Home-School Collaboration Practices of Public Elementary Schools

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Home-school collaboration is a two-way process involving shared responsibilities of both parents and school. Yet parents give all of the responsibilities of care and education of the children to the school. It is observed that there are parents who are not actively involved in assisting their children in doing their homework and projects at home. They also do not attend to their PTA obligations. As a result, some pupils are affected with the negligence of their parents towards their schooling. This study determined the benefits of home-school collaboration to the pupils' academic achievement and behavior.

METHODS

The study used the descriptive research -survey method. Data were gathered through a researcher-made survey questionnaire that will determine the home-school collaboration practices of the elementary schools in Bayabas district.

RESULTS

The study found out that administrators in Bayabas district are qualified in handling and managing schools in terms of educational qualifications and experiences. Most teachers are eager to work since they are young in the service. Thus, they need constant supervision of the administrators. Parent respondents are mostly young with 1-3 children. Fathers are self-employed and mothers are unemployed and are high school graduates. This implies that mothers have time in checking their children in school since they don't leave home for work and they don't have many children to take care of. The most existing home-school collaboration practices are attending and participating during PTA meeting, reminding children to listen to the teacher and behave well in class, guiding them in doing homework and school projects and paying PTA fees and other authorized contributions. There is a significant relationship between existing home-school collaboration practices and the extent of home-school collaboration among schools in fostering positive classroom behavior, increasing academic achievement, and engaging parents in planning, initiating and evaluating school programs and improvements.

DISCUSSIONS

Results reveal that attending and participating during PTA meetings is a good means of communication since parents and teachers can have conversation about the behavior and performance of children. Responsible parenthood may eventually enhance when there is good communication. The stronger the home-school collaboration, the higher is the possibility of children to attain higher academic performance and lower dropout rates in school.