Lifelong Learning
through Parental Involvement in Education
10 to 11th July, 2004, Coastline Hotel, Malta
Lifelong Learning
through Parental Involvement in EducationA European Conference
10-11th July 2004, Coastline Hotel, Malta
The Foundation for Educational Services (FES) of Malta is organising a two-day European conference from the 10th to the 11th July 2004. The theme of the conference is ‘Lifelong Learning through Parental Involvement in Education’. The Conference will discuss the state of parental involvement in education in Europe and focus on how such involvement is leading to the parents’ own lifelong learning.
This Conference will bring to a close the PEFaL (Parent Empowerment for Family Literacy) Project that was led by the Foundation for Educational Services in collaboration with the participating partner countries, namely Belgium, England, Italy, Lithuania, and Rumania, with the support of the European Commission in the framework Grundtvig action of the Socrates programme. Through the PEFaL Project, organisations from the participating countries have set up innovative and successful family literacy programmes that are breaking new ground in the application of strategies that enhance parental participation in their children’s educational development and lead to parents’ own development both as parents and as learning adults.
The Conference aims to:
A celebrate the achievements of the families that participated in the family literacy programmes run by the PEFaL partner institutions :
B disseminate the experiences, expertise and findings of both PEFaL partner institutions as well as those of other institutions around Europe.
C include the PEFaL experience in the wider European debate on the role of family literacy programmes in stimulating parental lifelong learning processes and socio-cultural integration.
D support the setting up of Europe-wide information-transfer and support networks both of organisations involved in family literacy and parental involvement initiatives; as well as those of parents and groups of parents involved in such initiatives.
The Conference shall have two components:
The academic component – academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the field of lifelong learning and parental involvement in education from all over Europe, including the PEFaL participating institutions, shall share their experiences, findings and expertise on a number of selected issues.
The experiential component – parents from the family literacy programmes of the PEFaL partner institutions and from other European parent organizations shall be able to share their experiences, findings and expertise on the implementation of family literacy programmes in their countries and their effect on themselves as learning adults.
As can be seen in the Conference Programme below, the academic and experiential component will be intertwined to enrich the Conference experience of all participants.
The academic component of the Conference shall have three main thematic strands:
· Parental participation in educational assessment
Should parents have a role in assessing their children’s educational development? What could this role be? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of increased parental involvement in educational assessment? In particular, how could this increased involvement lead to increased parental lifelong learning and social integration?
· Home-school links for enhanced lifelong learning processes
How can increased parental involvement in the educational development and the life of the school community enhance the parents’ own lifelong learning? What are the experiences in Europe of such ‘value added’ involvement? What are the implications to the role of the school?
· Family literacy
What are the experiences and results of family literacy programmes in Europe, with special focus on those run during the Parent Empowerment through Family Literacy (PE.F.a.L.) Socrates-funded project? How do such programmes enhance the parents’ own lifelong learning?
The Conference timetable shall be as follows:
Pre-Conference: Friday 9th July
Welcome and transfer to hotel.
Day 1: Saturday 10th July
Morning
Introduction by Ms Nora Macelli,
Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Educational Services (FES)
Official opening by the Hon. Minister of Education in Malta, Dr. L. Galea
Keynote speeches by:
Coffee break
Workshops on the three conference thematic strands:
· Parental participation in educational assessment
· Home-school links for lifelong learning
· Family Literacy
Concurrently:
Introductory meeting of Maltese and other European parents.
Parents from the different countries prepare afternoon presentations, evening 'market'
Full day Children's Learning Camp for foreign and Maltese children of participants
Lunch Break
Afternoon
Sharing of experiences by parents who participated in literacy programmes in different countries - presentation of the different countries
Evening
An ‘educational market’ of posters and stands representing family literacy and parental involvement initiatives around Europe. Conference participants have the opportunity to discuss these initiatives with the parents and children who were involved in the PEFaL project and in similar programmes in Malta.
At the educational market, participants will moreover have the opportunity to ‘earn’ country stamps on a learning passport by visiting and taking part in each stand’s activities. Each stand will be run by PEFaL tutors and parent leaders from the various countries.
Children's Learning Camp continues
Families and conference participants participate in the educational market.
Day 2: Sunday 11th July
Morning
Keynote speech by the Basic Skills Agency
Coffee break
Workshops on three conference thematic strands:
· Parental participation in educational assessment
· Home-school links for lifelong learning
· Family Literacy
______________________________Plenary discussion and end of conference
Lunch Break
Optional tour of Malta
Concurrently,
Maltese and foreign parents have encounter workshops to share experiences and consider setting up a European network of parents in education
Continuation and conclusion of Children’s Learning Camp
After coffee break, families go in tours of Malta
Sandro Spiteri has taught for 13 years in state and non-state schools. As head of department he was in charge of staff training and syllabus design and development for Maltese in an independent secondary school. He has a Masters degree in the teaching of writing and is a pre-service and in-service teacher trainer in Maltese methodology. From 2001 as the National Co-ordinator of the Institute for Child and Parent Learning Support in the Foundation for Educational Services (FES), he led national programmes to establish and expand family literacy and parent empowerment provision as well as to assist schools to develop in-house basic skills provision. He was also the Project Co-ordinator for the P.E.Fa.L. EU-funded project, which was the first Grundtvig thematic project co-ordinated by a Maltese institution. Sandro is also the founder and Head of the Malta Writing Programme within the FES, and has led and participated in Writing workshops for student teachers, teachers, school administrators and parents. He is now Senior Executive within the FES, with responsibility for training, development and international programmes. back to top
Sheila Wolfendale has been a primary school teacher, remedial reading teacher and educational psychologist in several Local Education Authorities. She is currently Course Director to the Doctorate in Educational Psychology, School of Psychology at the University of East London. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Hull and was awarded a Professorship in the Department of Psychology, Polytechnic of East London, now University of East London, in 1988. She has authored and edited many books, booklets, articles on particular interests and specialisms, such as reading and learning difficulties, special needs, early years and parental involvement. She has vast research experience particularly in the area of parental involvement, and has been a keynote speaker or presented paper in a number of international conferences and seminars. Prof. Wolfendale is currently also a consultant to a number of educational foundations and agencies both in the U.K. and internationally. She is consultant to the P.E.Fa.L. project and external evaluator for the NWAR programme of the Foundation for Educational Services (FES). back to top
BASIC SKILLS AGENCY
The Basic Skills Agency evolved from the first national Agency set up in 1975. The Agency has much experience in co-operating with schools and colleges via the further education sector and local education authorities at local, regional and national level. The Agency is responsible for developing in England and Wales provision designed to improve the standards of proficiency in the areas of literacy and numeracy and aims to develop effective approaches for improving the basic skills of children, young people and adults, often in partnership with other organisations. Current programmes include: Quality Marks; Family Literacy and Numeracy; Additional Family Programmes; National Voluntary Organisations Partnership Programme; Adult and Community Learning Fund; Basic Skills in the Workplace. The Agency is also working together with the University for Industry to develop and mainstream a number of ICT materials nationally. The Basic Skills Agency for England and Wales is administering the national family literacy and numeracy programme, that recognises the need to develop a particular model for parental literacy and numeracy that is integrated into the overall national strategy for literacy and numeracy. (Confirmation of speaker forthcoming)
6. Who can participate ?
· Academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the fields of lifelong learning and parental involvement in education, with special reference to those interested in the potential of family literacy and parental empowerment programmes for adult lifelong learning and socio-cultural integration.
· Parents, parent leaders, parent members of school boards of governors and heads of school interested in exploring, sharing and learning about family literacy, parental involvement in education and lifelong learning issues.
· Leaders of parent organizations or NGOs working with parents interested in exploring, and sharing and learning about family literacy, parent-in-education and lifelong learning issues. back to top
The P.E.Fa.L. Project
P.E.Fa.L. is short for Parent Empowerment for Family Literacy. It is an international project carried out with the support of the European Commission in the framework of the Grundtvig Action of the Socrates programme. Malta is co-ordinating this project in collaboration with the participating partner countries, namely Belgium, England, Italy, Lithuania and Rumania. P.E.Fa.L. is aimed at families made vulnerable through inadequate basic skills necessary for active participation in today’s society. The Project empowers adults and children to jointly participate in a learning process that helps break the cycle of helplessness and marginalisation. P.E.Fa.L.’s objectives are to develop:
parents’ literacy and social skills whilst helping their children achieve these same skills.
parents’ ICT skills as they communicate with parents in other European countries about the project.
children’s literacy and social skills, fuelling their parents’ sense of achievement and will to persevere.
P.E.Fa.L. has developed appropriate resources and successfully adapted existing family literacy strategies, making them culturally multivalent and enhancing their adult empowerment component. P.E.Fa.L. also trains parent trainers from the participating counties through ICT-mediated mentoring and contact sessions. These trainers have now set up family literacy programmes in their communities. Through the European Conference, the parents involved will be able to share experiences with participants from other countries in Europe.
Some of P.E.Fa.L.’s outputs to date are :
Parent Trainer training programme with related resource pack
Culturally differentiated, community based parent and child basic skills programmes with related resource packs based on EU transversal policies
Formative and summative assessment protocols
Input in a National Conference on Family Literacy held in Malta in September 2003
A core team of experienced parent trainers in six different countries
A core team of parent leaders that have participated in the family literacy programmes, in each of the participating countries
Publications at different levels, from academic texts to popular manuals.
Website for parent trainer training, participant interaction and access to P.E.Fa.L. experience, programmes, tools and resources.
The Foundation for Educational Services (FES)
The Foundation for Educational Services (FES) was established in April 2001. Its mission is to be at the forefront of innovation in educational services and educational change by complementing, incorporating, facilitating and strengthening specialized initiatives and approaches. While ensuring that such approaches achieve high international standards, the Foundation is committed to be a force towards educational equity and excellence, contributing directly in this respect to the wider educational systems and to society, especially towards persons at risk of social exclusion and to future generations.
Parental involvement is at the core of key programmes of the FES. Since its inception, the FES has worked with over 2000 families through its various programmes. The short descriptions below focus on the programmes that have an in-built parent participation component:
Hilti Programme – an afterschool literacy support initiative that uses differentiated teaching methodologies within a mixed ability and family literacy context. One of the initiatives of this Programme is the running of Hilti Clubs in 25 community-based State primary schools reaching around 300 children and their parents per scholastic term. A team of teachers run each Hilti Club; teachers who co-ordinate these clubs participate in a 108 hour training programme. Club activities are specifically designed with an in-built literacy and/or component that the children immerse themselves in as an integral part of the fun activity. Results of participatory evaluations and internal operational research indicate that the approach stimulates and enhances children's self-esteem, social skills and literacy attainment. Parents gain competencies that strengthen the curriculum of the home. School teachers have the opportunity to develop home-school links and to extend their repertoire of literacy tools and strategies that enrich their classroom practices.
Nwar Programme – an initiative started in mid-2002 through which parents and their children with severe reading and writing difficulties receive intensive twice weekly one-to-one/two literacy support over a period of one semester, with the possibility of extended service, if necessary. The service is national in scope and accepts referrals mainly from schools and services run by the Education Division within the Ministry of Education. Individualised educational plans are prepared, implemented and reviewed with the parents of each referred child. At present there are 6 Nwar centres in Malta and Gozo. The Programme is currently being evaluated by an external evaluator from the UK.
Young Writers Club – this project is part of the Malta Writing Programme, that uses writing process methodology in teacher professional and family literacy development. The Young Writers’ Club is open for children aged 8 to 12 who consider themselves as budding writers. Tutors are trained in the Writing Process Methodology. Children are taken through the process of pre-writing, drafting text, peer editing, revision and publishing within a time span of two months. Parents have the opportunity to follow a parallel writing programme that culminates in a Family Writing Workshop.
Parents-in-Education Programme - the Programme provides teacher training in the field of facilitating parental involvement in family literacy programmes. It also trains teachers to train parents for leadership and training roles. This programme was shortlisted in 2002 and 2003 for the Alcuin Award of the European Parents’ Association and received a special mention on both occasions. Two key initiatives of this Programme are the Parent-to-Parent Courses and Community Literacy Projects:
Parent-to-Parent Courses - Parents who participated in other FES programmes join FES personnel in designing and delivering parent-to-parent courses based on themes selected the parent participants themselves. To date a team of over 50 parent leaders has been formed and trained to provide, under teacher supervision and guidance, such courses for other parents and other parental empowerment initiatives. 24 courses have already been offered by these parent leaders in collaboration with a team of 8 trained parent-in-education tutors.
Community Literacy Projects – FES staff collaborate with Local Councils, School Councils, community based organizations (CBOs) NGOs and other state education and social welfare agencies to develop and support a web of informal and non-formal community literacy and social inclusion initiatives with special reference to families that are most at risk. The FES is presently working on its second project.
