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Recommendations for Organizing Programs to Stimulate Parental InvolvementPrincipals, teachers, school councils and other organizers of programs to stimulate parental involvement in education may wish to consider some or all of the following recommendations. 1. Stimulate activity within eight strategic categories of involvement. 2. Encourage volunteerism by adopting good volunteer management practices. 3. Encourage and support parents who prefer to help at home.
1. Stimulate activity within eight strategic categories of involvement. By understanding and recognizing the ways that parents prefer to be involved in their child's education, school councils can collaborate with principals and teaching staff to stimulate engaging activities within each of the seven categories of involvement confirmed as preferred types of involvement during this study. In addition, school organizers can tap into community resources where they are beneficial to students (collaborating with community), as recommended by Epstein, and encourage parents to take advantage of community learning activities for their children. School council leaders, principals, and other organizers of programs to stimulate parental involvement in education may wish to consider adopting and using the Parental Involvement Leadership Model for Ontario shown in Appendix B. This chart demonstrates how school leadership, including a principal and school council, can approach the task of stimulating a range of programs and initiatives to address each of the eight strategic categories of parental involvement. The chart in Appendix B also distinguishes between a variety of typical programs and initiatives to involve parents and the eight strategic categories of parental involvement. This model builds on Epstein’s (1995) six types of involvement framework in support of family, school and community partnerships. 2. Encourage volunteerism by adopting good volunteer management practices. School councils, principals, and other organizers of parental involvement programs may also consider embracing good management techniques for creating a welcoming and productive environment for volunteers. This may involve volunteer meetings that are separate from school council meetings, relevant training and development, and appropriate recognition programs. It is also worth recognizing that establishing a program for good volunteer management may lead to a higher level of volunteerism within the school and, based on the results of this study, that school volunteers demonstrate higher rates of participation in a wide range of activities to support their children. Organizers may wish to consider adopting and using the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement developed by Volunteer Canada (2001) and the expertise that exists in organizations that depend on effective volunteer management for success. 3. Encourage and support parents who prefer to help at home. Organizers of programs to stimulate parental involvement may also wish to acknowledge and demonstrate respect for parents who prefer to help their children at home and in the community and seek ways to provide these parents with the information that they need to provide good, quality support for children at home. Organizers may consider leveraging the events that bring parents and children to the school to present parents with a welcoming, encouraging environment where they can feel comfortable seeking additional information if they need it. It may be necessary to exercise caution to avoid creating feelings of guilt among parents who may not be able to volunteer for a variety of reasons (e.g., time, other family responsibilities, etc.) but invites participation in ways that demonstrate respect for their preferences. 4. Design communications to acknowledge and anticipate the different informational needs of distinctly different types of parents. Those who design and deliver communications may wish to consider leveraging various communication approaches to reach, acknowledge, and demonstrate respect for the preferences of distinctly different parents in order to meet their distinct informational needs. The recognition that at least two distinct groups of parents exist makes it necessary to tailor communications from time to time, depending on which group is the focus of a communication. Tailoring a message to speak directly to a specific group can improve the impact of the communication by demonstrating knowledge about an audience and respect for their preferences. For example, parents who primarily help at home will be most interested in communications to assist them in supporting their children at home or in community learning activities. Parents interested in volunteering will want to know about upcoming events and volunteering opportunities and what might be expected of them.
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