Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement
The current educational reforms in Finland and Portugal require a holistic engagement of parents with learning, bringing parents and teachers together as partners. This qualitative study, which interviewed Finnish (N = 10) and Portuguese (N = 9) parents, aimed to explore parents’ views on the role o...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/306 |
| _version_ | 1797529422227570688 |
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| author | Cristiana Levinthal Elina Kuusisto Kirsi Tirri |
| author_facet | Cristiana Levinthal Elina Kuusisto Kirsi Tirri |
| author_sort | Cristiana Levinthal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The current educational reforms in Finland and Portugal require a holistic engagement of parents with learning, bringing parents and teachers together as partners. This qualitative study, which interviewed Finnish (N = 10) and Portuguese (N = 9) parents, aimed to explore parents’ views on the role of teachers in supporting parent–teacher partnerships and parental engagement with the school. Inductive content analysis was performed to analyze the interviews. From a general standpoint, three patterns were found in the parents’ narratives about the role of teachers in supporting partnership and engagement: communication, professionalism, and invitations to active parental participation. From a cross-cultural standpoint, Finnish parents evidenced partnerships and engagement grounded in little face-to-face contact but consistent online communication with the teacher, as well as trust in their professionalism and independent work. The Portuguese parents revealed rather frequent active participation within the school premises, more recurrent face-to-face communication with the teacher, and appreciation for teachers’ timely responses and support. Recommendations for a holistic approach of engagement and partnerships were brought forward within the context of teacher education, such as the need to maintain simple but regular communication with parents and the relevance of reconsidering the frequency of parental activities in the school. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:13:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5f14569503f74980bb059ed5d77e0095 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:13:37Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-5f14569503f74980bb059ed5d77e00952023-11-22T00:59:06ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022021-06-0111630610.3390/educsci11060306Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental EngagementCristiana Levinthal0Elina Kuusisto1Kirsi Tirri2Department of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, FinlandFaculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, FinlandDepartment of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, FinlandThe current educational reforms in Finland and Portugal require a holistic engagement of parents with learning, bringing parents and teachers together as partners. This qualitative study, which interviewed Finnish (N = 10) and Portuguese (N = 9) parents, aimed to explore parents’ views on the role of teachers in supporting parent–teacher partnerships and parental engagement with the school. Inductive content analysis was performed to analyze the interviews. From a general standpoint, three patterns were found in the parents’ narratives about the role of teachers in supporting partnership and engagement: communication, professionalism, and invitations to active parental participation. From a cross-cultural standpoint, Finnish parents evidenced partnerships and engagement grounded in little face-to-face contact but consistent online communication with the teacher, as well as trust in their professionalism and independent work. The Portuguese parents revealed rather frequent active participation within the school premises, more recurrent face-to-face communication with the teacher, and appreciation for teachers’ timely responses and support. Recommendations for a holistic approach of engagement and partnerships were brought forward within the context of teacher education, such as the need to maintain simple but regular communication with parents and the relevance of reconsidering the frequency of parental activities in the school.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/306parents’ perspectivesteachers’ supportparent–teacher partnershipsparental engagementFinlandPortugal |
| spellingShingle | Cristiana Levinthal Elina Kuusisto Kirsi Tirri Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement Education Sciences parents’ perspectives teachers’ support parent–teacher partnerships parental engagement Finland Portugal |
| title | Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement |
| title_full | Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement |
| title_fullStr | Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement |
| title_short | Finnish and Portuguese Parents’ Perspectives on the Role of Teachers in Parent-Teacher Partnerships and Parental Engagement |
| title_sort | finnish and portuguese parents perspectives on the role of teachers in parent teacher partnerships and parental engagement |
| topic | parents’ perspectives teachers’ support parent–teacher partnerships parental engagement Finland Portugal |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/306 |
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