School-Family-Community partnership

 Importance of SFC partnership

 Theoretical framework of SFC partnership

 Types of SFC partnerships

 Barriers to effective SC collaboration

 Framework for understanding school-family-
community partnership

Epstein theory assumes that:

 there is an overlapping sphere of influence of family,
school and community
 the complex interrelationships of family, community and
peer groups affect the general wellbeing and academic
performance of school learners
 children are best supported when school and families
work in partnership to reach shared goals
 the learning and development of children are main
reason for partnerships
 partnerships are aimed at increasing children’s self-
esteem, motivation and academic skills
 Importance of SFC partnership

SFC partnership can:

 improve school programmes and school climate
 provide family services and support
 increase parents’ skills and leadership
 connect families with others in school and community
 help teachers with their work
 enhance learners’ academic performance
 increase the morale of the staff at school
 improve the use of resources
 enhance parenting and socialization
 strengthen the fabric of family and community life
 improve education in schools for better learning
 empower family and community experiences
 enhance the families’ understanding of the school programs teachers’ roles
 create atmosphere of trust co-operation
 clarify expectations, and help develop higher aspirations
 Types of SFC partnerships

 Sharing the use of school or community resources

 Enhancing safety
 Sharing information
 Networking and providing mutual support
 Sharing responsibilities of planning, implementation, and
evaluation of programs and services
 Building and maintaining infrastructure
 Expanding opportunities for community service, internships and
jobs
 Enhancing public relationships and building sense of community
 Parents actively organizing and monitoring the time of their
children
 Parents helping with homework and monitoring school attendance
 Parents discussing school with learners
 Types of SFC partnerships – 2

 Parents volunteering to observe their children in

classrooms
 Parents helping fundraising initiatives for the school
 Parents participating in making decisions related to
school education and governance
 Parents discussing children’s progress with teachers
 Parents helping the school to set challenging
academic standards
 Barriers to effective SFC partnership

Barrier/challenge Description
• differences in school and community
Organizational structure structures can make understanding between
differences participants difficult, e.g. school staff are used
to organizational procedures while
communities may not follow such procedures
• members who are used to work independently
and directly with learners are now expected to
Different work styles work with others from different disciplines
• such members may feel threatened by working
schools
• perceptions of role of school are different
• Schools are academically oriented, thus
Collaborators’ different learners’ academic performance is the main
perceptions focus – subjects like guidance, health matters
and life skills may be perceived as disturbing
the focus of the school
 Barriers – 2

Barrier/challenge Description
• community may perceive teachers to be more
Unequal relationships knowledgeable in dealing with education
between teachers and matters
ordinary community • teachers may undermine contributions from
members community members who do not have
advanced qualifications
• lack of job opportunities for children
• parents to low achieving children
• lack of knowledge of how each can use the
other person more effectively
Other challenges • time constraints
• parents’ lack of literacy skills
• cultural misunderstanding/mismatch
• families’ negative experience of schooling
• prejudicial treatment or attitude that family
members receive from school staff