Workshop by CUE Brookings on 'Six Global Lessons on How Family, School, and Community Engagement can Transform Education'

On October 17, 2024, the team at CUE Brookings led a workshop centered around Six Global Lessons on How Family, School, and Community Engagement can Transform Education . These lessons were gathered from 15 organisations across 16 countries on six continents. We are grateful to Dr. Emily Markovich Morris and Richaa Hoysala for their valuable time and presence.

The key lessons discussed include:

1. Begin with Beliefs: Families and students often viewed the purpose of schools in supporting their children's education differently than educators. In several regions, families viewed education as primarily a means for furthering learning and securing future livelihoods, while educators’ beliefs varied across regions and contexts. Yet, families, students, and educators are also focused on the well-being of young people and are satisfied when young people are flourishing socially and emotionally and being active and engaged community members. Understanding and addressing these gaps is essential for building better partnerships.
2. Position Families as Partners: Families see themselves as involved and engaged in children’s learning in numerous ways including caregiving and supporting learning at home. However, this involvement is often not visible to educators, who see family involvement as participation in school-based activities such as communicating with school staff, volunteering time and resources, and participating in decision-making bodies such as school management committees. It’s important to recognize and support the importance of work that families do at home.
3. Collectively Break Barriers: There are many structural and situational barriers that hinder strong partnerships. Educators and families often engage in a "blame game." Educators might assume that families lack interest in engaging with their children’s education, while families face financial and time constraints, making it challenging for them to participate more actively. At the same time, educators feel the burden of solving all the barriers.?
4. Build at the Speed of Trust: Relational trust is at the foundation of strong family, school, and community partnerships. Families and students have higher levels of trust with educators than educators with families and students. Breaking the cycle of blame requires improved relational trust across both sides to strengthen partnerships.
5. Disrupt Power Dynamics Through Collaborative Research: Community-driven and collaborative research is a powerful way to build relational trust. The most effective survey methods involved one-on-one, in-person verbal surveys conducted in familiar community spaces using local languages, led by trusted community members or peers, which significantly increased participation and ensured inclusive, accurate data collection, especially in rural or marginalized areas. Here is a video of how the research collaborative disrupted power dynamics through collaborative research.

The recording of the session is available here.

Tools and Strategies: The Conversation Starter Tools and Global Rubrics are a set of tools that guide schools and community organizations in leading dialogues with families, educators and students in their school. These tools help schools and communities plan for deeper and more meaningful family, school, and community partnerships.