Approaches to family-school relationships: Examples from Serbia and Australia

Abstract

Strong communication and cooperation between the family and the school is one of the most important factors contributing to students' learning, identity and well-being. This research aimed to support Serbian policy makers and school authorities to engage more effectively with families as children transition to the first years of school. By drawing on the experiences of Serbian parents who live in Australia and Australian teachers, and considering contemporary educational literature on family-school engagement, it was hoped to identify strategies that might be employed to encourage Serbian school communities to strengthen communication with families and foster improved cooperation between parents and teachers in the early years of school. This study used a qualitative research approach (semi-structured questionnaires and follow-up interviews) to explore parents' and teachers' perceptions and experiences of building and sustaining family-school partnerships in each context. Analyses of Serbian parents' and teachers' views of family-school interactions during the transition-to-school period indicated that families had limited, if any, communication with the school and were rarely involved in their children's learning, including classroom activities and extracurricular events. Analyses of Australian parents' and teachers' perceptions of their transition-to-school engagement experiences indicated that communication and cooperation between family and school were common and frequent. The findings from this study identified a range of suggestions that Serbian schools might adopt to strengthen and sustain communication, engagement and cooperation with families, particularly during the period when children begin school.