Effective communication between teachers and parents is crucial for a student’s holistic academic progress and success.
When teachers and parents effectively communicate with each other, they can collaborate and share ideas from different perspectives in the best interest of the student’s development and success.
It is critical to note that, under such circumstances, collaboration and partnership combine classroom insights with home observations, providing a holistic view of the whole child and, hence, opening up possibilities for personalized education, tailored support, and early interventions.
The following are some strategies teachers can embrace to improve their communication with parents. They include, but are not limited to:
Regular Updates
Teachers staying in touch regularly are critical to keeping parents informed and engaged. Updates can include classroom activities, assignments, events, and student performance. They can be provided through applications, online parent portals, text, emails, chat functionality, or newsletters.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Convening of parent-teacher conferences allows parents and guardians to meet their student’s teachers and discuss progress, challenges or growth opportunities. This scenario enables face-to-face interaction and two-way communication between the relevant education stakeholders.
Two-Way Communication
Teachers should facilitate opportunities and encourage parents to share their insights and concerns. They should strive to create a welcoming environment where parents feel comfortable discussing their children’s academic performance and overall behavioural progress.
Digital Tools
Awake to the changing technological landscape, teachers should embrace Technology as an efficient, effective way to enhance communication and promote continuing engagement. In this case, online platforms, mobile apps, or websites can be used to share updates, assignments, and resources with parents.
Positive Feedback
Teachers should always share positive feedback about students’ accomplishments, behaviour, or improvements. This fosters a positive relationship and reinforces the idea that teacher-parent collaboration is focused on the child’s academic well-being and growth.
Personalized Communication
Considering that each student is unique, teachers should tailor communication to address each student’s needs and strengths. However, personalized communication shows you value each child’s academic development and success.
Focus on Equity and Accessibility
In exercising their mandate, teachers should ensure clear communication that is easy to understand and translated into a family’s first language when possible for easy interpretation and feedback. It is important that communication methods adopted by teachers are accessible to all parents, including those with disabilities.
READ ALSO:
Our children’s education matters: Kirinyaga leaders, residents oppose scrapping of CDF
Benefits of Teacher and Parent Communication
It is worth mentioning that great things happen when parents engage in their children’s education. Research has always shown that when parents are involved, students have higher success in graduating from high school and attending post-secondary or tertiary institutions for dance and higher professional career education.
Student Benefits
When teachers collaborate with families, including parents and guardians, students normally benefit from improved academic performance and holistic development.
Teachers and parents working together help identify and address education challenges, learning difficulties and behavioural issues early, leading to better student academic outcomes. In essence, a strong connection between school and home can also identify areas of student success and mastery, informing personalised education efforts to help the student meet new challenges.
Parent/Guardian Benefits
When parents actively and effectively engage in their students’ education, students perform better academically, have higher self-esteem and develop a more positive attitude towards their school.
Having a supportive and caring home environment with engaged parents, students are less likely to become involved in substance abuse, violence and other delinquent behaviours, both within and outside the school.
Under this arrangement, parents also benefit from being partners and contributing to their student’s education. In the shared responsibility of educating the student, parents are informed about what their student is learning and experiencing in school.
In practical terms, the partnership between parents and schools fosters trust between these contributors, with parents often gaining more confidence in the school’s ability to provide a quality education to their children.
Teacher Benefits
Having regular communication with parents and guardians, teachers gain better insight into the whole child, including the student’s behaviour, home life factors, and support system. This additional perspective provides a more comprehensive understanding of the student, leading to more effective teaching and ultimate academic success.
Parent-teacher communication triggers parent engagement in their students’ education and quality of life. Based on proven research findings, students succeed when families are involved in the education process. In this case, students earn higher academic grades and do better on classroom assignments and tests.
It is equally important to point out that meaningful family engagement in a student’s education has a positive impact on academic achievement and the student’s mental and behavioural health.
The Writer is a Communications Practitioner and Correspondent Based in Kisii.
benoroko2000@yahoo.com
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
