Marie Gitschthaler gave an interview on the topic of parental engagement and early school leaving as part of a student learning MOOC (School Education Gateway’s Teacher Academy).

Link to the video interview on Youtube

The interview is part of the MOOC on

Effective Parental Engagement for Student Learning

Course description:

Parents and families have the most direct and lasting impact on children’s learning and development. A stimulating home environment that encourages learning as well as parental engagement in school activities is crucial for a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development.

Building family-school partnerships and engaging parents as learning partners from the early years is therefore essential to improving children’s and young people’s development. Research shows that a multidisciplinary approach, with involvement of parents, children, teachers and professionals from the local community is key to resolving behavioural problems of school children.

The course, therefore, aims to support school practitioners in reaching out and working effectively with parents to ensure students’ success at school, and later in life. It addresses a range of areas where school practitioners can build positive relationships with parents and engage them in the learning of students. Throughout the course, participants will develop an activity in one of the areas explored in the course which they can implement in their classroom or school in order to facilitate more effective parental engagement.

Link to the MOOC