In the contemporary culturally and otherwise diverse society, schools are often isolated from children’s homes, which implies inconsistencies and a lack of wholeness in their developmental processes. The path to improving students’ educational and developmental outcomes is by enhancing their life microsystems within one framework where all factors are incorporated to benefit each individual’s opportunities for success. Such an approach is theoretically informed by Bronfenbrenner’s perspectives on school-home or teacher-parent interaction. This paper presents several ways of promoting enhanced connectivity between homes and school children to improve their overall outcomes.
The theory used for informing the recommended methods of promoting the positive connection between home and school is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. This theoretical model “emphasizes the importance of educators and families working together, and specifically charges educators to reach out to families to establish nurturing, empowering relationships” (Soule and Curtis 135). The theory implies that enhancing the connections between school and home microsystems lies in establishing partnerships between educators and parents and initiating parental inclusion in educational, behavioral, and cultural interventions.
Firstly, one of the recommended methods to promote positive school-home connectedness is home visits. According to Soule and Curtis, the Parent Teacher Home Visit (PTHV) is an evidence-based model with principles and interventions aimed at improving teacher-parent partnerships through regular home visits conducted by educators (133). Implementing such an approach results in significant attendance consistency and academic achievement results (Soule and Curtis 131). Thus, implementing best practices in the field of home visits might help build students’ accountability, a holistic approach to education, and an overall healthier developmental environment.
Secondly, another way of enhancing school-home connections is through the initiation of parental conferences. According to McWayne et al., family engagement is key to building a favorable educational environment for children (238). In this regard, arranging regular appointments in the form of parental conferences conducted using effective communicative techniques is a valuable method of family engagement. Undertaken via face-to-face conversations, such an approach enables addressing different aspects of students’ life by exchanging information between parents and teachers. Trusting relationships between the participants of such conferences will contribute to a better partnership basis, which is essential in school-home connectivity.
Thirdly, implementing cultural awareness interventions might be an effective tool in promoting positive relationships between families and schools in diverse communities. Indeed, the disparities that might impact students due to their cultural and socio-economic background might be properly addressed by building better awareness about students’ family life (McWayne et al. 238-239). For example, cultural awareness workshops might be initiated to engage parents and build relationships with families, in which their values and beliefs will be acknowledged and integrated into the educational process.
Fourthly, the use of online and electronic tools in assisting communication and constant connectedness between homes and schools might be another source of improvement. Such a recommendation is particularly relevant in the context of remote learning, where parental inclusion might be hindered. As stated by Anderson and Kyzar, using specifically designed educational platforms like Seesaw helps establish a structure to the educational process and foster family engagement remotely (323). Thus, the method is a proper means of achieving better connectivity in the remote learning context and can be used in combination with other methods.
In conclusion, the importance of improving school-home connectivity is validated by the insufficiency of its current state and the need for applying better evidence-based practices to maximize students’ developmental opportunities. Bronfenbrenner’s theory helps in fostering the connectedness between school and home microsystems. In particular, the premises of this theory might be applied via home visits, parental conferences, digital tools used for communication, and cultural awareness workshops. The implementation of one or several of the recommended methods is anticipated to improve school-home partnerships and lead to better student outcomes.
Works Cited
Anderson, Susan E., and Kathleen B. Kyzar. “Between School and Home: TPACK-in-Practice in Elementary Special Education Contexts.” Computers in the Schools, vol. 39, no. 4, 2022, pp. 323-341.
McWayne, Christine M., et al. “A Home-to-School Approach for Promoting Culturally Inclusive Family–School Partnership Research and Practice.” Educational Psychologist, vol. 57, no. 4, 2022, pp. 238-251.
Soule, Nathan E., and Heidi L. Curtis. “High School Home Visits: Parent-Teacher Relationships and Student Success.” School Community Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, 2021, pp. 131-153.