Increasing Parent-Teacher Communication Through Social Networking

Sabrina Giroux

Abstract

This action research project focused on social networking as a tool to improve communication between teachers and parents. The research showed that parents felt more connected with teachers and involved in their student’s work when teachers used technology to communicate with them. For cycle 1 participants were asked to join a private group on Facebook. Parents were informed of daily lessons and activities through the discussion board, video tutorials were posted, and the teacher was available to communicate by chat from 7-8 pm Monday through Friday. Cycle 2 ran the same as Cycle 1 with the exception of scheduled chat hours. Parents were very enthusiastic about the level of communication and appreciated receiving current information daily.

Literature Review

Introduction

Communication between teachers and parents is an integral part of a student’s education. The purpose of the research is to improve parent-communication through social networking. Flynn (2006) stated, “Studies have shown that when parents take an active interest in their children’s schooling their children generally have higher academic achievement, better attendance, a readiness to do homework, and develop better self-regulatory skills” (p.12). In middle school teachers find it difficult to keep in contact with many parents, and according to Reilly (2008) most communication with parents takes place only when something is going wrong, such as when a student is a behavior problem or is failing to perform academically.

Ramirez (2001) stated “improvement in communication methods would enhance relationships between the school and home” (p.30). O’Hanlon (2007) discussed social networking as a tool that offers many possibilities for educators to foster collaboration between parents and teachers. The scope of this literature review focused on some of the reasons parents are not involved and why they must be involved; the reasons for lack of communication and how parent-teacher communication can be improved; and how social networking can be the bridge that brings parents and teachers together.

Parent Involvement

Many students had difficulty handling the transition to middle school and needed their parent’s involvement to ensure their success. Cauley & Jovanovich (2006) pointed out that moving from elementary school to middle school was particularly stressful, because students move from one teacher to many teachers in larger schools with more complex schedules. At the same time they are dealing with puberty and all of the stress that goes with that. According to Reilly (2008) it is essential that parents stay actively involved in their child’s education throughout middle school. Black (2010) discussed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which viewed parent involvement as critical to student success and required that “states and public K-12 school districts and schools must promote parent involvement (p. 39). Pate and Andrews (2006) defined parent involvement as “having an awareness of and involvement in schoolwork, understanding the interaction between parenting skills and student success in schooling, and a commitment to consistent communication with educators about student progress” (p. 1). As students enter the sixth grade, it is up to teachers to bring parents back into the learning environment. Parents were sometimes reluctant to be involved at the middle school level, which according to Flynn (2006) is due to the feeling that they don’t have the needed skills to help their children succeed, or they don’t understand the importance of staying involved during the difficult middle school years.

Reilly (2008) stated students are more likely to take responsibility for their own learning when their parents are involved with their learning. Parents need to be encouraged by their children’s teachers to take a more active role at the middle school level. This research discussed several methods for getting parents involved in their child’s education. One suggestion was to post a monthly calendar online with all due dates listed to inform parents ahead of time what was due. The research showed that parents become more supportive when they are involved before problems arise. Some of the key elements that strengthened parent involvement as reported by Souto-Manning and Swick (2006) were learning the strengths of the child and family, engaging parents in a partnership, building trust through collaboration, and listening to parent input and employing their ideas.

Parent-Teacher Communication

Many teachers do not put forth the effort to promote positive relationships (Flynn 2006). This lack of communication may occur for a variety of reasons. According to Flynn (2006) the biggest fear of most teachers is talking to parents. Souto-Manning & Swick (2006) cited poor communication might be due to a lack of training or bad experience. A negative interaction with a parent may leave teachers feeling reticent about pursuing any involvement with parents. Flynn (2006) stated that many teachers feel that parents do not value education, are unsupportive and do not discipline their children.

Freytag (2001) stated that teachers should focus on becoming better listeners and see themselves as team players that work in collaboration with parents. Graham-Clay (2005) claimed purposeful communication is critical to this partnership. It is vital that teachers become proactive in building the lines of communication between home and school. According to Barge and Loges (2003) it is essential that parents and teachers build personal relationships. Parents want to be kept informed of information that will help their child grow academically, and they want to hear from teachers when their child does something well.

Social Networking

One way for teachers to encourage parents to be more involved is to build a sense of community between school and home. Ramirez (2001) stated that a large number of parents could be reached through the use of technology as a communication strategy. Establishing communication through a social networking platform, such as Facebook or Edmodo, may foster a more personal parent-teacher relationship. Technology offers teachers greater flexibility for communicating with parents outside of school hours (Graham-Clay, 2005). Parents can be kept informed through posts listing homework and announcements; positive comments relating small successes throughout the day can give parents a sense of knowing what is happening in the classroom; and, private messages are easily available for quick parent-teacher conferences. Tobolka’s (2006) research concluded that electronic communication resulted in parents feeling more involved in their in their student’s school work and in a greater feeling of connectedness to the teacher. Educator’s that have recognized the potential of social networking to engage students and foster collaboration between parents, teachers and students have created their own sites according to O’Hanlon (2007) which resulted in positive feedback from parents.

Harper (2010) used Edmodo, which is a private social platform for teachers and students, to communicate with students and parents outside of the classroom. The first year eleven members joined, and Harper (2010) attributed that low number to beginning late in the school year. The second year of the study 40% of her students became members. Edmodo was used to post daily assignments, post due dates, and upload files used in class. Students took advantage of the site to get missed assignments when they were absent and to communicate with each other. In an attempt to entice more students to join the social networking site Harper (2010) announced in class that bonus point questions were posted on the site. Parents were pleased with the level of communication offered through Edmodo. They appreciated being informed about assignments and due dates and created their own accounts to communicate with Harper (2010).

There are some challenges that arise when using technology as the form of communication between school and home. Not all parents have access to the Internet or even the necessary skills to navigate the World Wide Web. Mitchell, Foulger & Wetzel (2009) suggested providing parents with information about computer availability at local libraries or other organizations with computer access. The authors also recommended offering a brief orientation to demonstrate how to navigate and use the site. Villano (2008) pointed out that many older parents are reluctant to use the Internet as a method of communication, however, she was hopeful that parents would realize the benefit of being connected and eventually using the Internet as means of communication will become the norm.

Conclusion

The research shows that involved parents are a key component to a student’s academic success. Teachers who nurture relationships between home and school will help parents feel empowered to take an active role in their child’s education during the middle school years. Parent involvement will lead to greater academic success for students.

Teachers who take a more friendly approach to communicating with parents will find greater support from parents. One of the ways that teachers can build community with parents is through the use of technology. Social networking sites offer a way for teachers to keep parents informed on a daily basis. A social networking site also offers an easy and convenient way for parents to communicate with teachers outside of school hours. Opening the lines of communication between parents and teachers will have the effect of bolstering student achievement.

Methodology

One-hundred-thirty-seven letters were sent home with sixth grade math students inviting parents to participate in the Action Research project. Fifty-one responses were received, and thirteen parents joined the private Facebook group created for this project. Parents completed a qualitative pre-survey that measured how active they were in the daily academic activities of their students and how often they had communication with teachers. Parents were then expected to log in to the discussion board to receive daily information about classwork and homework. Video tutorials were embedded in the discussion board to provide parents with a homework help resource.

Cycle 1 began in the middle of the first grading period and ran through the end of the grading period. During this time the researcher was available to chat from the hours of 7-8 pm Monday through Friday. At the conclusion of Cycle 1 parents were asked to complete a second survey. The second survey measured the change in activity recorded in the pre-survey. Parents were also asked open-ended questions pertaining to the effectiveness of the group.

Cycle 2 ran from beginning of the second grading period through the middle of that grading period. Homework and classwork assignments continued to be posted to the discussion board daily. Daily evening chat was eliminated due to reduced participation towards the end of cycle 1. Parents were instructed to post private messages that were checked daily in lieu of the instant chat. A final qualitative survey was given asking parents for their overall response to the Action Research project.

Data Analysis

Pre-survey results showed that 13% of parents had daily communication with teachers, 50% had weekly communication, 38% had monthly communication, and 25% never communicated with teachers. 38% of parents knew what their child’s homework assignments were on a daily basis and 63% knew what their child’s homework assignments were on a weekly basis. 50% of parents helped their students with homework and 50% did not. At the end of cycle 1 13% of parents said they had daily communication with the teacher, 13% said they had weekly contact, 63% said they had monthly contact. These results appear to show that communication was lessened during the Action Research project. However, parent responses to the other questions showed that 75% knew daily what their child’s homework was, 13% knew weekly and 13% never knew.  Homework help by parents also increased with 63% helping students with homework daily 25% helping weekly and 13% never helping. I believe the discrepancy in the first question lies in interpretation of the survey question. The final survey asked parents if they were kept informed of what their child was doing in the classroom, and 100% responded yes; 71% responded yes they were kept informed of homework expectations; and 86% of parents felt they had adequate communication with the teacher.  Responses to the open-ended question asking parents what they liked about the Facebook group indicated that parents were very pleased with the communication and teacher accessibility.

Summary

Parents appreciate being kept in the loop on a regular basis in regards to their student’s daily academic activities. Social networking is a convenient and effective way for teachers to keep parents informed. When parents are informed they are more likely to check up on student’s homework and to offer assistance to the student. This results in greater accountability for the student.

References

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