’ into the process – the ability to get involved in governance, policy and administration; to serve as equal partner in planning, managing, and evaluation, and to gain power (empowerment) through the process

Levels of Collaboration/Participation• Parent as active partner and educational leader at home

and at school• Parent as decision maker• Parent as advocate for the school• Parent actively involved as volunteer or paid employee• Parent as a liaison between school home and school to

support homework• Parent as supporter of the educational goals of the

school• Parent as recipient of education and support• Parent as member of parent educational classes• Parent as representative and activist in the community

From low to high

Conditions and Factors Facilitating Collaboration

• Organizational normsOpen and ready for changeHigher level of commitment to changeTrust and support NGO/other agencies activities

• Structures and proceduresDecentralization and local autonomy to adaptCommittees and councilsA focus on processPublicity

• Knowledge, skills and attitude

Characteristics of Effective Collaboration

• Principals, teachers, child-care providers, staff, and parents who believe in parent/family involvement

• School and child-care centers that encourage parent collaboration by encouraging parents to participate at the level that best fits their interests and time

• An open-door policy and climate that respond to parent concerns with effective communication

• Children, new to the school or center, are paired with a classmate to help the new child become a class member more easily

• Conferences are held at times that make it possible and convenient for parents to attend

• A feeling of family, schools, center, and community joined together in a collaborative manner to support children’s health and educational growth

Problems of Collaboration

• A lack of resources in terms of finances, personnel, labor and time

• The inability or resistance of institutions and individuals to change

• Organizational and administrative obstacles• Political and cultural constraints• Inherent weaknesses of other partners• The surrender of education to schools• The lack of standard and invariable

approaches to collaboration

Research Findings by McLaughlin and Shield, 1987)

• The general conclusion is that most strategies for parent involvement have not been carried out as they were intended. Parent advisory councils have been pro forma, giving parents little genuine involvement in the decision-making processes … The hesitancy of school administrators to establish meaningful advisory roles for parents. Low income parents have shown themselves unwilling to serve on ‘paper councils’ or to spend time in non-substantive roles

Implications from Jennifer Wee’s Study

• The lack of school-based parent involvement practices suggests that schools need to take leadership role in soliciting and involving parents in the various parent involvement programs

Rational Behind the Advocacy Move• When children perceive that the school is an

extension of or substitute for their families, academic performance is enhanced

• Parents’ choice among schools and school options not only improve academic achievement, but also increase parents’ satisfaction and teacher morale

• Parents today are more consumer-oriented, well educated, and activist minded in their interactions with teachers and other school personnel

• Advocacy, though time consuming and difficult, when supported by the best available data, is helpful to the community, parents, and schools

National Standards for Parent/FamilyInvolvement Programs

• Standard V: School decision making and advocacy• Include parents on all decision-making and

advisory committees areas such as policy, curriculum, budget, school reform initiatives, safety, and personnel.

• Enable parents to participate as partners when setting school goals, developing or evaluating programs and policies, or responding to performance data

• Treat parental concerns with respect and demonstrate genuine interest in developing solutions

• Promote parent participation on school district, state and national committees and issues

Advocacy: What does it mean?

• An act or process of advocating or supporting a cause of proposal (Merriam-Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 2003)

• Advocacy in our discussion means organized efforts and initiatives whose goals or cause is to improve services and programs for young children in general or target groups of children with defined needs

• It is the act of pleading a cause and defending, endorsing, or promoting particular ideas, principles, or individuals

• The range of involvement in advocacy efforts varies greatly in most school settings

How do you prepare yourself to playthe advocacy role for kids? (Whitebook &

Ginsburg, 1984)

• Know about child abuse and the rights of children• Recognize the process of social change• Become aware of the effect of technology, power,

class, and race have on families in a given society• View children as the future of society and as a

protected class• View child care in a positive light, as a profession

with ethical guidelines• Identify the use of resources in the community,

state, and nation

How to Provide Governance and Advocacy Roles for Parents?

• Governance RolesInvolve parents in student goal setting at regular parent-teacher conferencesInvolve parents and community members in developing the school’s mission and goalsKeep parents informed of leadership opportunities on school committee and in the communityForm a parent council with advisory committees to support each academic areaProvide training for parent leaders in collaboration and problem-solving skillsInvolve the parent council in planning ways to extend learning opportunities

• Advocacy RolesParents provide input to policies that affect educationParents feel in control of their child’s learning environmentParents and children’s rights are protectedBenefits for children and parents are linked to educational policiesEducators give equal status to interaction with parents to improve educational programsEducators become aware of parent perspectives for school policy development

Rights, Responsibilities andAdvocacy

• Rights to select their child’s education• Student records• Rights and responsibilities of students and

parentsSearch and seizure, suspension and due process, racial discrimination, sex discrimination, children with disabilities, corporal punishment

• Developing criteria together• Child advocacy• Child advocate

Parents’ Rights to Select Their Child Education

• Use of school vouchersThe voucher system allows parents to choose the school in which they enroll their childIt could be a private school or a public school in or outside the family’s attendance district

• Charter schoolCharter school may allow parents to help plan the school, determine the curriculum, and select teachers with expectation that the school will be more responsive to the parents and community

• HomeschoolingMost states permit parents to teach their own children, but the states have varied requirements

Barriers to Advocacy Efforts

• Feelings of powerlessness to change anything

• Lack of knowledge regarding government regulations

• Fear of the political process• Lack of confidence in their own

expertise• Lack of time

Reform Program in Kentucky

• School develop a school council, composed of the principal, three teachers (elected by the school staff), and two parents selected by the school’s PTO

• Among the council’s authority and discretion:Set school policy, particularly to improve student achievementAppoint both staff and principals when vacancies occurIdentify and purchase needed instructional materialsIdentify and allocate district supply funding for student support services

Define and adopt policies governing curriculum, schedules, space usage, instructional planning, discipline, classroom management, extracurricular activities, technology usage, and responsibilities of all school constituents

Assessing and Evaluating Family-School Involvement

• Definitions of evaluation:• Measuring the effectiveness, accuracy,

success, or general positive gains of a process, educational program, or other initiative

• To determine the worth of: to appraise (Webster’s New World Dictionary)

Purposes of Program Evaluation:Implications for Administrators and

Teachers

• Provide the administrators and teachers with feed-back about the effectiveness of a program

• Effective programs can be replicated by other teachers/schools

• Funding agencies need to know the program outcomes for continuation purposes (accountability issue)

• Parents and families can benefit from knowing the effectiveness of these programs

Evaluation Process(Payne, 1994)

• Stating program goals and evaluation objectives• Determining specific objectives• Planning suitable evaluation design• Selecting data-gathering methods and

techniques• Collecting data • Processing, summarizing, and analyzing data• Reporting results ti appropriate individuals• Determining program effectiveness and

financial feasibility