Conference: 2017 Maintaining Parent Engagement

When families are dealing with financial stress, parents often struggle to remain engaged in their children’s education, as shown in a report prepared for the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY).

Dr Christine Woodrow from Western Sydney University (WSU) reported, the top priority is survival for many families, which reduces the time they have to create an environment of learning.

Schools with a large number of disadvantaged students often focus their resources on meeting the basic needs of students. This reduces the time and energy they can spend on engaging with parents and supporting successful learning.

Dr Charlene Smith, acting CEO of ARACY says successful education can break the cycle of poverty for children and young people. Education is an important part of ensuring a child has a happy and fulfilling life.

There is solid evidence for the important role parents play in their children’s learning. The research identifies ways to increase parent engagement and provides insights into some of the simple steps families and schools can take to help each other keep children’s learning in focus.

ARACY, in partnership with The Smith Family, is hosting the 2017 Parent Engagement Conference in Melbourne 6–8 June, supported by funding from the Australian Department of Education and Training.

The conference will bring research, policy and practice together for discussion about the importance of parent engagement in their child's education. A key focus will be on ways to increase the effectiveness of parent engagement strategies through relationships, and through capacity building.