Algunos estudios recientes sobre el razonamiento moral

Bush (2018, p. 536) clearly outlines that communication between school leaders and teachers “is vital if schools are to be led and managed successfully”. Effective school leadership requires strong channels of communication, and positive relationships between school leaders and the teaching staff and students can enhance communication channels in schools. As Clark and Clark (2005, p. 57) outline, “effective two-way communication is the foundation on which successful parent/community/school relationships are built”, a point also

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highlighted by Clift et al. (1992, p. 886) who report that a school in their study experienced, “communication between teachers and administration” as a problem which took some three years, and a clear action plan, to bring about improvement. Day and Sammons (2016) also address the need for effective communication in schools; for whilst various circulars, e-mail updates, and regular school newspapers can enhance communication with teachers, students, and parents, it is informal communication such as socialising through positive relationships that can effectively maintain regular communications with teachers and students. Communicating and building a rapport with students can even occur during breaks or whilst students are waiting for their transport during dismissal. Doll (2010, p. 16) remarks that school leaders should “protect” some time every day for teachers and students to talk together. Brewster and Railsback (2003, p. 16) suggest that school leaders can enhance communication “by making time in the schedule for teachers to work together” whilst, as also suggested by the OECD (2009, p. 45), “colleagues need to communicate through meaningful professional conversations around evidence”. Moreover, Barth (2006) suggests that there is no more crucial role for any school leader than to make it possible for adults to discuss their professional relationships, and whilst communication with parents may be challenging, is vital in order “to help youngsters succeed in school and in later life” (Epstein, 2010, p. 82) and each school needs to decide how it will make a start in developing parental involvement (Epstein and Dauber, 1991, p. 302).

2.5.3.1 Communication with Parents.

Epstein (2010, p. 82) suggests that “schools make choices” about how and how frequently they communicate with parents, but Clark and Clark (2005, p. 54) see parents and the local community as an untapped resource in many schools. This may arise due to various situations through the day-to-day running of the school including a non-ending list of tasks and decisions required by a school leader and so parents may be neglected in many schools. Flessa (2008) observed that school leaders were not attending to parents due to what he described as new accountability pressures on a daily basis that impede parental involvement. Similarly, Clark and Clark (2005) found out that leaders in their study had little

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time to devote to developing relationships between parents and members of the school community. Meanwhile,

It is no longer acceptable for schools, colleges or any other educational setting to act in an autocratic or god-like way, claiming to know ‘what is best’ for learners and their families and ignoring the wishes and feelings of the communities they serve (Sood et al., 2018, p. 85).

The leader’s positive relationships and his/her attitude towards communication with parents influences whether parents are “involved in and contribute to the everyday activities of the school, or whether they feel too intimidated to enter the school gates” (Barr and Saltmarsh, 2014, p. 501). Positive relationships of school leaders can yield to more communication with parents even when parents visit schools to observe classrooms or when picking or dropping off their children as “the community’s culture becomes familiar and welcoming” (Doll, 2010, p. 13). Orientation meetings with parents before the beginning of the scholastic year, seminars and conferences on various parental skills, and school information for parents at convenient times for all working parents do say a lot about inviting parents to come to school. Epstein (2010, p. 93-94) reports that the “I Care Program” held in the Baltimore project which included an “I Care Parent Club”, and an “I Care Newsletter”, were amongst numerous activities and events in order to enhance communication between teachers, students and their families. Doll (2010, p. 16) also suggests having activities and events that both teachers and parents enjoy and through these activities, positive relationships are strengthened whilst also reinforcing the shared commitments between teachers, students, and families.

Communicating with parents can help to increase links between the parents and teachers as studies over several decades have shown that communication can ultimately lead to improve student achievement and outcomes (Epstein, 1987; Tschannen-Moran, 2001). Chapman and Harris (2003, p. 2) demonstrate that parents were instrumental in the improvement of teaching and learning as “a strong clear commitment to academic achievement was regularly communicated to parents”. By having regular communications and interactions between schools and families, students are more likely to perceive common insights from teachers and parents about the importance of school, amongst other significant values (Lee

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and Burkam, 2003; Epstein, 2010). Regular communication with parents can help in managing positive behaviour in schools. School leaders do not usually know all the parents and an interesting concern addressed by Clark and Clark (2005) is that school leaders often know the expectations of parents of students with disability and other conditions and also of parents of high achieving students, as usually school leaders have frequent contact with these parents. Moreover, some school leaders meet parents of students who need to be disciplined or after being sanctioned; however, tackling certain situations, even with parents “takes time and perseverance” (Epstein 1987, p. 120). Thus Doll (2010, p. 14) suggests that it is essential to have established professional relationships with parents prior to any difficulties whilst allowing them to help in resolving any struggles or clashes that might arise.

Schools often have a school council or an association made up of teachers and parents. Whilst I suggest that this should not be the only involvement of parents, Sebring and Bryk (2000, p. 442) recognise that productive schools have active councils and committed parents, and the school council can serve to build and maintain the school community. As suggested by Tschannen-Moran (2001), the school council can help to gain support for the school and can be a means of improving the ways in which schools respond to community needs and issues. Parents can act as school ambassadors, recommending the school to other parents and the community, as Heystek (1999, p. 97) found, parents can be crucial partners in a school community. With various groups within the communities sharing similar values, this can help to improve relationships between schools and families.

In the 1980s, Epstein, (1987) argued that because family life and make-up was changing, parents may not be available due to early or late shifts or shifting from one full-time to another part-time job. Reporting on work in the 1990s, Heystek (1999) sustained that most parents neglected their mission to be involved in school activities and although this view is the one that many school leaders hold to by arguing that parents need to show enthusiasm and participate in the school activities, more recently, Barr and Saltmarsh (2014, p. 500) report that things

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have changed, and rather than them not being interested in involvement in their child’s school, they felt unlistened to and excluded from participating – or in some cases – entering the school. Barr and Saltmarsh (2014) ask leaders to reflect and think about the crucial role of necessary communication through positive relationships with parents because, as Flessa (2008, p. 21) observes, “parental involvement is an important aspiration for schools”.