Inclusion and diversity

Improving skills of teachers about school-parent cooperation

A five-day course for teachers and school directors on cooperation between school and families: why some parents stay away, how to overcome communication breakdowns and how to involve parents in school life and decisions. It combines European approaches and guidelines with practical training in listening, professional boundaries and theatre workshops.

5 days
Certificate of attendance
EN

Who it is for

Teachers of primary, secondary and vocational schools
Adult education teachers
Teachers of special educational needs
Teacher trainers, careers officers, educational guides and counsellors
Headteachers, principals and managers of schools and of organisations offering adult or vocational education

What you will learn

Understand what good communication between school and families involves
Get to know different ways, resources and tools of communication
Use communication to motivate and encourage creative thinking
Improve communication in teaching and learning
Exchange experiences and good practices with colleagues from other countries
Build a direct line of communication between parents, students, teachers and school

By the end of the course, you will be able to

Identify why parents stay away from school and how to bring them closer
Plan activities that involve parents in school life and decisions
Use active listening and clear boundaries with parents and students
Relate their practice to European approaches to school-parent cooperation

Programme, day by day

Day 1Teachers and families

Introductory meeting: practical arrangements, timetable and venue
Icebreakers and introduction to the course
Why communication between teachers and families matters; why some parents do not come to school
The family-school partnership in Europe; Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory
Causes of communication breakdown and barriers to parental involvement
Practical training: cultural misunderstandings, parents with low expectations, young carers

Day 2Partnerships with families

Overcoming communication problems that come from parents
School-parent cooperation approaches in education systems
A healthy relationship between parents, teachers and school
Active listening for teachers and school directors
Practical training: professional relationships, anger control and behavioural mirroring
Theatre workshop

Day 3Parental involvement in European schools

Ideas for teachers to develop school-parent cooperation
Activities that promote parental involvement in European schools
UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education
Parents in school decision-making; parents' associations in Europe
School-parent cooperation and student success

Day 4Boundaries and listening

Professional boundaries: benefits, limits in the classroom and your own boundaries
Barriers to effective communication; body language; when students do not listen
Workshop: listen first
Understanding the whole picture of a classroom; being an active listener
Theatre workshop
Professional visits to a school and a teachers' association

Day 5Communication in the classroom

Reflective listening and feelings
Types of questions in the classroom
Why good communication in the classroom matters; working in partnership between teachers
Final workshop
Certificates ceremony

How the course runs

Predominantly active methodology
Case studies
Practical examples
Group work
Activities built around the participants' personal and professional interests

Certificate of Attendance, issued by BragaMob, and Europass Mobility, issued by your school and completed with us. Accommodation, meals, transfers and cultural integration activities can be added to the course: your quote lists each service you choose. Dates on request.

Inclusion and diversity