Resources for schools

Parent and community engagement

Select the topic below to see the relevant resources:

• Tools and resources
• Examples of school-based Parent and community engagement frameworks
• Case studies
• Advancing partnerships case studies
• Additional case studies
• Research and other links
• What’s happening interstate and overseas?

Tools and resources

• Parent and community engagement (PACE)—professional learning guide
• Video: Principal leadership for Parent-School-Community education
• PACE actionable playbook—guides evidence-informed improvement in effective PACE strategies
• Video: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)—engaging parents/carers
• School improvement inquiry cycle action plans
• Communication
• Partnerships with parents
• Community collaboration
• Decision-making
• School culture
• Ways for schools and teachers to support parents to engage in their children’s learning
• Parent and community engagement—every student with disability succeeding
• Every student with disability succeeding poster—consulting with parents
• Parent and community engagement in rural and remote state schools
• School Opinion Survey—parent/caregiver school report may be useful for determining what parent and community engagement strategies work well and help to identify areas of improvement
• AITSL—resources to support parent engagement (accomplished teachers)

Examples of school-based Parent and community engagement frameworks

• Berrinba East State School (PDF, 937KB)
• Wooroolin State School (PDF, 4.4MB)

Case studies

Advancing partnerships case studies

• Barkly Highway State School case study
• Bray Park State High School case study
• Gaven State School case study
• Heatley State School case study
• Kilcummin State School case study
• Lawnton State School case study
• Mareeba State School case study
• Maryborough Special School case study
• Warwick Central State School case study

Additional case studies

• Video: Mitchell State School—Paint the Town Read—community partnerships foster inclusion and improved literacy
• Video: Richlands East State School—school culture embraces diversity
• Pimlico State High School case study—improved school-parent communication increases student attendance and engagement
• School and Region Reviews (SRR) research papers—analyses Queensland state school reviews and includes some case studies for schools using parent and/or community engagement for school improvement.

Research and other links

• Australian Government (Department of Education and Training)
  • Family-School Partnerships—find out about the framework, aimed at promoting and guiding partnership building between families, schools and the community
  • Parent engagement in children's learning—access a range of initiatives and resources aimed at helping parents, schools and communities work together to improve their child’s learning
  • Parent engagement in learning—access a range of factsheets for parents and schools about effective parent and school partnerships
• Australian Council for Education Research—Parents for school improvement: Case studies of school–community partnerships in Australia (PDF, 4.1MB) (2013)
• Australian Council for Educational Research—Parents and teachers working together
• Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (Australian Parent Engagement Network)
• Parent and family engagement—an implementation guide for school communities (2020) (PDF, 12MB)
• Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research (PDF, 1.6MB)—highlights the benefits of parental engagement, what works and effective strategies
• Enhancing parent engagement to help close the gap in high Aboriginal enrolment schools
• Parent engagement in communities with low socioeconomic status
• Towards a shared understanding of parent engagement
• Government of South Australia—Towards best practice in parent involvement in education: A literature review (2014)—a report identifying the current key directions and issues relating to the involvement of parents in children’s educations
• National Curriculum Services Pty Ltd—What works. The Work Program. Sustainable school and community partnerships—a research study—improving outcomes for Indigenous students (2013)
• Organisation for economic co-operation and development
• Let's read them a story! The parent factor in education (PDF, 5.6MB)
• Parental involvement in selected PISA countries and economies
• Partners in Education—A dual capacity building framework for family-school partnerships—a publication of Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) (PDF, 11MB) through contract with Karen L. Mapp and Paul J. Kuttner (2013)
• Queensland Independent Schools Parent’s Network—Resources for schools—Parent engagement frameworks for schools
• Research article: Why community engagement matters in school turnaround (PDF, 104KB)—Sara McAlister (2013)
• University of Queensland—parent engagement in schools
• University of Queensland—principal leadership for parent-school-community engagement (PDF, 1.6MB) (conducted in partnership with the Queensland Department of Education).

What’s happening interstate and overseas?

The following links show what's happening in parent/family engagement in other states and countries:

• Australian Capital Territory (ACT): Parent engagement in ACT schools
• South Australia: Parent engagement framework—building parent-school partnerships
• Tasmania: Parent engagement resources and research for parents and schools
• Victoria: Dimensions: parents and carers as partners
• Western Australia: Engaging and working with your community—a resource for principals to use with their school community
• New Mexico: Working Together—school, family and community partnerships
• Video clip: Linking family engagement to learning: Dr Karen Mapp's '8 for 8'—Harvard Graduate School of Education (2014).