Nadine Metzger (Note cross-posting from cec.net.nz)
Raurimu School, Whangarei Our team are a patient bunch and years of working in social change has taught us that good things take time. Our patience has been well-rewarded this year as the CEC project has gained considerable traction at local and regional levels. We’ve also learned a great deal about how our project is working in communities and the positive effects it is having.
First, our projects seem to be contributing to building stronger community ties—for example, hundreds of educators and whānau attended the JRM funded, Pukekohe-based Te Huarahi “Kai, Kapahaka and Korero” evening in November. Other local CEC projects are helping schools and learning centres be more responsive to the needs of their communities and to build parents' confidence and self-esteem. In Whangarei, for example, we are seeing many parents who had negative experiences in education to develop positive relationships with their schools. These benefits have “rippled” out to other members of the family and to other members of the community as participants share their learning and experiences with others around them.
We've also learned a lot about what kinds of local CEC activities seem to have the greatest impact.
First, our projects seem to be contributing to building stronger community ties—for example, hundreds of educators and whānau attended the JRM funded, Pukekohe-based Te Huarahi “Kai, Kapahaka and Korero” evening in November. Other local CEC projects are helping schools and learning centres be more responsive to the needs of their communities and to build parents' confidence and self-esteem. In Whangarei, for example, we are seeing many parents who had negative experiences in education to develop positive relationships with their schools. These benefits have “rippled” out to other members of the family and to other members of the community as participants share their learning and experiences with others around them.
We've also learned a lot about what kinds of local CEC activities seem to have the greatest impact.
We've learned that CEC programmes seem to work best when they are based on mutual respect between families and schools, and when communication and learning is two-way—activities that allow whānau and families to both give and receive support may be more effective than one-directional activities. CEC activities are also more likely to have an impact if they are responsive to the needs of communities, and build on the strengths and values of those groups. We've also learned that retaining a clear focus on learning is key, as is providing enough resources to projects—because it's unrealistic to expect busy teachers to take on extra parent engagement activities on top of their existing workload, a little funding to support a dedicated “community liaison coordinator” or “kaiarahi” role can go a long way.
At a regional level, we’ve learned about collective effervescence and the powerful effect of bringing people together who share a common vision. We’ve learned that our educators and whānau are not only hungry for ideas around how to connect education and communities, but also that they bring a number of ideas around how to effectively engage whānau with children’s learning, and how schools and whānau can build positive and productive relationships. As a team, we’ve learned that connecting with local educators and whānau and responding to the needs of each region is far more effective than a generic presentation. We know that follow-up is key, as is the facilitation of relationships.
We're also aware that building strong relationships takes time, and we may need to wait before we will see the impact of these partnerships on children's achievement. In the meantime, we need to stay committed to developing strong relationships between schools, parents, families, and community organisations—this work is important, and can have a real impact on helping children, families, and communities achieve success.
At a regional level, we’ve learned about collective effervescence and the powerful effect of bringing people together who share a common vision. We’ve learned that our educators and whānau are not only hungry for ideas around how to connect education and communities, but also that they bring a number of ideas around how to effectively engage whānau with children’s learning, and how schools and whānau can build positive and productive relationships. As a team, we’ve learned that connecting with local educators and whānau and responding to the needs of each region is far more effective than a generic presentation. We know that follow-up is key, as is the facilitation of relationships.
We're also aware that building strong relationships takes time, and we may need to wait before we will see the impact of these partnerships on children's achievement. In the meantime, we need to stay committed to developing strong relationships between schools, parents, families, and community organisations—this work is important, and can have a real impact on helping children, families, and communities achieve success.
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