Parents and volunteers : the change towards their involvement in schools

Abstract

Much has been written about the importance of parental involvement in the school and how this aspect should be best studied and attained. On the other hand, not so much has been researched and written about on the aspect of voluntarism. Many tend to forget that although 'parents could be volunteers' not all 'volunteers are parents themselves'. As I see it, the active participation of volunteers as co-partners with parents and professional educators should be seen as the modern and future trend in any school system and structure. Why has the 'old' P.T.A. s and P.A. s failed in their mission? Are the presents School Councils functioning as they were originally planned to function? What should be the involvement of the head and his staff vis-a-vis the parents and other interested volunteers? The 'wise head' must play the role of the 'wise delegator' and through the delegating of tasks - simple or otherwise - he must create an atmosphere of mutual trust between all concerned. The teachers must not only be ready to learn from parents and volunteers, they should be able to perform, individually or in groups, certain exercises to check their level of skills when facing 'outsiders'. Parents should be embraced in a new philosophy where they are made to feel important in their involvement inside the school. Five main reasons for this line of thought are discussed. Why should volunteers be seen as a key-element in the school system? Do these people have any rights? And if so, what are these rights? But who, in fact, are the volunteers Four main groups of volunteers are identified and discussed. The 'raison d'être' of these people for volunteering is also discussed. For an effective change towards voluntarism, we discuss five Key Principles, where we find that a real change needs: (.) A minimum level of ambiguity; (.) Support from all quarters; (.) Financial resources; (.) An adequate time for planning; (.) Development of certain skills. Finally, some proposals and recommendations towards this change in mentality are put forward and discussed. How to motivate volunteers to actively participate in the school system and structure is an apt conclusion to this essay.