The Four Pillars of Parental Engagement

In this groundbreaking book, Justin Robbins and Karen Dempster offer a unique approach to the holy grail of parental engagement for the 21st century. Rather than setting it as a separate activity, they consider parental engagement as a planned, sustained and integral part of the whole-school approach: an approach which starts with the school vision and positions parents and schools equally as fundamental to student learning. The authors share a broad perspective of parental engagement - encompassing both traditional approaches and the use of technology - and examine the challenge through their four-pillar model of knowledge, environment, culture and communication. They recognise that before any school can expect parental engagement as a 'given', there must be knowledge of the what, why, when, where and how concerning effective interaction - and in this book they cover all bases, providing a toolkit of tried-and-tested approaches and strategies to choose from. After all, the evidence shows that when families engage with the school's vision and provision, it is the children that ultimately benefit.