Parent participation

Effective teacher-parent relationships and parent engagement in their child’s learning improves student outcomes. Researchers in the United States have surveyed parents and carers of preschoolers about their role in their child’s learning, and the support they’d like from teachers.

Researchers have been exploring parent perspectives on international school partnerships involving students, teachers and families in Indonesia and Australia to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of programs.

A large-scale assessment of Grade 5 students in six Southeast Asian countries has highlighted some of the home and school factors that have a positive impact on reading, writing and mathematics achievement.

Preschools use playful pedagogies to help prepare children for school, but learning through play continues to be of value as students move through the primary years and beyond.

In this leadership Q&A, Cholis Mu’arifah shares how Muhammadiyah 9 Middle School Jakarta, Indonesia, is providing students with real-world and authentic learning and how teachers have adapted programs to ensure these experiences continued during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

A new research-based series encourages early years educators to take advantage of everyday teaching and learning opportunities to improve young children’s scientific understanding, and shares four step-by-step activities for the classroom or learning at home.

‘For some, this transition will be filled with as much anxiety as the first day of school or the school year.’ In this reader submission, Dr Carl Leonard and Dr Gail Brown provide tips and suggestions for teachers and leaders to help manage the transition for all students, and particularly those with additional needs.

‘In this home-supported learning environment parents are being called upon to play a broader role in their children’s education. The role of the parent is not to replace the teacher in learning from home …’ Dr Tanya Vaughan and Susannah Schoeffel share evidence on how teachers can work with parents to support students in a rapidly changing education landscape.

In these uncertain times, how do teachers support students to make sense of the coronavirus pandemic and give them the tools to navigate the challenges we may be faced with? In today’s article, Professor Peter O’Connor from the University of Auckland suggests arts-based approaches to building resilience in students in times of disaster.

In today’s Q&A, Indonesian early childhood educator Hikmah Mulia Dewi – who made the Global Teacher Prize top 50 this year – shares an example of a hands-on learning activity for students exploring the batik industry, and details of the programs she’s developed to involve parents and the community.