Milada Rabušicová, Klára Šeďová, Kateřina Trnková, Vlastimil Čiháček:

SCHOOL AND/VERSUS THE FAMILY

This book views parents as indispensable participants in education, even under situations in which they delegate their role to schools. Parents are regarded as those who in the imaginary triangle of relations in the educational and training process, besides children and teachers, form another essential vertex, with their opinions and attitudes, even the unspoken and not shown, significantly influencing the operation of schools and educational change in general and potentially forming a very strong political group.

The publication consists of two parts. In the first, the team of authors present the findings of a three-year research project, mostly referring to the roles of the family in relation to schools, to the partnership between parents and schools and its forms, and to the possibilities of support and means of communication between families and schools. These findings are discussed along with information gathered from other sources, studies and theoretical debates on the topic.

The second part consists of four case studies in which the authors have sought a deeper and more detailed understanding of the examined issues. Four schools have thoroughly and in the long run been observed: a kindergarten within the Start Together programme, a community school from a suburb, a small country school, and a school for children with special educational needs. The aim was to identify the strengths and potential pitfalls of the relationship between parents and each of the mentioned types of schools.