Commentary: Family Engagement, Not Feud, Needed to Improve Indonesia's Education System
Judging from recent news, parent-teacher associations could soon be a thing of the past in the Indonesian education system. Instead of ganging up together to make sure students get the best education at school and at home, apparently parents now are looking for every opportunity to report teachers to the police whenever they find out their sons or daughters have been given so much as the old "clip around the ear" to discipline them. Sometimes, the parents even see it fit to take the law into their own hands. The teachers, realizing that their old authority is being challenged, are not taking it lying down either: some of them have even formed a "Teachers' Defenders Team," a team of legal experts to advise them when they face violence or assault charges from their own students.
What does it all mean? Something is rotten in the state of Indonesian education, but where does the stench come from?
One thing is clear — from observing what has been happening at schools all over the country: there is nearly zero engagement between families and schools in educating the students. "Family engagement," that shared commitment and responsibility between families and schools, has been playing truant for too long. Before it's all too late, families and schools need to reacquaint with each other and work closely together for the mutual benefits of students, teachers and the community at large.
Engaging families in authentic and mutually beneficial ways at schools can produce many positive outcomes for students, teachers and communities. Research has found that when families are involved with their children in school, the children will perform better compared to other students who have no family engagement backing them up.
Additionally, family engagement can improve teachers' morale and encourage a better relationship between the school and the community. To involve families in meaningful and inclusive ways, schools could do worse than to stick to the following simple principles:
First, schools need to maintain good communication with parents. This should be done since the first day of school. Schools should invite parents to come to meet with the teachers so the parents know what they could expect from the school and — this is equally important — what are expected from them.
We get updates every day from social media nowadays, so why not from schools as well? A periodical newsletter will be useful to update parents with what is going on at the school. Good communication is key: apart from making them feel involved, parents will understand that their engagement is crucial if they want their children to get a balanced education.
Second, schools need to help parents improve their parental skills. Offering customized workshops for parents has been proved popular, so schools should not feel like they're encroaching on the parents' personal space or being condescending to them. Help is more often welcomed than rejected when offered with good intentions.
Many parents need not only to know what they can do to support their children at school, but also how to do it effectively. Giving out knowledge is not enough. The old adage still applies: practice makes perfect. This is where schools can come in: helping parents practice their skills in workshops where the environment can be kept under control.
Third, schools need to involve families in school events or committees. Asking parents to be chaperones during school field trips is not hassling them unnecessarily, it will help the teachers and also encourages family engagement.
Taking an active part in school events will show parents the real impact of a school environment toward their children and in which areas parents can help out both their children and the school. Joining a school committee meanwhile will allow parents to monitor directly what kind of education is being given to their children.
These are the three principles that schools can use to encourage family engagement — the most fundamental factor in the success of students, schools and communities around them. The goal is to produce students who will succeed academically, emotionally and socially. The key? Clear, honest communication between the school and the parents. Time to pencil in those PTA meetings in the agenda once more.
Defta Oktafiga is a PhD candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the School of Education, Indiana University, United States.
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