Lisa: ‘Good contact between parent and school means a lot for a child’.

Lisa: ‘Good contact between parent and school means a lot for a child’.

‘Good contact between parent and school means a lot for a child’, says Lisa Boonk. Boonk researched parent involvement in mbo and works as an educationalist at ROC Twente. Still, good contact between parent and school is not always a priority in mbo.

‘In primary and secondary school parent involvement is natural. But once a child moves to mbo, this changes. Most students are then 16 or 17 years old and prepare for the job market. It seems that young people at that time want less parental involvement,’ Boonk explains. According to the students she spoke to, it is more nuanced. ‘Many students find it nice after all to talk with their parents at school about what works for them and what does not.’

Boonk also spoke with parents who struggle with how much they want and can be involved with their child in mbo. Boonk rejects this reluctance: ‘Especially when a child does not feel at home at school, a good talk between school, the child and the parents can offer much support.’

Realizing parent involvement: small gesture with big effect

At certain courses the parent evening is always well attended, while at other courses parents do not show up at all. How can parent contact still be encouraged then? According to Boonk the answer is simple: ‘Organizing parent evenings, sending newsletters and offering tours are all valuable initiatives. But for parents who are hard to reach, the barrier to school is still too high. To make contact you do not always need large-scale actions. A simple phone call to start a conversation can already be priceless.’

Great diversity in mbo

‘We often talk about ‘the mbo’, but this is a very diverse group,’ Boonk notes. Mbo has four different education levels and many different courses. The students are thus different and their parents too. Boonk: ‘One parent is open to supporting schoolwork at home, while another has limited time or cannot do this. Some parents want information about the progress of their child, but there are also parents who leave this completely to the school.’

‘There are also situations where teachers hear about complex family relations from the student or where a parent does not give the child the freedom to make their own choices. If a teacher suspects that a parent is too controlling or limiting, promoting more parent involvement might not be a good move,’ Boonk explains.

Tips for parents and schools

Every parent has their own expectations and wishes about contact with the school. It is therefore important that parent, child and teachers communicate about this and align their expectations, Boonk emphasizes. ‘It is like in a marriage,’ Boonk adds with a wink.

Boonk: ‘For a team of teachers it is always a challenge to decide how best to spend their precious time. Parent involvement takes time and education remains basically people’s work. Teachers cannot always directly estimate where the needs of students and parents lie for contact. But in general it turns out that when parents feel involved in the future of their child, they try harder to support.’