STANDARD 3.7
Engage parents/carers in the educative process: Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.
AITSL Standard 3.7 emphasises the importance of engaging parents and carers to support student learning and wellbeing through effective home-school partnerships. Research shows that increased parental involvement improves student outcomes, particularly when educators consider students’ broader life contexts (Kantova, 2024).
Developing two artefacts has enhanced my understanding of parent engagement: the brochure addresses immediate informational needs and advocacy for arts education, while the video series offers deeper practical and philosophical support for parenting. These experiences highlighted the importance of purpose, audience, and context, and the need for culturally responsive and inclusive strategies that consider diverse family structures, cultural backgrounds, and socioeconomic circumstances.
Prior preparation to my teaching experiences, including reviewing Department of Education guidelines and the ARACY toolkit, supported my development of strategies that honour families’ perspectives and foster meaningful partnerships.
ARTEFACT 1:
Year 7 Visual Arts INFORMATION Brochure
Artefact 1 is an arts advocacy brochure designed for distribution to parents during Year 7 Orientation and Open day events. This resource serves multiple purposes in fostering home-school partnerships. Firstly, it provides parents with comprehensive information about the visual arts curriculum their children will encounter, addressing potential concerns or misconceptions about the value of arts education.
By explicitly connecting arts education to the development of 21st-century skills - critical thinking, metacognition, communication, collaboration, and innovation - the brochure helps parents understand how creative subjects contribute to their children's broader educational success (Wijayati et al., 2019).Significantly, this artefact recognises that students often influence their parents' educational perspectives. By designing the brochure to engage both parents and students simultaneously, I acknowledge the complex family dynamics that shape educational decisions.
This dual-audience approach reflects my understanding that effective parent engagement must consider the student as an active participant in home-school partnerships.The brochure's alignment with The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008) demonstrates my commitment to connecting my subject area with broader educational objectives. By articulating how visual arts education supports the development of confident and creative individuals, active and informed citizens, and successful learners, I provide parents with a clear framework for understanding their children's holistic development.
ARTEFACT 2:
PARENT EDUCATION SERIES
Artefact 2 is a video from a 'Parent Education Series' that I produced and personally presented during my educator role at Shichida Australia.
It showcases a different dimension of parent engagement through educational video content. This video, one part of the series, explores the three pillars of Soul Education and demonstrates my capacity to position parents as partners in their children's learning journey.
The video series explicitly acknowledges parents as their children's "first and best teachers," validating their crucial role while offering professional support and guidance.This artefact reflects a more intimate approach to parent engagement, moving beyond information dissemination to genuine partnership building.
By providing insights into educational philosophy and practical guidance for supporting children's development, the video series creates opportunities for meaningful dialogue between educators and families.
The focus on holistic development-engaging both heart and mind-demonstrates my understanding that effective education extends beyond academic achievement to encompass wellbeing and personal growth.
The video format itself represents thoughtful consideration of accessibility and convenience for busy parents. By creating content that families can access at their own pace and revisit as needed, I demonstrate respect for the diverse circumstances and schedules that characterise family life.