By Noel Towell
A surge in aggressive behaviour directed at teachers and principals by angry parents could be mitigated by dedicated family engagement officers at Victoria’s government schools, a Monash University study has found.
The researchers said nearly 60 per cent of the principals who intended to leave the profession cited friction with parents as a factor driving them out.
Doveton College principal Deb Gibson with parents Belinda and Peter Willoughby and their daughter Angelina (left) and Raneth Ung with son VannaKrath Neth , 7.Credit: Wayne Taylor
The research team from Monash’s School of Education said evidence was mounting that the increasingly polarised political and social climate was fuelling distrust and aggression from parents towards their children’s schools.
Led by Dr Fiona Longmuir, the team drew on a survey of 8000 Victorian teachers and principals and 1600 parents and carers to develop an eight-point blueprint to improve relations between schools and the communities they serve.
The researchers found that many schools were struggling to maintain their place at the heart of local communities.
With parental involvement vital to good relations between schools and families, the researchers have called for a trial of “family engagement officers to build strong connections between schools and families and ensure parents are fully engaged partners in their children’s education”.
Longmuir’s team also wants to see education authorities set clear, system-wide expectations for appropriate conduct from school communities, noting that parental anger was often driven by lack of access to schooling or specialist resources for their children.
Deb Gibson, principal of Doveton College in Melbourne’s south-east, said she enjoyed excellent relations with her school community because the school’s focus went beyond its students.
“The philosophy of Doveton College is built around the notion of children and families,” the principal said.
“When we do an enrolment interview, we interview the whole family. Then we’d also say to Mum and Dad, ‘Are you new to the area? Do you have a job? Can we help you get a job? Are you interested in volunteering? Do you have a young person that needs kinder or early learning?’”
Doveton is one of Victoria’s 10 “Our Place” schools that offer support services and health, allied health and other social safety nets, funded with state, federal and philanthropic money.
Gibson said the model helped build a platform of trust between parents, teachers and the school, which has kept friction to a minimum over the years.
“When you have those positive relations with parents and carers, when there is an issue, you’ve got a platform on which to resolve it without the angst and the aggression.
“You can sit down and you can talk it through.”
School parent Peter Willoughby, whose daughter Angelina has attended Doveton since preschool and is now in year 8, said he had not had a cross word with the school or its staff in all those years – even when things were not going well.
Willoughby said the additional services offered at the school were the key to forming a close-knit community.
“Look at some schools and they don’t really care about the children’s health or where they’re at, so having these different services here is great,” he said.
“We’re a multicultural school, a lot of people from different countries, and they can come to the school and say ‘I need to speak to a psychologist’ or something, and the school will work with them to help.”
But few government schools can bring “Our Place” levels of resourcing to family relations.
Justin Mullaly, president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union, called on the state government to back the Monash proposals across the entire public school system with money and resources.
“Teachers, principals and support staff in public schools are facing complex challenges in the classroom which could be better handled via improved community consultation and engagement with parents and carers,” the union leader said.
“Victorian education policy-makers need to consider bold reforms, including funding trials for community partnerships and consultation with parents to form strategies that will help modernise schooling arrangements.”
Education Minister Ben Carroll was contacted for comment.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.