Raising a child is a complex process for which parents are fully responsible. However, when children grow up and are sent to a nursery, kindergarten and school, teachers are also involved in the process of their upbringing. At this moment, most parents mistakenly think that from now on they can relax, because now educators and teachers must instill norms, values and knowledge in their children. According to recent sociological studies, it has been established that the self-exclusion of parents from the educational process in most cases leads to the development of child neglect, which leads to antisocial behavior of children (the onset of early sexual activity, child alcoholism, crime, drug addiction, etc.).
The task of teachers at any level, be it kindergarten or school, is to convey the importance of participation and coordination of activities aimed at teaching and educating preschoolers and schoolchildren. To do this, there is such a thing as forms and methods of social work with the family, which allow developing a certain concept of interaction between the educational institution and parents. It is about them that will be discussed in this article, below you can get acquainted with the types of such forms and consider the most effective methods for their implementation in the educational process.
What are the forms and methods of working with families?
Before proceeding to the practical side of considering the issue of building the process of interaction between teachers and families, a clear definition of the basic concepts should be given. So, the forms of work are a certain set of teacher's tools that he uses to involve parents in the educational and upbringing process.
Forms of work with the family are determined based on the following tasks:
- carrying out educational work;
- implementation of work that helps to analyze the current situation in a timely manner;
- implementation of work that helps to timely correct the necessary behavior of both parents and the child as part of the upbringing process.
If a teacher who acts as a professional aims to fulfill the tasks outlined above in his activity, then it is easier for him to choose exactly the method of interaction with the family that will benefit the pupil. Forms and methods of working with the family is an important point in the activities of any teacher, so their choice should be reasoned and well weighed, because if it is chosen incorrectly, there may be misunderstandings between the institution and parents.
Typology of formsand how to choose them
It is important to remember that the choice of the form of work and interaction with the family should always imply cooperation and should be aimed at involving parents in the educational process, educating them in the field of upbringing and psychology of the child and their participation in school activities. Thus, all subjects of education should understand their role and its importance in this difficult process.
In general, there are two types of interaction, namely the collective and individual form of work with the family. The first type implies that the teacher creates an atmosphere of common responsibility of parents not only for their child, but also for a group (class) of students. With this type of family work form, it is advisable to involve adults in discussions of general topics that are not based on the personalization of children, but consider them as a whole.
The individual type provides for a form of interaction with parents, so to speak, tete-a-tete, in this case, questions are considered that relate to a particular child and the information that is associated with him.
The choice of the form of work of the teacher with the family should be based on the typology of the personality of the parents, which are classified as follows:
- The first group. Parents are teachers' assistants. This group includes families where traditions are respected, have an active life position and always responsibly approach the instructions of the educational institution.
- Second group. Parents are potential teacher assistants. As a rule, these are families who are ready to fulfill the instructions of the educational institution if they are asked to do so inopen and justify their request.
- Third group. Parents not helping the teacher. The parents of this group ignore the educational process and have a negative attitude towards the institution and teachers. In this group, families can be distinguished where a negative attitude towards an educational institution is hidden, and those where parents declare it openly.
When choosing a form of work with the family, it is important to consider the following:
- Families of the first group are a reliable support when creating a parent team, they play a big role in shaping a common opinion and making decisions.
- Families of the second group are people who willingly make contact and are ready to take part in the process of education and study only when the teacher explains in detail their actions and the meaning of the implementation of certain functions.
- Families of the third group are people with whom it is difficult to conduct a conversation, and their involvement should begin with requests that will not take them much time and effort, which will gradually involve them in the general process.
In order to understand how the methods of interaction still work, one should consider the most common and effective forms of social work with the family. Having studied them, the teacher can independently determine for himself the best way to collectivize and implement the processes of constant interaction between the educational institution and parents.
Pedagogical talks
Perhaps this form of family work isthe most common and affordable, but at the same time one of the most effective. This form can also serve as a complement to other forms such as parent consultations, meetings, etc.
The activity of the teacher contributes to the activity of parents. When an educator or teacher during a conversation highlights an issue or problem and helps find the right way to solve it, this usually causes an adequate feedback.
In the course of a pedagogical conversation, several rules should be observed, namely:
- The nature of the conversation should be friendly and aimed not at condemnation, but at helping parents.
- The place and time of the pedagogical conversation should contribute to constructive communication. If the initiator of the conversation is the parents, then the teacher can offer to reschedule it to a more convenient time and prepare properly for it.
- The conversation should be supported by concrete facts, but they should be both negative and positive. When a problem situation needs to be resolved during a conversation, parents are not always pleased to hear about how bad their child is, even if this information is well-reasoned.
- The teacher should show sincere concern for the pupil, this will help to arrange parents and connect them to the learning process.
- Parents during the pedagogical conversation should receive any new information about their child, so the teacher should prepare a list of recent observations of the pupil.
Round table
Characterize the round table asinnovative form of family work. Preparing for a round table can take a lot of time and effort, but this is a very non-standard approach to the interaction of all participants in the learning process - a teacher, parents and students.
Organization of the round table includes the following:
- Identifying the topic.
- Selecting and issuing tasks to children.
- Selection and issuance of tasks to parents.
- Selection of games, the themes of which will correspond to the purpose of the round table.
For example, children can be asked to bring photographs of successful people, and parents can define terms that are associated with success, achieving goals, and prepare arguments why success should be achieved. During the round table, children and parents are divided into two teams, and the teacher acts as a coordinator of this process. They have different functions, but the overall goal of this event is to organize interaction between all participants in the training.
Joint leisure
This form of work of a teacher with a family resonates with parents most often. However, it happens that some mothers, fathers, grandparents ignore such events and simply do not come to them. Therefore, when organizing joint leisure, one should take into account the types of parents and find the right approach to them.
This form of work with the family in preschool educational institutions is used less frequently than, for example, in schools. During joint leisure, you can show parents how important active recreation is in the life of the team and family.
Open classes
This form helps parents to see with their own eyes how their children are brought up, and to visit, so to speak, inside the educational process itself. The teacher during this lesson should involve all students in communication and thereby give parents the opportunity to watch their child from the outside: how he gives answers, how well he behaves, etc.
After the end of the open lesson, you can discuss the progress of its conduct with parents. Thanks to this, you can understand what their feedback is.
Master classes
The objective of the master class is to establish partnerships with the parent through joint work and unite the efforts of children and their families. At the master class, any interesting things can be created, which can then be used in families or, for example, can fulfill some important social mission. For example, you can organize a master class on sewing simple toys, which will then be given to orphanages.
During the master class, the teacher should act as an employee, not a mentor. Its task is to rally parents and children for the benefit of the educational process.
Parent training
This is an unconventional form of work with families for Russian educational institutions, but it is extremely effective, especially if negative behavior prevails in a group of children. The teacher during the training with parents should determine the topic of the training, explain to parents the theoretical aspects of the psychology of children, listen to suggestions and opinions on this matter and give recommendations thathelp families in their upbringing.
Individual consultations
This form of interaction with parents is similar to parent training, but it is implemented not in a group, but in personal communication with a separate family. The teacher does not make the problem public. In the course of such a consultation, he must explain why the child behaves one way or another in a certain situation, from the point of view of the theory of child psychology, and suggest how parents should behave in order to correct the pupil's behavior in the right way.
Parents diary
This form of work with families implies that at the first meeting, parents are given a notebook where they make notes in the first half of it after parental conversations and meetings. Conclusions, recommendations to the teacher, etc. are written in these notebooks. The second half is intended for parents to think about who they want to see their child in the future.
A mandatory element in the parent diary is a page of joy, which the teacher draws up before the parent meetings. Thanks to this, parents will be able to find out what internal barriers the student manages to overcome in everyday life, what successes to achieve, etc.
Visit families
This individual form of work with families involves the teacher visiting the child at home. This is an extreme form, which should only be used in the most difficult situations.
But notalways the educator can visit families at home only to discuss serious problems. In some situations, the arrival of a teacher in the house can be a joyful event. For example, if a child falls ill, the teacher can visit him, at the same time communicate with his parents and see with his own eyes how his place for learning in the house is organized.
Conclusion
Choosing the form of work with families is an important point in communicating with parents, because they ensure the fruitfulness of interaction, on which the level of education and upbringing of the child subsequently depends. Each teacher independently determines the form for himself, however, this must be reasoned and find feedback from parents.
