Parenting Styles and School-Family Collaboration
Parenting Styles
According to Diana Baumrind (1971-1973), there are three main parenting styles:
- Democratic Parents: Parents who engage in open communication with their children and make decisions jointly. Children of democratic parents often exhibit positive behaviors.
- Authoritarian Parents: Characterized by maintaining restrictive and strict control over their children’s behavior.
- Permissive Parents: Parents who avoid exerting control, use minimal punishment, and make few demands on their children.
Thomas Gordon (1962) developed the PET (Parent Effectiveness Training) method. This method aims to help parents fulfill their roles effectively. According to Gordon, there are three types of parents:
- Losers
- Oscillators
- Winners
Family and School
A child’s character, still in development, and their speech, reflecting the family’s cultural level, are noticeable when they start school.
Parent Training
Parent training involves a voluntary set of learning activities undertaken by parents. The goal is to provide appropriate educational models and practices within the family, modifying or improving existing ones. This promotes positive behaviors in children and eliminates negative ones.
Ways to Mediate Children’s School Functioning in Collaboration with Teachers
- Educational Goals and Objectives: Parents should be informed about their child’s activities and goals.
- Promoting New Experiences: Encourage activities outside of school to enhance learning.
- Generalization and Transfer of Learning: Understand what is being done at school and offer support.
- Promoting Self-Reflection: Encourage and stimulate children to engage deeply with their learning.
AMPA (Parents’ Association) Purpose
- Assist parents/guardians in educating their children.
- Collaborate in the educational activities of the schools.
- Promote parental involvement in school management.
- Assist parents and intervene in the control and management of the schools.
- Facilitate representation and participation on school boards.
- Foster cooperative relationships in other school cooperation programs.
- Develop other centers.
- Contribute to the operation of various services of the center.
Family/School Interaction Levels
- Education policy and school management level
- Voluntary level
- Tutorial level
Basic Strategies for Instilling Cooperation Between Parents and Schools
- Cordial Strategies: Cooperation and collaboration between the family and the school.
- Academic Strategies: Parent-teacher collaboration should be involved in the child’s work.
- Economic Strategies: Parents should be aware of the school’s financial activities.
- Technological Strategies: Parents should be familiar with and able to use new technologies.
- Emerging Strategies: Participant observation in the daily lives of their children; parents should be alert to their children’s successes and failures.
- Participatory Strategies: Parents have the right to participate in their children’s education.
Barriers to Family/School Interaction
- Prejudice against certain concepts and functions.
- Prevention of parents from socio-culturally depressed levels.
- Teachers’ prevention towards the educational competence of parents.
- Lack of teacher training.
- Lack of administrative support.
- Lack of social support.
- Lack of space and time.