Analyzing of the teachers' opinions working at secondary schools on the involvement of the families in education and training process: İstanbul-Sultanbeyli example

Family involvement means sharing information and communication. Children are the products of the school and their cultural environment they are living. Cooperation between school and family is important in terms of development of the student and attain a good quality level in education. Teenagers are the reflection of their families' education. Conducting educational activities with families is crucial in getting the desired objectives in shortest time. The purpose of this study is to try to determine whether demographical features of the teachers working at secondary schools affect the opinions of the teachers on the involvement of the families and to give some recommendations so as to increase family involvement. 150 teachers working at official high schools of the district of Sultanbeyli in Anatolian Side of Istanbul Province have taken part in this study. This study was carried out by using the descriptive survey model. In this study, in order to determine such demographical features like the age, seniority, marital status and gender of the participants, a "Demographical Information Form" consisting of 7 questions and in order to determine the opinions of the families on involvement of education process at secondary level, an "Interview Form on Family Involvement at Secondary Education" consisting of 13 questions which are formed based on open-ended question technique have been used. While determining the opinions of the teachers frequency (f), percentage (%), arithmetic average (X ̅) and standard deviation (sd) have been used. While determining whether there are differences between opinions, arithmetic average (X ̅), standard deviation (sd), t test and variance analysis have been applied based on variable levels. 0,05 has been taken as significance level. In the light of the analysis made, most of the teachers working at secondary schools organize private meetings with parents. Male teachers organize more private meetings with parents when compared to the females. Most of the teachers would like to see parent to talk about the general situation of the student (absenteeism, success in classes, grades taken, disciple problems and etc.). When it comes to the teachers who do not ask parents to come to school for private meetings, it has been detected that the number of the female and young teachers (who are between 28-32) are higher than male and older teachers. Most of female, vocational and education faculty graduate teachers ask parents to come to school for special situations. Married teachers ask parents to come to school both for general and special situations when compared to single teachers. It has been also detected that most of the teachers prefer making phone calls to communicate with parents and they do not make many home visits. It has been analyzed that some of the young teachers do never communicate with parents. Most of the teachers working at secondary schools have specified that families' involvement to their children's education and training process is really necessary for the success, healthy growth and adaptation of the student to the school. Furthermore, the teachers taken part in this study informed that involvement of the families is low and insufficient. This idea has been adopted more by males compared to females and same applies for the teachers who are 43 and above compared to younger ones. While most of the teachers working at secondary schools have specified that some families never involve in their children's education and training process, some others said that parents do not involve in this process sufficiently. Most of the teachers shared their opinions on the reasons of non-involvement levels have mentioned such reasons; low education levels of the families, low economic status of the families, intensive work pace and indifference of the families. Some other teachers have mentioned such reasons; parents' negative attitude towards school, unconsciousness of the family, the quality of the relationship between family and the child and having lots of children. Most of the teachers working at secondary schools have specified low education and cultural levels of the parents, low economic status of the families, and suffering from tiredness because of intensive work pace of working families, lack of communication with school and indifference of the families as hampering factors of family involvement. Most of the teachers working at secondary schools have stated that problems like behavior disorders, adaptation problems, bad habits, academic failure, reluctance towards lessons and school and indifference problems would be experienced in students whose parents do not involve in education and training process. Some other teachers have mentioned that such feelings like feeling of being disliked, feeling lonely and insecure could be experienced in students whose parents do not involve in education and training process. While education faculty graduate teachers think that reluctance towards lessons and school, indifference and lack of motivation could be experienced in students whose parents do not involve in education and training process; teachers graduated from other faculties suggest academic failure for these students. Culture lessons' teachers think that behavior disorders, adaptation problems, gaining bad habits, feeling of being disliked, feeling lonely and insecure could be experienced in students whose parents do not involve in education and training process. Vocational lessons' teachers suggest that academic failure could be experienced by such students. While most of the teachers working at secondary schools have mentioned that conferences and seminars, guidance practices and private meetings can be done with parents so as to increase family involvement in education and training process, others have suggested that some educational and social activities, home visits, phone calls, parents meetings could be organized and some other studies could be done with visual and printed media with the aim of increasing family involvement.