Page 3889 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
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There are, of course, many other barriers that parents, families and carers face, such as speaking English as a second language, cultural barriers for immigrants and refugees, parents who work long hours and shift work, families where both parents need to work, housing stress and family breakdown—just to mention a few. Each family is different and we need to embrace and value this diversity. We need to reach out both as parents and teachers and as a government to break through these barriers and to support families to make the best contribution they can in their circumstances, and value that contribution.
We know both parents and teachers are already busy right now. This is not about simply doing more; it is about sharing the load and working together to support and encourage parents and carers to do what they can. Having parents and carers engaged and empowered in our schools will deliver wide-ranging benefits. It can be instrumental in shaping family practices and behaviours, the nature of our school communities and the experience of education for our children and families. Importantly, the positive academic and social impact is long term.
In many ways, the ACT is leading the nation in working out ways that we can better engage parents in our schools. The preschool matters program and the progressing parental engagement in the ACT project are two key initiatives that emphasise the value of parental engagement and empower parental engagement across all education sectors in the ACT. The minister will no doubt expand on these important initiatives and the work our government in doing to build even more effective partnerships between parents and schools.
The innovative and exciting research we have commissioned through the progressing parental engagement in the ACT project into how parents could best engage with their children’s learning is framed by international evidence showing engaged parents can improve learning by the equivalent of six months of school attendance. Moreover, the effects are positive and life-long, with research showing us that family participation in education is twice as predictive of students’ academic success as socioeconomic status.
A recent Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth report concludes: “Resourcing and effectively progressing parental engagement initiatives is warranted, if not essential to, education reform and the future of Australia.”
This is not just about schools either. As parents we need to make sure that we take the time to talk with our children about their learning and show an interest in how they are going in school. This is important because all our children and younger people deserve access to a quality education system which welcomes parents and carers into the community. There is no one-size-fits-all response and we need to make sure that parents, teachers and, most importantly, our children are supported and that this support and engagement is tailored to reflect the individual capacity and needs of families.
MR DOSZPOT (Molonglo) (3.54): I thank Ms Berry for bringing this matter forward for debate today. It is one that I and my fellow Liberals are in full support of. I confess I am a little bemused that someone of Ms Berry’s well-known socialist beliefs and views would be so supportive of what essentially is a hallmark of conservative education policy.
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