Conceptpaper2019.docx

Partners Hungary Foundation Erasmus+ Project Proposal Parent involvement in Eastern Europe (needs title)

Definitions used in the project:  in this project we understand parent involvement as a partnership between the school/ teachers and the parents which is based on equal terms, regular, mutual communication and it has the child’s benefit in the focus.  the innovation in this project is that we are going to work together with the parents throughout the entire project. Programme priorities that we would like to link our project proposal to: Horizontal priorities: Social inclusion: priority will be given to actions that help address diversity and promote –in particular through innovative and integrated approaches–ownership of shared values, equality, including gender equality, and non-discrimination and social inclusion, including for people with health-related conditions, through education, training, youth and sport activities. The Programme will support projects that aim to foster the development of social, civic and intercultural competences, online safety and digital well-being, and tackle discrimination, segregation, racism, bullying (including cyberbullying), violence, fake news and other forms of online misinformation.

Priorities of the Erasmus+ Key Action 2 in the field of school education: Strengthening the profiles of the teaching professions, including in particular teachers, school leaders and teacher educators, for example by: making careers more attractive and diverse; strengthening selection, recruitment and appraisal; enhancing teachers’ education and professional development and linking its different phases; facilitating teacher mobility; supporting teachers in developing innovative teaching and assessment methods; strengthening leadership in education, including distributed leadership and teacher leadership.

Problems, needs (as we see it now, but this part will be further developed based on the opinion of the schools): Cooperation with parents/parent involvement is important because:    

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it enhances the emotional security/well-being of children which is the basis of development it reinforces learning as a value in and outside of school as well common objectives of teachers and parents mean double support for the children’s learning it can work as a prevention tool for early school leaving for two reasons o it reinforces the child’s relationship to school and learning o it creates a better school climate that is more likely to be appealing to students educates both parents and children about the culture of cooperation schools are platforms where members of local communities regularly meet therefore, they become a space for the local community to either strengthen or to grow apart, the relationship between parents and teachers is key in this matter

Current state of parent involvement: 

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the relationship between schools and parents is traditional-hierarchic, often stays at an empty formal level that is: focusing on problems, bound by an underlying power dynamic, prejudices on both sides teachers lack competences and tools for building trusting partnerships with parents parents often feel left out of the education process, they lack a voice and a connection and that runs a high risk of discouraging them from supporting the education of their children parent involvement is especially lacking in the case of disadvantaged/Roma parents where it would be needed the most

Objectives: • Creating a partnership between the parents and schools for the benefit of the children’s education and development • Enhancing the genuine involvement of parents in the life of schools especially their involvement related to studying • Changing the mindset of teachers about the role of parents and changing the mindset of parents about their own roles and relationship with the school • Improving the situation of disadvantaged/Roma children through strengthening the cooperation between their families and the educational institutions they attend • Creating inclusive school environments based on the cooperation among students, parents and teachers which contributes to preventing early school leaving (ESL) 

Collecting, creating, adapting, exchanging best practices and new tools in the field of parent involvement and cooperation between teachers and parents

Activities O1- Stakeholder roundtables - discussions involving parents, teachers and principals aiming at laying the foundation for the project, creating buy in and obtaining the commitment of participants, setting up a common framework for cooperation, understanding each others’ needs and thinking together about the best way of implementing the project. In the beginning of the project there will be three roundtables/country, there will later be 1 held each 6 months. The roundtables held later in the project will serve the purpose of follow up and evaluation. Evaluation will be carried out with the help of the Most Significant Change Methodology. Schools’ staff will also be regularly informed about the project through staff meetings and parents’ will be informed through written materials. goal: setting common aims and defining common values in the partnership between teachers and parents, gain the participants’ commitment to the project participants: interested parents, teachers that already have good relationships with parents and understand the importance of the issue, school leaders, members of parents’ working groups. output: methodology and case studies of the roundtables O2- Collection of best practices and toolkits for parent involvement and cooperation with parents

The collected best practices that seem most suitable for reaching our objectives and are also fully available for adaptation will be written down in English. Participating schools will also be asked to contribute in case they have a best practice to share. Each partner will create a list of criteria for the adaptation of best practices according to the contexts of their countries. Toolkits that will include description, aids, methodology etc. will be created on the basis of the collection of best practices and the national criteria for adaptation of best practices. A common template will be created for the description of the tools. Each national toolkit will include about 10-15 tools, these will be developed in national languages. output: collection of best practices, national criteria for adaptation, national toolkits Goal: mapping of best practices available O3- Implementation guide and recommendations In each country selected parent involvement/cooperation tools will be piloted in two schools. One of the schools will be an institution that has some expertise in parent involvement, but still has room for improvement in the field, and the other will be a school that has identified the field as a problem area and does not have tools to tackle it. The partner organizations will offer trainings and mentoring to help the process. An implementation guideline will be developed as an outcome which will include information about the process and valuable lessons learnt. 1. The first step will be setting up professional learning communities (PLCs) in each participating school (2 schools/country) that have at least 10 members (5 teachers and 5 parents). Professional learning communities will be organized around class communities, where parent-teacher relations are problematic. The PLCs will decide together on their vision, mission and aims and write it down in a document which will be the basis of their collaborative work. Partner organizations will facilitate the meetings of the PLCs. 2.Preparation of the complex training for the schools. Partner organizations will prepare a training curriculum for the PLCs of the participating schools. The curriculum will include tools developed in O2. 3.The PLCs in participating schools will receive a complex training in the methodology (toolkit) developed in IO2. 3 days training for 20 participants from the 2 pilot schools with 2 trainers. It will be a collaborative learning event where participants can also contribute with their relevant knowledge. Capacities of parents and teachers for cooperation will also be developed. 4. Based on the training the PLCs in schools decide which parent involvement/cooperation tool they would like to implement. About 2 consultation sessions/ school will be dedicated to the decisionmaking process. 5. Implementation of the selected tool takes place while mentoring received from the participating organizations. PLCs are required to document the implementation. PLCs will be required to meet regularly and will also document their meetings (collaborative learning process). 6, Internal collaborative learning events between the two schools about their implementation experiences. 2 events/country. Participating organizations will facilitate.

7. Based on the experiences participating organizations develop an implementation guide with case studies. 8. A recommendation for policymakers will be prepared for local, national and EU levels. goal: piloting of best practices output: implementation guides including training curricula and cases studies, recommendations for policymakers E1- national dissemination for policy level E2 – national dissemination workshops and webinars E3- international webinar C1- exchange of experiences from the roundtables, MSC training- Budapest C2- international training in selected best practices - Romania C3 – exchange of experiences after the implementation- Slovakia

Expected Impact:     

better relationships between schools/teachers and parents for the benefit of the children inclusive, well-functioning school environments Roma/disadvantaged students and parents empowered local communities strengthened having stakeholders understand the importance of partnership and cooperation for a common aim and equipping them with the necessary tools and competences for making it happen

Partners: Parents International, NL https://parentsinternational.org/(not confirmed yet) CEPD Step by Step Romania Wide Open Schools Slovakia 2 schools/country in RO,HU, SLO