A banking model of parental involvement

What is it about?

This article uses Freire's concept of the banking model of education as a lens to examine how schools interact with parents. Freire talked about a "banking model" of schooling, in which students were passive, "done unto" rather than involved in the learning process. This model is applied, point by point, to how schools often work with parents. The article then moves on to discuss how this might change, so that schools work in partnership with parents, and suggests a way forward.

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Why is it important?

Research has consistently shown the importance of parental engagement in children's learning - but all too often, in practice this becomes parental involvement in the process of schooling; schools give information to parents and expect them to act on it, rather than working in partnership with parents for the benefit of their children. This article shows how this situation comes about and, importantly, how to move on to a more fruitful way of working.

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