Investigation on e-CommunIC@Tion 4 schools/social work 2 parents

Backgrounds project

As society becomes increasingly dependent on technology, schools are investing more time and money in technological means of communication (Blanchard, 1997). Access to computer and Internet technologies is increasing all over Europe In work places and schools both educators and parents are provided with access to electronic communication.

It is proven that regular communication with parents is critical to the success of their children .It is well established that building home-school partnerships is a powerful avenue for increasing the satisfaction of parents and the community with schooling and for improving schools. When parents and teachers have rich and frequent communication, they can forge the partnerships that produce benefits for youngsters. Additionally, as the discourse between homes and schools increases, understanding improves,suggestions are shared, and positive attitudes are more easily maintained.

For instance, in 1984 in Western Europe only 8.2% of the households surveyed had computers, while in 2003, 61.87% of the households had computers and 54.7% had Internet access. Furthermore, 88% of home Internet users reported using the Internet for sending or receiving e-mail. All the elementary and secondary schools are utilizing e-mail communication and nearly 100 % of the schools have computers with Internet access. Teachers and administrators can make use of this technology to reach out to families and keep them informed of school activities and volunteer opportunities, but this is not very common at this moment. Researchers have noted the importance of parental involvement in the middle school grades .

Middle school children struggle with educational and personal issues.
There is a significant need for parental involvement as students struggle with adolescent development and educational decisions with serious consequences for their futures. Research had shown that there is a serious lack of parental involvement during the middle school years. Parents were minimally involved at school and little communication existed between parents and schools, especially in low educated families and disadvantaged groups in society. As children move from the elementary school grades into middle school, communication patterns between schools, families, and students change. The students’ schedules become more fragmented with many more teachers and subjects, there are added extra-curricular opportunities, and the curriculum grows increasingly complex. Innovative technologies such as cell phones, e-mail, and websites provide schools with new tools for reaching middle school parents and keeping them informed about their children.

Traditional methods of communication such as face-to-face meetings have been found to be effective, however, these methods require time that both working parents and teachers lack. Educators are often very good at mass communications via newsletters, calendars, letters, and handbooks, but mass communications are not effective in shaping or changing attitudes. In order to change attitudes, educators must become effective at interpersonal communication with a target audience. Targeting specific audiences allows schools to shape attitudes and improve student educational opportunities. Research (Rogers & Wright, 2007) report usage of traditional modes of communication such as newsletters and telephone calls to be 75% and 73% as opposed to newer technologies such as websites and e-mail which are both less than 15%. Technology has been heralded as a tool that can provide new avenues for communication, but studies show that parents and teachers are not embracing them.

Little research has been done to evaluate the role of emerging technologies in enhancing communication practices between middle schools and parents/guardians. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role and possibilities of different interpersonal communications technologies like cell phone and e-mail, school websites, blog, electronic learning environments and new social websites like Facebook, Twitter, etc..in communicating with parents. Additionally, these communication modes will be appraised for their efficacy in facilitating parental involvement in schools.

Leonardo da Vinci project 2010-2012

Partners

Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg dept SAW (Limburg Catholic University College) Hasselt Belgium
Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse (U.A.P.V.) Avignon France
Zespół Szkół Nr 1, Technikum Nr 1 im. Prof. Bolesława Krupińskiego w Lubinie (Vocational or technical secondary school ) Lubin Poland
Tekkeköy Halk Eğitim Merkezi (Adult education provider) Samsun Turkey
Kavakmeydan vocational trade high school Tabzon Turkey
INDICO International institute for the development of innovation, knowledge and competences (providing guidance, counselling and information services) Zaragoza Spain
Zespół Szkół Elektronicznych i Telekomunikacyjnych (Vocational or technical secondary school ) Olsztyn Poland
BilSE-Institut für Bildung und Forschung GmbH Güstrow Germany
Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute Nicosia Cyprus

Purpose

The main objectives to which the action/project will contribute:

-With this research project we want to examine the possibilities but also the risks of modern communication resources such as e-mail, Skype, school Internet sites( with protected areas for parents), schoolblogs and electronic learning environments (with access for parents). Also popular social network sites offer possible interesting perspectives to communicate with parents: Facebook, Netlog, Twitter, MSN, Skype, Picasa/Flickr for sharing photograph, etc.

-On the one hand we want to make an inventory of goods practices, particularly how schools at present use ICT in their communication with parents with accent on the advantages and dangers that appear We want also to examine what the conditions are for a good electronic communication with parents and to what extent teachers and parents are enthusiastic with or can be made enthusiastic concerning these `other communication ways’ . Moreover, if it is possible we want to encourage on experimental base some schools to try out these modern communication resources with parents to invest the improvement of effective communication.

-All these investments must result in a guide which can help school and organizations to explore new communication ways in communicating with parents : “e-communIC@Tlas”. It is important to remark that we don’t want to exclude or ban face to face contacts. We want to examine how new technology can improve contacts between parents and schools .

Approach

Step 1: Literature search: By means of a literature search we will explore in each country examples of the commitment of the Internet tools in schools and social services agencies

Step 2: Online inquiry: We will organize a quantitative consultation to the current use of the modern Internet communication tools within a group of schools and training organisations

Step 3: Good practice analysis: Good practices will examined in detail and will be explored from a advantages/ disadvantages analysis. ( SWOT-analysis).

Step 4 : Development of a “e-communiC@Tlas” this means a handbook for schools and organizations who want to use the internettools as a way of communicating with parents.

Step 5: Dissemination: We will publish all these information with ‘good practices’ on a website f.e. ‘www.myschoolonline.eu’ and educational & social magazines,CD

Step 6: Set up of local training for teachers and social educators to learn them how e-communication works

Relevance

As society becomes increasingly dependent on technology, schools are investing more time and money in technological means of communication. Access to computer and Internet technologies is increasing all over Europe.

In work places and schools both educators and parents as workers are provided with access to electronic communication. There is a significant need for parental involvement in vocational training for youngsters as students struggle with adolescent development and educational decisions with serious consequences for their futures.

Research had shown that there is a serious lack of parental involvement during the higher middle school years. Parents were minimally involved at school and little communication existed between parents and schools. This has an important influence on motivation of the learners and preparing them for the labour market. We will develop a electronic toolbox/database with new communicating methods with parents and identify good practice examples.

This guidance will help schools communicating more intensified with the parents of their learners. These are pedagogical goals, conceived and developed by the staff of each centre. The trainers, the staff and the headmasters of each centre are those who will work out the pedagogical activities. Besides this issue, we work with the active involvement of the learners and their parents.

The learners and their parents not only will test actively the proposed methods of e-communication but they will also invited to participate in creating good practice examples, they will participate to some meetings and discuss in face-to-face meetings. The learners can be involved to train their parents at home in using ICT tools. Using e-communication between schools and parents can stimulate disadvantaged social groups in practising their computer knowledge at home.

We think that this is an innovative way of increasing the volume of co-operation between organisations and their partners (especially the parents of their learners) involved in vocational education throughout Europe. We will active involve new learning techniques and new learning technologies (ICT) for improvement of our project. By this we will support the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning with a direct influence to the broader society.

Impact of the project

Besides personal enrichment, the professional know how of each partner, the synergetic competences of the project partners will assure an upgrading of each participants professional career.

The trainers directly and actively involved in the project activities will learn from the other partners’ expertise to improve their own knowledge and they will complete their theoretical and practical background.

For the trainers and developers of the project activities, it is obvious that they are involved and enthusiastic but also the learners and their parents will experience the added value of participating in the project. Not only they will be involved in the testing phase of the project f.e. testing the methods of e-communication with parents, but also we will search ways to let them participate really or virtually in the meetings and to discuss with visitors from other countries about the project results. Both learners and trainers will be able to brainstorm with others, to develop good practice examples, to improve the developed activities and to attend to one of the meetings organized in their own country.

The project activities will be integrated in the curriculum and management of the participating institutions to open the project for all persons, linked to the partner institutions. The colleagues and learners, indirectly involved in the project will enrich their knowledge about the project content and about the participating institutions and countries. They will discover the added value of participating, even indirectly to a European project. This way the whole institution, and related persons will be aware of the European feeling and be stimulated to experience the European citizenship. Each participating institution as a whole will be involved and learn in an intensive way from the synergy of the project partners, which the complementarities of their expertise will result in a once in-a-lifetime experience for all institutions involved.

More information http://ecom4s2p.mixxt.com

Research

Research working year 2010-2011

In our daily life the internet and all derived applications become more and more important in our daily life. For example people surch for a new job on the Internet, meetings are conducted using webcam, everyone sends e-mails, etc. This research was set up from the graduating project “ecommunication 4 social work” of 5 students Bachelor Social Work. In this project we did research about e-communication between social education in organizations in the social welfare sector and parents of their clients. Because of this European project we want to investigate the dimension of possibilities of e-Communication between schools and parents and social organizations and parents. So we have done two surveys with more or less the same questions, but different groups : organizations in the welfare sector and schools.
In this presentation we only discuss the research that is related to the digital communication between teachers and parents
The purpose of this research project was to examine how the Flemish schools use digital communication resources in their communication with the parents or students. On the one hand we want to examine their interest and way of looking concerning these new communication resources in communicating with parents. On the other hand we want to know which resources are already used or will be used. They haven’t done any reseacht about this item in Flanders. We want to motivate the teachers in addition with this research to use digital resources in their communication with parents.

Results (pdf : if using please put references to this site & survey)

Powerpointpresentation of the project in English Read more

Questionnaire of the schools in English Read more

Report of the schools questionnaire Read more

Powerpointpresentation of the schools questionnaire Read more

Research working year 2011-2012

A new group of students have set up a survey among parents in primary and secondary schools about their opinions concerning ecommunication at schools.

Global report of the survey among parents . Read more.

More information http://ecom4s2p.mixxt.com