Γονεϊκή εμπλοκή και διαχείριση συγκρούσεων μεταξύ σχολείου-γονέων από τους διευθυντές των σχολικών μονάδων

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study primary school headmasters’ views about the role of parental involvement and the management of conflicts between schools and parents by the headmasters. The researched questions are the following:

What are the perceptions of headmasters for parental involvement in the school?

What are the issues, according to the headmasters, that usually cause conflicts between parents and school and which is their cause?

Which strategies do the headmasters say that they follow during the management of these conflicts?

The sample consists of 17 headmasters of primary schools in the municipality of Arcadia.  The main conclusions of the survey are: Even though the parental involvement is satisfactory, it is limited to supportive actions for the activities of the school units, that do not affect the core of the educational function. Secondly, the involvement of parents in school, is in relation to their children’s troubles. This relationship with parents is likely to reflect the unanimous view of all teachers that parental involvement should have a limit, which corresponds to the point beyond which the core of the educational and pedagogical function begins.

The key issues that lead to crises in the relationship between school and parents, are  the conflicts between students, the complaints about the work of some teachers and the  matters of grades. The responsibility for these crises is primarily attributed to the side of parents who do not show confidence in the work of teachers and the school in general, or in many cases described as problematic. Most headmasters believe that the economic crisis of recent years has aggravated the relationship between school with parents.

All the headmasters choose to manage conflicts dialogue and communication with parents as a key strategy. But most headmasters say they adjust their strategy depending primarily on the parent and secondarily on the issue of conflict. When the parent doesn’t show up again and he/she shows through his/her attitude that he/she has regained his/her confidence towards school, the headmasters consider the problem solved. However, if the conflict persists, about half of the headmasters resort to a superior authority for help. Also most headmasters do not involve the S.G but instead involve the SI in the management of conflicts with parents. Finally, the majority of headmasters rely more on their experience than on access to specialized bodies of knowledge in order to deal with the issues.