Value and Purpose of Educational Partnerships
An educational partnership is an agreement between two parties that aim at coming together for one common good of a school or enhancing student learning processes. Education is not a type of isolated experience in terms of which students receive new knowledge. It is an endeavor that has to be supported by families, schools, and communities. The value of family-school partnerships is the possibility to improve students’ academic progress and support their intentions to learn and use their knowledge properly.
A parental connection has to be effective, but not capitulating to develop closer relations with pupils, promote communication, and develop a better understanding of education (Cano et al., 2016). The purpose of such partnerships is not only to support but demonstrate a good example of why education is important and what outcomes may be achieved. Education is important for a family, society, and the student’s future.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Educational Partnerships
Today, the United Arab Emirates is in its process of developing education reforms and programs with the help of which student learning can be supported (Stringer & Hourani, 2012). Therefore, it is obligatory to know what positive and negative aspects of such educational partnerships can be.
The pros of parental involvement include the presence of an extra pair of hands in the development of classroom activities, the support of students who are in need of additional hints in writing or reading, and the establishment of new community relationships between parents. A flip side of such relations is a wrong understanding of the role of parents in their children’s education. Sometimes, parents are not ready to cooperate with teachers and come to school just to be present. As a result, additional distractions and emotions mislead students.
Strategies to Promote a Positive School Environment
UAE teachers admit that specific strategies can be used to promote family-school partnerships to overcome tensions and help students (Moussa-Inaty & De La Vega, 2013). For example, teachers may start their cooperation with parents from sharing personal contacts to underline the importance of such partnerships under any conditions. Besides, such details as transportation, feeding, and entertaining have to be mentioned not to overload students and their parents with academic discussions only. Information should be provided in different forms so that parents can choose the most effective methods, including printed versions, e-mails, and oral communication. Finally, the distribution of roles between parents and children has to be offered to explain the place of each person in family-school partnerships.