Ecological Systems Theory In Schools

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Literature Review
According to Ng (2000), Hong Kong education started to focus on methods to involve parents as much as possible in the school education. Furthermore, the government has taken initiative in requesting that all public-funded schools should establish PTA meetings that ensure strong home-school partnerships, however the effect of this meetings remains questionable (Pang, 2004).
In the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005 cited in Berk, 2008) it is mentioned that the child is affected by a series of level within his environment. The mesosystem represents the connections between the various levels that the child experience, meaning that it includes home environments as well as school environments. However, Pang (2011) …show more content…

According to Barbour, Barbour and Scully (2011), involvement can be categorised into minimal, associative or decision-making. In this case it can be observed that the school invites parents to take part in their events but at a minimum level. It can be said that the parents are only participants in these events, however their role as decision makers in school activities is not made evident. This could affect the communication process as well; due to the fact that parents might not feel welcomed to further discuss the information that is being given (Swick, 2003). In addition, Berger (2004) mentioned that there are two types of communication. The first is one-way communication, which allows the school to share information with the parents about school activities or other related information. The second is two-way which is the ideal method of communication that allows both parents and teachers to communicate and share ideas. In the current case, the one-way communication is made evident through the use of handbooks, notices and PTA meetings. However, the two-way communication method is only used during parent day meetings. However, Epstein (2001) emphasized that in order for the information should be passed on through multiple channels of communication, which includes the two methods mentioned by Berger (2004), as well as three-way or many-way (Epstein, …show more content…

This can be made evident in the current case, as it was mentioned by the parent that the information presented could have been explained better in order to stimulate parental involvement. Gestwicki (2010) agrees by stating that teachers have the important role of improving the parents self esteem and allow them to assume an important role in their education. Therefore, teachers should take initiative to facilitate the communication with parents in order to ensure their involvement.
However, it was mentioned by Pang (2011) that the Hong Kong teacher motivation to establish these home-school partnerships could be an issue due to the increasing number of complaining parents. Even though the teachers should encourage parents to involve themselves in the school programme, dealing with certain parents can be difficult and actually decrease the relationship. It can be said that even though home-school collaboration had made progress over the years, the quality of parent-teacher relationship remains a modern day issue.
Swick (2003) suggest that in order to avoid these issues it is necessary for teachers to assume different roles depending on the situation. By accepting these different roles, the teachers can develop a caring perception that can ensure empowerment of both parties

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