Why Family Voice and Partnerships are Critical to Educational Research and Policy Development

• In Event: Sharing power and vision: Student, family, and teacher voices in educational research

Proposal

Strong family, school, and community partnerships promote student learning and development and school success (Mapp et al., 2022). Families, which include individuals who play a leading caregiving roles such as parents, guardians, and others beyond biological relationships, are engaged in children’s education in myriad ways, from supporting learning at home, to communicating with teachers, to taking on decision making and leadership roles in management committees and governing bodies (Epstein, 2018). Yet, education research and policies often neglect the diverse beliefs and perspectives of families, particularly those from marginalized and rural communities.


This 16-country empirical and mixed-methods study investigated how schools and community organizations build stronger family, school, and community partnerships that identify opportunities and barriers for engagement and build relational trust (Morris & Nóra, 2024). This collaborative research was led by 15 civil-society organizations in close collaboration with an international research institution and families, educators, and students in predominantly government schools. This presentation will provide an overview of the global findings, with a case study in Bangladesh secondary schools. The study used a community-driven and participatory methodology, where civil-society organizations surveyed 9,473 families on their beliefs on school, opportunities and barriers for family engagement, and relational trust. Conversations were held with 844 families in these school communities. In Bangladesh, 535 families were surveyed, and conversations were held with 44 families.

The study found that families have different beliefs on the purpose of school, which is the main role of schools in society, than educators. In Bangladesh, families saw the main purpose of school as ‘academic learning’, and ensuring students completed their basic education and beyond. During conversations, families said they believed ‘academic learning’ as a critical step towards employability and social mobility. In contrast, educators saw ‘social and emotional learning’ and ‘civic learning’ as the main purpose of school, and developing young people’s social skills and values, and to be active citizens. In conversation, educators and families alike expressed concerns about students’ mental health and well-being and said schools needed to prepare students academically, socially, and civically.

This study also found that families often did not understand the different pedagogical approaches that educators and policymakers were advocating for, such as technology-based learning, playful learning, etc. In Bangladesh, when asked about preferred pedagogical approaches, families said they preferred technology-based instruction. Educators agreed with families, whereas students preferred experiential learning, or learning by doing.
Families are critical experts on their children’s learning and offer deep insights of the needs, barriers and opportunities within their communities, yet educational research often overlooks their perspectives (Caspe & Hernandez, 2023; Maynes et al., 2021). Research shows that families can influence successful implementation of new curricula and pedagogy, or they can be barriers to policy and curricular changes sticking and being sustained (Qargha & Dyl, 2024). When families understand the benefits of new curricular approaches and trust schools, and schools trust families, students ultimately benefit. Centering families’ voices builds trust and enables strong partnerships that promote culturally-responsive and inclusive school systems.

Authors

• Richaa Hoysala, The Brookings Institution

• Nasrin Siddiqa, Education and Cultural Society