Dr. Paul Downes Director, Educational Disadvantage Centre

Ballymun Whitehall Area PartnershipBallymun Whitehall Area PartnershipFamily Involvement in Education in Ballymun, Family Involvement in Education in Ballymun,

Research Study – November 30Research Study – November 30thth 2009 2009

Dr. Paul DownesDr. Paul DownesDirector, Educational Disadvantage CentreDirector, Educational Disadvantage CentreSenior Lecturer in Education (Psychology)Senior Lecturer in Education (Psychology)

St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra,St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra,[email protected]@spd.dcu.ie

FAMILY INVOLVMENT IN EDUCATIONIN BALLYMUN

(Ballymun Whitehall Area Partnership 2009)

Based on a survey of 40 mothers, 6 fathers and one female guardian Questionnaires were completed for 16 children in preschool, 16 in primary school and 15 in secondary school

The children of the parents interviewed attended 8 different preschools, 10 different primary schools and 10 different secondary schools, as follows:

Preschools: Tír na nÓg; Ballymun East; Little Rascals; Aladdin’s Cave; Sr. Majella’s; Little MooMoo’s and two named childminders;

Primary Schools: Holy Spirit Boys; Holy Spirit Girls; St. Joseph’s Junior School; St. Joseph’s Senior School; Virgin Mary Boys; Virgin Mary Girls; Our Lady of Victories Girls; Hold Child Boys; Scoil an tSeachtar Laoch; North Dublin National School Project.

Secondary Schools: Trinity Comprehensive; St. Mary’s Glasnevin; Plunket College; Beneavin College; St. Aidan’s CBS; Scoil Chaitríona; Mercy College Beaumont; Margaret Aylward Community College; Dominican College; Central Remedial Clinic

Voice of parents – parent centered – aspect of international right to health, including mental health

(Downes 2007) The UN Special Rapporteur is explicit on this point of access and participation of ethnic minority, disadvantaged and local groups as key issues regarding fulfillment of indicators of the right to health under the ICESCR:6. It must be accessible to all, not just the wealthy, but also those living in poverty; not just majority ethnic groups, but minorities and indigenous peoples, too; not just those living in urban areas, but also remote villagers; not just men, but also women. The health system has to be accessible to all disadvantaged individuals and communities.

7. Further, it must be responsive to both national and local priorities’. ‘Properly trained community health workers…know their communities’ health priorities…Inclusive, informed and active community participation is a vital element of the right to health’.

Early School Leaving is a Mental Health Early School Leaving is a Mental Health Issue !Issue !

*Kaplan et al’s (1994) North American study of 4,141 young people tested in 7th grade and once again as young adults which found a significant damaging effect of dropping out of high school on mental health functioning as measured by a 10-item self-derogation scale, a 9-item anxiety scale, a 6-item depression scale and a 6-item scale designed to measure coping. *This effect was also evident when controls were applied for psychological mental health as measured at 7th grade. The significant damaging effect of dropping out of school was also evident even when controls were applied for gender, father’s occupational status, and ethnicity

Slide 2.1: Level of contact by survey respondents with different people in their social network (number of parents)

Total Applicable Responses

Of Which …

Most Days At least once a week

About once a month

Less often than this

Never

Your Mother 35 30 3 1 0 1

Your Father 32 23 4 2 0 3

Other Grandmother (not your mother)

40 7 11 4 6 12

Grandfather (not your father) 25 1 5 3 7 9

Partner 38 37 1 0 0 0

Child's Parent/Other Parent 31 17 2 1 4 7

Your Sister(s) 40 29 5 4 2 0

Your Brother(s) 41 13 12 9 6 1

Child's Brother(s) or Sister(s) 35 30 2 2 1 0

Work Colleagues 20 15 3 2 0 0

Neighbours 46 29 13 0 1 3

Friends 47 30 10 2 3 2

Social Worker 16 0 0 2 1 13

HSCL Coordinator 23 1 3 2 3 14

GP 45 0 2 7 33 3

Child’s Teacher 31 12 2 7 10 0

School Principal 31 6 4 5 13 3

Preschool Staff 15 15 0 0 0 0

Preschool Leader 15 11 2 1 1 0

Paid Childminder 2 1 1 0 0 0

Other 17 4 4 6 2 1

Building on strengthsBuilding on strengths

Broad based emotional communication Broad based emotional communication skills across the community and family skills across the community and family

systems can impact across a much wider systems can impact across a much wider networknetwork

Downes, Maunsell and Ivers (2006): Pupils Downes, Maunsell and Ivers (2006): Pupils responses indicating high rate of confiding responses indicating high rate of confiding

in familyin family

Table 2.7: Levels of Emotional Support Received by Survey Respondents from Different People in relation to Raising of Child

Total Applicable Responses

Of Which …

A Large Amount

Quite a Bit

A Certain Amount

Not much

Never

Your Mother 35 22 6 5 1 1

Your Father 31 12 4 6 3 6

Other Grandmother (not your mother)

393 3 3 5 25

Grandfather (not your father)

251 0 2 1 21

Partner 38 33 3 1 0 1

Child's Parent/Other Parent

3116 0 2 2 11

Your Sister(s) 40 14 10 6 4 6

Your Brother(s) 42 4 3 6 11 18

Child's Brother(s) or Sister(s)

322 5 1 6 18

Work Colleagues 20 1 2 3 3 11

Neighbours 46 0 2 10 3 31

Friends 47 4 10 15 7 11

Social Worker 16 1 0 1 0 14

HSCL Coordinator 23 0 1 2 0 20

GP 45 2 2 3 4 34

Child’s Teacher 31 1 1 1 5 23

School Principal 31 0 0 3 4 24

Preschool Staff 15 0 0 1 4 10

Preschool Leader 15 0 0 1 4 10

Paid Childminder 2 0 2 0 0 0

Other 17 3 2 2 0 10

Cont.,Cont.,

Table 3.1: How Parents Feel when Visiting Child’s School/Preschool/Childminder

No. of Responses

Extremely

Welcome

Somewhat

Welcome

Somewhat

Unwelcome

Unwelcome

Preschool

16 14(88%)

1(6%)

0(0%)

1(6%)

Primary

16 12(75%)

4(25%)

0(0%)

0(0%)

Secondary

15 7(47%)

2(13%)

6(40%)

0(0%)

Total for all Respondents

47 33(70%)

7(15%)

6(13%)

1(2%)

10 Secondary schoolsSchool Matters (2006) P 69 “The Task Force sees the school as the centre, nested in its unique ethos and culture… A school is imbued with its own unique ethos and culture”.

Statutory Committee on Educational Disadvantage (2005): Make the school a focal point of community education

QDOSS (Downes 2006): Arts, Sports and Parental Involvement in Out of School ServicesTeacher conflict resolution skills, understanding of local culture

0102030405060708090

100

Preschool Primary Secondary

%

Happy and Satisfied Somewhat happy but could be improved

Figure 3.10: Proportion of Parents ‘Happy and Satisfied’ or ‘Somewhat Happy but Could be Improved’ on Verbal Communication with School/

Preschool/Childminder

Figure 3.10 shows that 88% of preschool parents were ‘happy and satisfied’ with their level of verbal interaction, with another 7% ‘somewhat happy’, suggesting high levels of satisfaction in this regard. For primary level parents, the equivalent figures are 69% and 31%, again suggesting a good level of satisfaction. However, at second level, reflecting answers to previous questions, the equivalent figures are 27% and 33%, with the data showing 27% ‘somewhat unhappy’ and 13% ‘unhappy/dissatisfied’.

The responses to the question: ‘Are you treated The responses to the question: ‘Are you treated fairly by teachers in school ? Why/Why not ?’ fairly by teachers in school ? Why/Why not ?’

were as follows:were as follows:PRIMARY: 6th ClassPRIMARY: 6th Class

YES. DON’T KNOW/NO ANSWER. YES. DON’T KNOW/NO ANSWER. NO. NO. YESBUT.YESBUT.

170170 33 3636 21 21

SECONDARY: 1st YearSECONDARY: 1st Year

YES. DON’T KNOW/NO ANSWER. YES. DON’T KNOW/NO ANSWER. NO.NO. YES BUT. YES BUT.9090 1010 4141 2121 Downes, Maunsell and Ivers (2006) BlanchardstownDownes, Maunsell and Ivers (2006) Blanchardstown

-         Approximately 74% of pupils at primary level (6th class) state that they are treated fairly by teachers in school

- Approximately 55% of students at secondary level (first year) state that they are treated fairly by teachers in school

- Approximately 15% of pupils at primary level (6th class) state that they are not treated fairly by teachers in school

- Approximately 25% of students at secondary level (first year) state that they are not treated fairly by teachers in school

It is worth noting that these differences between 6th class primary

and 1st year secondary are statistically significant i.e., there is a statistically significant increase in perception of being treated unfairly

by teachers in secondary school compared to primary school.

Table 3.7: Overall Level of Happiness of Parents with Support Received in relation to Child’s Education

No. of Respon

ses

Happy and

Satisfied

Somewhat Happy

but Could be Improve

d

Somewhat

Unhappy

Unhappy/

Dissatisfied

Preschool 16 11(69%)

4(25%)

1(6%)

0(0%)

Primary 16 12(75%)

3(19%)

1(6%)

0(0%)

Secondary 15 5 (33%)

7(47%)

0(0%)

3(20%)

Total for all Respondents

47 28(60%)

14(30%)

2(4%)

3(6%)

Developing school climate at post-primary level

No sunlight ! Not money !………..

NDP ………………………………..

Transition – not merely a problem of the individual

H.Dip……………………………….

People from whom at least 75% of parents receive ‘a large amount’ of emotional support

People from 50-75% of parents receive a large amount of emotional support

Partner (70%)

People from whom 25-50% of parents receive a large amount of emotional support

Respondent’s mother (47%), Child’s other parent (34%), Respondent’s sister(s) (30%), Respondent’s father (26%)

People with whom under 25% of parents receive a large amount of emotional support

Brother(s) (9%), Friends (9%), Other grandmother (6%), Child’s brothers or sisters (4%), Work colleagues (2%), Social worker (2%), Child’s teacher (2%), Other grandfather (2%), GP (0%), HSCL Coordinator (0%), Preschool staff (0%), Preschool leader (0%), Paid childminder (0%), Neighbours (0%), Child’s school principal (0%)

Table 2.8: Extent to Which ‘A Large Amount’ of Emotional Support in relation to raising their child is

received by Parents from Different People

•Illustrates the outreach gap in family therapeutic servicesNeed for multidisciplinary community based psychology teams for outreach and emotional support for families and children – prevention and early intervention multidisciplinary teams (see Familiscope, Ballyfermot www.familiscope.ie) •This sample can be presumed to be easier to reach than others who did not participate•Where is the professional support for those experiencing trauma (bereavement, suicide, bullying, substance misuse etc) depression and life stressors (divorce etc) ??

Stokes (2009) survey of reported difficulties of Youthreach participants:

37% Dysfunctional family background22% Need for sustained psychological support

20% Substance misuse problems23% Literacy and numeracy problems

13% Specific learning needs

School Matters (2006) P 35 “Many of the behaviours ‘acted out’ in the classroom are linked to events happening outside of the school itself, including family relationships, alcohol and drug use or mental health

issues”.

This report (2009) concludes:* “The relatively low number of parents receiving supports from local community organisations may suggest scope for increased awareness of available supports”.* “Particular supports may be needed to support parents who themselves have low levels of education or who are not in paid employment”. * “There is no system for early (i.e. the first five years) identification of families at risk of educational or social isolation; however, there are structures through which preventative and support programmes could be mediated (assuming additional resources were made available), the community-based public health service being a case in point.”

Table 3.5: Level of Happiness of Parents with Parent-Table 3.5: Level of Happiness of Parents with Parent-

Teacher/Parent-Childminder MeetingsTeacher/Parent-Childminder Meetings No. of

Responses

Happy and Satisfied

Somewhat Happy

but Could beImproved

Somewhat Unhappy

Unhappy/Dissatisfied

Preschool 9 9(100%)

0(0%)

0(0%)

0(0%)

Primary 16 14(88%)

1(6%)

1(6%)

0(0%)

Secondary 15 5(33%)

7(47%)

2(13%)

1(7%)

Total for all Respondents

40 28(70%)

8(20%)

3(8%)

1(3%)

Note: Seven parents of preschool children did not answer this question as they indicated that the question was not applicable to them, presumably because there were no parent-teacher meetings organised in their child’s preschool

However, there were also some less positive experiences and comments, which included the following:

“The meetings need to be better organised” (Primary school parent)“They are not very private. Conversations can be overheard” (Secondary school

parent)“Parent-teacher meetings are too negative; they do not support or encourage my son.

I felt intimidated as though I were the child” (Secondary school parent)“In the hall, parents have to queue. I could be hours waiting to see one of my

children’s teachers” (Secondary school parent)“Meetings are not frequent enough and could be more constructive” (Secondary

school parent)“I didn’t have a wholly positive experience at meetings. Some teachers weren’t

accessible. The school took my name and number but the teachers never called me. I queued a few times and then the line was closed and left without seeing the teacher”.

(Secondary school parent)“No privacy as everyone is in a small hall. This is a problem if your child has

difficulties as everyone else can hear. Some teachers didn’t really know my daughter – it was a ‘tick box’ exercise. As a middle of the road student she goes unnoticed

unlike an A student or a troublesome student’ (Secondary school parent) “I was unhappy with what I felt was a teacher’s rude comment about my daughter”

(Secondary school parent)

Table 4.1: Attendance by Parents at School Table 4.1: Attendance by Parents at School Activities and Events (No. of Parents)Activities and Events (No. of Parents)

No. where Activity Happen

s

Parent Always Attend

s

ParentSometimes

Attend

Parent Doesn’

t Attend

Parent Not Invited

School plays/ musicals/concerts 34 24 1 2 6

Sports days or events 44 14 2 1 27

Open days 32 22 7 1 2

Fundraising activities 36 8 7 4 16

School trips 42 6 2 5 29

Suggestions to Encourage EngagementSuggestions to Encourage Engagement

To end the survey, parents were asked if there was anything they would like to see to facilitate improved engagement with their child’s education. A number of comments

were made, as listed in Box 4.1:

Box 4.1: Comments on Improvements Parents would like for Family Box 4.1: Comments on Improvements Parents would like for Family InvolvementInvolvement

““Early intervention team should have a local presence – at the moment, their courses Early intervention team should have a local presence – at the moment, their courses are in town” (Preschool parent)are in town” (Preschool parent)““Parents’ Association volunteer parents group. A ‘Mammy in the Room’” (Preschool Parents’ Association volunteer parents group. A ‘Mammy in the Room’” (Preschool parent)parent)““Coffee mornings to meet other parents so we could hear more about what is going Coffee mornings to meet other parents so we could hear more about what is going on” (Preschool parent)on” (Preschool parent)““Schedule so you know what is happening and can follow progress” (Preschool Schedule so you know what is happening and can follow progress” (Preschool parent)parent)““Have more community members on the board. Ask parents to be involved on a Have more community members on the board. Ask parents to be involved on a voluntary basis” (Preschool parent)voluntary basis” (Preschool parent)““Tell us what is on so we can get involved” (Preschool parent)Tell us what is on so we can get involved” (Preschool parent)

Family Involvement in Education in Ballymun (2009): “There are particular issues in relation to parental

involvement in the education of second-level students with parents finding this more challenging”.

Nonthreatening to overcome fear – fear of failure, also fear of success (Ivers 2008)

Policy RecommendationsPolicy Recommendations

Teacher Professional Development at PosTeacher Professional Development at Postt Primary– Conflict Primary– Conflict Resolution Skills, Engagement with Parents and Promotion of Resolution Skills, Engagement with Parents and Promotion of local heritage/culturelocal heritage/culturePost primary school strategies for feedback from parents on Post primary school strategies for feedback from parents on parent-teacher meetings so that they are more client friendlyparent-teacher meetings so that they are more client friendlyCommunity based outreach and therapeutic teamsCommunity based outreach and therapeutic teamsOpportunities for parental participation in afterschool services Opportunities for parental participation in afterschool services through local School Completion Programmesthrough local School Completion ProgrammesAccredited community leadership training coursesAccredited community leadership training coursesA forum for extended dialogue between post primary schools in A forum for extended dialogue between post primary schools in Ballymun/Whitehall area and parents on the basis of this studyBallymun/Whitehall area and parents on the basis of this studyFuture Research to engage hardest to reach parents, including Future Research to engage hardest to reach parents, including intergenerational drug use, where parents are also involved in intergenerational drug use, where parents are also involved in generating the key questionsgenerating the key questions

ReferencesReferencesDownes, P (2006) QDOSS (Quality Development of Out of School Services): Agenda for Downes, P (2006) QDOSS (Quality Development of Out of School Services): Agenda for

DevelopmentDevelopmentDownes, P., Maunsell, C & Ivers, J. (2006) A Holistic Approach to Early School Leaving and

School Retention in Blanchardstown. Blanchardstown Area Partnership.Downes, P. (2007) Intravenous Drug Use and HIV in Estonia: Socio-Economic Indicators

Regarding the Right to Health for Its Russian-Speaking Population, Liverpool Law Review, Special Issue on Historical and Contemporary Legal. Issues on HIV/AIDS, Vol.2. pp. 271-317

Educational Disadvantage Committee (2005). Moving beyond educational disadvantage 2002-2005. DES

Ivers, J (2008) ‘Fear of Success among North Inner City Youth’. Unpublished thesis. Educational Unpublished thesis. Educational Disadvantage Centre, St. Patrick’s College, DrumcondraDisadvantage Centre, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra

Kaplan, D.D., Damphousse, J.R. & Kaplan, H.B. (1994). Mental health implications of not Kaplan, D.D., Damphousse, J.R. & Kaplan, H.B. (1994). Mental health implications of not graduating from high school. graduating from high school. Journal of Experimental EducationJournal of Experimental Education, 62, 105-123 , 62, 105-123

Phillips, S., and Eustace, A. (2008Phillips, S., and Eustace, A. (2008) Findings from study on family involvement in education. ) Findings from study on family involvement in education. PLANET/PobalPLANET/Pobal

Stokes, D. (2009). Stokes, D. (2009). One system, two modes: The role of the Youthreach programme in Irish One system, two modes: The role of the Youthreach programme in Irish educationeducation. Presentation given in Dublin City University, January 2009. Presentation given in Dublin City University, January 2009

The Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools (2006) The Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools (2006) School School MattersMatters