2. Contents Page
1. School/home connections
1.1. Introduction 3
1.2. Why is it important to have a school/home connection
4
1.3. student success and its impact on the wider community
5
2. Investigation 7
2.1. importance of School/home connections and best method of
improvement survey 8
2.2. Survey results- Home School Connections
9
- Best Method of Improvement
10
3. Assessment
3.1. What is the purpose of assessment?
11
3.2. What is the code of professional practice?
12
4. Theoretical framework
4.1. Incorporating the theoretical framework into teacher education
13
4.2. Theoretical structure of Bronfenbrenner
14
5. Research
5.1. Research project- Using Technology To Enhance Connections Between Home and School
15
6. Reference list
16
3. Introduction
The following presentation is an investigation into how school/home connections
can be improved to ensure students succeed in assessment. It explores the
importance of school/home connections, importance of assessment and its
impact on the wider community and researches theatrical frameworks and code
of conducts that effect school/home connections.
The presentation also explores a research project that has been created, that
looks at using technology to enhance connection between home and schools.
4. Lets start with why is it important
to have a school/home
connection?School and home connections are vitally important for ensuring student success; it helps to keep up the support
link between parents and teachers and in turn parents and students. How does it benefit? You may ask, ‘parents
and teachers can provide each other with unique insight and different perspectives about the same child,
culminating in a more complete understanding of that child, her abilities, strengths, and challenges. The teacher
will know much more about the curriculum and the school culture, while the parents know more about their
child's personality, tendencies, and family life. A successful parent-teacher partnership also shows a child that an
entire team of adults is on her side and contributes to successful learning’ (Scholastic, 2010, “The Home-School
Connections”, Para 3)
Anecdotal reports from teachers will tell you what a 2002 study by SEDL (formerly the Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory) confirmed: Students with involved parents are more likely to attend school regularly,
earn higher grades, and have better social skills. The SEDL report also showed that students with informed and
involved parents are more likely to continue on to post-secondary education. (The Journal, 2008, “Meet The
Parents”, Para 5)
5. Students Success and its impact
on the wider community
Through having a strong school/home connection it improves Student success
and as a result pans out into the wider community. As the SEDL found out
through carrying out research in 2008, students with parents who have a
connection with their children’s school, are more likely to go onto post-
secondary education. This as a result offers an opportunity for better educated
people within the community, which leads to better job opportunities and a
wealthier community all around.
7. Investigation
Explanation &
generation of proof
Similarities &
Differences –
developing
understanding,
discernment &
judgment
Creating/making,
arguing & justifying
Investigation- Best
method of improvement for
School/home connections to
ensure students success
Systems Analysis
identifying purpose of
assessment and Parental
support
Problem Solving –
working within
constraints looking at
the teachers code of
conduct,
Experimental Inquiry
- Surveys conducted from
different generations and partners
that make up the school
community to gather their
thoughts ideas and views.
Invention – finding best
form of communication
technology to met the need
and desire of all standards
Decision Making –
exploring best solution
for all parties
8. Importance of school/home
connections and best method of
improvement survey
Over 100 surveys were taken from Students and
educators who were asked the question of wether
they feel the school/home connections need to be
improved? and what do they suggest the best method
of improvement is?
9. Survey Results: Home/school
connections
Do you think home/school
connections need to be
improved?
Educators
Students
Parents
Out of one hundred students,
parents and educators who were
surveyed, 90% of educators said
they feel home/school
connections needed improving,
40% of students and 82% of
parents agreed.
10. Survey Results: Best method of
improvement
0
20
40
60
80
100
Best Method of Improvement?
Educators
Students
Parents
Out of one hundred educators, students and parents that were
surveyed, result showed that the best method of improvement
would be communication through texting. The results showed
mixed views from educators compared with students and
parents and came down to what our 21st century generation y
and X feel the best method of improvement is, compared to their
parents and some educators the generation baby boomers.
11. What is the Purpose of
assessment?
Purposes of assessment
The purposes of assessment are to:
• promote, assist and improve learning
• inform programs of teaching and learning
• provide information for those people — students, parents, teachers — who need to
know about the progress and achievements of individual students to help them achieve
to the best of their abilities
• provide information for the issuing of certificates of achievement
• provide information to those people who need to know how well groups of students
are achieving (school authorities, the State Minister for Education and Training, the
Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training).
It is common practice to label assessment as being formative, diagnostic or summative
according to the major purpose of the assessment.
12. What is the Code of Professional
Practice that Teachers have to
follow?
Purpose
This Code has been developed with three key objectives in mind:
To promote quality teaching and learning
To encourage and support teachers in their professional role
To promote the teaching profession
The Teacher and Student
Good teacher-student relationships are fundamental to engagement in the teaching/
learning process. These are developed through communication which is built on
mutual respect and trust.
The Teacher and Parents
Partnership with Parents
Teachers appreciate that parents are the primary educators of their children. They
build trust with parents and actively communicate and collaborate with them in the
education of their children. They exercise their professional integrity and judgement in
communicating with students and parents.
Retrieved from The Teacher Council Code of Professional Practice
13. Incorporating the Theoretical Framework
into Teacher Education
We know that .teachers. collaborative relations with parents and work in a family context do not come about naturally or
easily. (Powell, 1998, p. 66). From the very first teaching assignment, many teachers find themselves struggling in
working with families. Some have ethical concerns; others just lack knowledge, skills, and strategies (Powell, 1989).
Professionals have repeatedly challenged the field to provide both teacher and administrator training in working with
parents (Powell, 1998; Epstein, 1989). In the past few years, teacher education programs have responded by developing a
range of activities to accomplish that preparation (de Acosta, 1996; French, 1996; Koerner & Hulsebosch, 1996; Morris
et al., 1996; Silverman,
Welty, & Lyons, 1996). This theoretical framework, a systemic model that considers complexity, dynamics, and
interrelationships (Senge, 1990), would also make an important contribution towards preparing teachers to work more
effectively with the diverse parents they now encounter in schools.
Communication
Collaborating
with the
communityParenting
Volunteerin
g
Decision
Making
Learning at
home
Table: The importance of
14. Theoretical Structure of
Bronfenbrenner
“The ecology of human development involves the scientific study of the progressive, mutual
accommodation between an active growing human being and the changing properties of the
immediate settings in which the developing person lives, as this process is affected by relations
between these settings and by the larger contexts in which the settings are embedded”.
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 21).
Microsystems
Mesosystem
Exosystem
Macrosystem
Within this theoretical structure, there is interconnectedness both within and between the settings
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 8).
15. Research project; Using Technology to
Enhance Connections Between Home and
School.
A research project; Using Technology To Enhance
Connections Between Home And School was
conducted by SRI International in 2002. It explored
many different avenues of technology and placed it
into many different diverse contexts.
To view the extensive research project, clink on the link below.
http://ctl.sri.com/publications/downloads/Task1_FinalReport3.pdf
16. Reference list
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Davis, S. (2010) Ensuring Student Success In Assessment. Retrieved November 16th, from, CQUniversity
e-cources, EDED11405_2103 Ensuring Student Success.
Keyes, C.(n.d).A Theoretical approach for teachers Retrieved November 20th, 2010, from
http://ceep.crc.illinois.edu/pubs/katzsym/keyes.pdf
Keyes, C.(n.d). Parent Teacher Partnerships Retrieved November 20th, 2010, from
http://ceep.crc.illinois.edu/pubs/katzsym/keyes.pdf
SRI International (2002). Using Technology To Enhance Connections Between Home and School. A
Research Synthesis. Retrieved November 18th, 2010, from
http://ctl.sri.com/publications/downloads/Task1_FinalReport3.pdf
The Teaching Council.(n.d) Code of Professional Conduct. Retrieved November 20th, 2010, from
http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/_fileupload/Publications/finalcodes_34227443.brf.BandW.13jul2007.ck.pdf
