Dr Jana Kalin, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts; e-mail: jana.kalin@guest.arnes.si 
Abstract: In this paper, we try to determine to what extent co-operation between teachers and 
parents, as well as the involvement of parents in their child’s school work both at home and at school, 
contributes to better learning achievements of that child. Furthermore, it is important to determine 
how the involvement of parents and co-operation between teachers and parents should be carried 
out to ensure optimal results. In the fi rst part of this paper, we present conclusions of studies of this 
question performed abroad, while in the second part we will interpret some of the fi ndings of the 
study we carried out on a representative sample of primary school teachers and parents of primary 
school children. We wanted to determine the importance of various reasons for co-operation between 
teachers and parents from the point of view of both teachers and parents, in relation to the child’s 
learning achievements, his or her wellbeing among school mates, and the teacher-pupil relationship, 
as well as to determine what attitudes teachers and parents have in relation to the burden parents 
feel due to their child’s school obligations, and to what extent parents can help their child prepare 
for school, in the teachers’ and parents’ opinions. This paper opens new questions on the possibilities 
and the strength of co-operation between teachers and parents and on the necessary mechanisms 
for the parents to be adequately involved, which bring concrete results in the area of child’s learning 
achievement. 
 
Key words: co-operation of teachers and parents, partnership, involvement of parents, learning 
achievement, optimal development
 
UDK: 
Teacher – parent partnership in the 
light of ensuring better pupils’ learning 
achievements
CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008, 10–30
Dr Jana Kalin
10 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008

Introduction 
The basic trend of contemporary co-operation between teachers and paren-
ts is to ensure and encourage their partnership. This infl uences the change of 
forms, methods and the content of work with parents, and impacts the formal 
organization and development of a more genuine relationship between teachers 
and parents. A partnership gives parents more rights, thus increasing their re-
sponsibility for their child’s socialization and home studying (Resman 1992, p. 
35). In their care for the child, the school and parents should build a partner-
ship, since their mutual tie and common interest is an individual, supported by 
parents at home and by teachers at school. Burden (1995, p. 196) specifi es the 
following reasons for working with parents: 
− Establishing open, two-way communication,
− Understanding (and reacting to) pupils’ domestic situations,
− Providing parents with information on the school’s expectations, events 
and on the pupil’s behaviour,
− Involving parents in school work,
− Informing parents of expectations concerning discipline and measures 
taken in this respect,
− Encouraging parents to assist their children with school work.
Of the reasons provided, quite a few are closely related to the teaching 
process and the child’s studying in general. The basic aim of co-operation and 
partnership between teachers and parents is to enable the child’s most optimal 
development, and to ensure good performance in various areas. The child’s futu-
re life and his professional career will also depend on this co-operation. 
Establishing a partnership depends on the school’s type, its level and aims, 
as well as on its orientation (greater orientation in socialization or greater con-
cern for learning and learning achievements) and expectations. The expecta-
tions of schools, teachers and parents are never identical, but can be more or 
less co-ordinated (see in more detail: Kalin 2001, Kalin 2003). This involves 
many objective and subjective circumstances which encourage or hinder their 
co-operation. 
 11

What involvement of parents means
Involvement of parents can be understood in a number of ways. Some use 
this term as a synonym for co-operation, participation of parents, parents’ au-
thority, and the partnership between the school, family and the community (Ep-
stein, 1996 in Soo-Yin, 2003; Wolfendale, 1989 in Soo-Yin, 2003). The involve-
ment of parents may take various forms and be of different levels, both in and 
out of school. It includes all activities the school facilitates and stimulates, sup-
porting parents in their actions, with the aim of improving the child’s learning 
and development. Epstein (1996 in Soo-Yin, 2003) has expanded this concept 
from the »involvement of parents« to a »partnership between school, family and 
community«, in order to put special emphasis on the fact that each child learns 
and develops within three contexts: the school, his family and the wider commu-
nity. All three contexts shall be taken into consideration as a whole, since they 
are expressed as such in the education system and the learning process of each 
individual child. 
It is important for every school to encourage and facilitate teacher – parent 
partnerships, which increase the involvement of parents and their participation 
in encouraging the social, emotional and intellectual development of their child 
(Children’s Defense Foundation 2000, p. 64 in Soo-Yin, 2003). School, parents 
and the community should be aware of their interaction and should together 
create a vision and understand the role of individual factors in relation to the 
roles of others. Such co-operation is necessary to ensure the support and the 
assistance which every child needs to succeed at school. 
Pomerantz et al. (2007, p. 374) emphasize that there are two distinct 
types of involvement of parents in the education of their child: involvement at 
home, and involvement in school. Involvement at school requires direct contact 
between parents and teachers, or the school, such as: co-operation in parental 
meetings and consultation hours for parents, attendance at school events or 
voluntary activities at school. Research conducted in the USA (U.S. Department 
of Education 2006 in Pomerantz et al., 2007) indicates that around two thirds 
of parents – regardless of their ethnic origin – were included in school work 
through parental meetings and school events. This is surpassed by the involve-
ment of parents with higher socio-economic status and higher formal education. 
Less frequent, however, is the involvement of parents as volunteers, especially 
among less-educated parents and those belonging to other linguistic and cultu-
ral groups (ibid.). 
The involvement of parents at home represents parents’ activities in re-
lation to school, which take place outside school, but not necessarily at home. 
Such activities may be directly linked to school, such as assisting the child with 
his school obligations, providing good learning conditions, ensuring an adequate 
place to learn, providing assistance in home assignments, giving advice on the 
selection of elective subjects, reacting to the child’s learning efforts (assistance 
in the selection of project topics and seminar papers, test achievements) and 
discussing school matters with the child (what has happened at school, the im-
12 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

portance of working at school, etc.). The characteristic of the involvement of 
parents at home represents also the child’s involvement in intellectual activities 
(reading books with the child, visiting libraries, museums, galleries, and so on) 
which are not directly linked to school as such. Grolnick and Slowiaczek (1994 
in Pomerantz et al., 2007) called such activities cognitive-intellectual involve-
ment. 
The two forms – integration at school and integration at home – may of 
course be directly linked to each other and intervowen. Parents may participate 
in two ways – at home and at school by using two basic models: the model for 
development of skills, and the model for development of motivation (Pomerantz 
et al. 2007, p. 376). 
The skill development model includes the development of cognitive skills 
(e.g. linguistic skills) and metacognitive skills – learning planning, monitoring 
and self-control. There are several reasons why the involvement of parents may 
positively infl uence the development of these skills in children: parents obtain 
appropriate information on how and what their children learn at school and this 
can be used when helping their children develop their abilities, while parents 
in this manner get to know their child’s abilities and are able to offer the child 
suitable assistance at the level which will ensure their optimal development; 
at home, parents may facilitate learning from practice and experience. Some 
authors (Epstein and Becker, 1982 in Pomerantz et al., 2007) also stress that 
when parents are involved, teachers give more attention to development of the 
child’s skills and become themselves even more involved. 
The motivation development model means that involvement of parents en-
courages the child’s achievements, because it gives the child different sources 
of motivation, such as monitoring his academic achievements, or positive per-
ception of his or her abilities. If parents participate in the child’s life at school, 
they emphasize the value of school for the child, which helps him view school as 
important; in the course of time they may be able to internalize school values as 
such and their learning may become internally motivated to a greater extent. 
Parents, together with their actions, present them a model for how to control 
developments and make positive changes. Through involvement of parents, chi-
ldren are also more familiar with school tasks, which may lead them to believe 
that they are able to solve academic tasks (Pomerantz et al., 2007).
Parents may provide sources which infl uence the development of skills and 
motivation in children, and also help them develop skills, which in turn enhance 
their motivation. 
Advantages of involving parents in school – what research indicates
Several researches into the involvement of parents and their impact on 
their child’s learning achievements have been carried out from the early ei-
ghties of the past century (Pomerantz et al., 2007). Research was conducted 
in two basic directions – studying of the actual integration of parents and re-
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 13

searching the interventions/initiatives aimed at encouraging the involvement 
of parents. The fi rst type of research revealed that the involvement of parents 
in school benefi ts the child in regards to his achievements; however, researches 
on the involvement of parents at home are less consistent regarding positive 
effects. Since the involvement of parents at home is one of the oldest forms of 
involvement for the majority of parents, it should give rise to the question what 
type and manner of co-operation brings the best results. Researches into va-
rious initiatives, with the aim of encouraging the involvement of parents, show 
lesser infl uence than those on direct involvement of parents. It is true, however, 
that there has not been enough relevant research in this area in order to come 
to any certain conclusions.
Research into the involvement of parents, where teachers and parents con-
tinually support and encourage the child’s learning and development, shows po-
sitive effects on children, family and school (Bronfenbrenner, 1974, 1979; Eccles 
& Harold, 1993; Henderson, 1987; Illinois State Board of Education, 1993, all 
in Soo-Yin, 2003). As Henderson and Berla (1994) state, the most appropriate 
indicator of pupil’s success at school is not the fi nancial or social status of his 
family, but the degree to which the child’s family is capable of:
− Creating a family environment which encourages/supports learning,
− Expressing high (but not unreal) expectations for their child’s learning 
achievement and his future career,
− Getting involved in the child’s school and community education.
Henderson and Berla (1994) have examined and analysed 85 studies con-
cerning the advantages of involving parents in the education of their child. 
Well-planned and successful involvement of parents has positive effects on the 
child and parents, as well as teachers and the school as a whole. The advantage 
for the child lies in his endeavour to achieve better learning results, in higher 
consistency of homework and his attendance at school, his increased self-con-
fi dence, in higher self-discipline; he also shows higher aspirations and school 
motivation. The positive attitude of a child towards school is often manifested 
in his improved class behaviour and as a decrease in the number of discipline 
problems.
An advantage for parents who are more closely connected with their chi-
ldren and have frequent conversations with them is in that they become more 
sensitive to their child’s social, emotional and intellectual needs. In addition, 
parents have more confi dence in their parental role and decision-making skills, 
and after obtaining better insight in the child’s development, they use more 
methods of positive encouragement and less punishment, and better under-
stand the teacher’s work and the school curriculum. If parents know what their 
child learns at school, they will be more willing to actively take part in working 
with their child at home, when teachers expect it. The view of parents on school 
improves and closer inter-relation and sense of belonging to the school are esta-
blished.
The benefi ts for teachers manifest largely in the professional work of tea-
chers and headmasters, in improved communication and relationships between 
14 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

parents, teachers and school head staff, in teachers and headmasters better 
understanding the cultural setting of each family, and being able to create dee-
per respect for parents’ abilities and their time. Teachers and headmasters also 
report greater professional satisfaction.
Schools that actively involve parents and their communities have a better 
reputation in the community and enjoy greater support, while school program-
mes that encourage and integrate parents usually have better performance and 
achieve higher quality than those not including parents. 
Researchers have confi rmed that overall involvement of parents represen-
ts a positive contribution to learning and the learning achievements of children 
and adolescents (Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, 1997 in Gonzalez-DeHass et al., 
2005, p. 100). Studies including pupils of different ages show that learning re-
sults are better when the family is actively involved (Hendeson and Berla, 1994 
in Gonzalez-DeHass et al., 2005). These studies prove there is a close relation 
between the involvement of parents and the learning achievement of pupils, 
their wellbeing, attendance at school, views of pupils, their homework assign-
ments, school marks and their educational aspirations. This also links to higher 
learning achievements of pupils, the time spent for their homework, a more 
favourable attitude towards school and lower number of pupils who quit school 
(»dropouts«).
In their study, Gonzalez-DeHass et al. (2005) made a comparative analysis 
of the research and noted a signifi cant interaction between parent involvement 
and pupil motivation. Due to greater involvement of parents, pupils have de-
monstrated greater efforts, concentration and school attendance. Pupils were 
more interested in learning and demonstrated better achievements. Pupils 
whose parents get involved assume a higher degree of personal responsibility 
for their learning. When parents are interested in the education of their chil-
dren, pupils develop more target-oriented learning, in which they look more for 
challenging tasks, persist in academic challenges, and are satisfi ed with their 
school work. 
There are of course several reasons for such results, as they also have se-
veral implications. We can search for these reasons in various directions (Gon-
zalez-DeHass et al., 2005): 
1. Involvement of parents contributes to pupil’s self-control of learning and to a 
realistic perception of his or her learning capacities. When parents represent 
a source of pupils’ home activities, the school and home environments 
become closer. The child feels more confi dent when facing learning activities 
at school. Parents may support their child in shaping new strategies 
of action. When the child sees an example in his parents as trustworthy 
learning partners, he is able to better judge his own abilities and actions 
(Adunyarittigun, 1997 in Gonzalez-DeHass et al., 2005, p. 118). 
2. Involvement of parents provides a sense of security and affi liation. When 
children encounter intellectual, social and personal challenges on a daily 
basis, their parents set them limits, provide encouragement, and act as 
a source of knowledge. Parents taking part in school activities show how 
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 15

important their children are to them (Grolnick and Slowiaczek, 1994 in 
Gonzalez-DeHass et al., 2005, p. 119), which is an extremely important 
message for the child to receive. 
3. The involvement of parents helps pupils internalize educational values. 
Through their involvement, parents communicate to their child how 
important education is for them. Pupils’ motivation increases when they 
see their parents take an active role and show an interest for school. This 
is a home-based support system which stimulates the value of education. 
When pupils see that their parents value the importance of school efforts 
and achievements, they are also more motivated and have higher perception 
of their learning capacity (Marchant et al., 2001 in Gonzalez-DeHass et al., 
2005, p. 119). 
4. A pupil’s motivation enhances parent involvement. Parents may get more 
involved when they believe that their children are motivated; likewise, a 
motivated child may demand greater involvement of parents.
Pomerantz et al. (2007) conclude their extensive study of various resear-
ches into the involvement of parents with the observation that adequate invol-
vement of parents has an impact on higher learning achievements of the child, 
his mental health, and is a positive contribution to the child’s emotional and 
social development.
Despite the fact that many teachers and schools have accepted the concept 
of involvement of parents and are aware of its impact on the child, many of them 
have not as yet transferred this knowledge and belief into practice. A number 
of studies confi rm that parents are interested in co-operation at all levels, from 
attending individual events to decision-making at the school level. Many paren-
ts often still do not know how to enter into co-operation. It is, therefore, more a 
problem of parents’ lacking knowledge of how to get involved rather than a low 
degree of interest (Nichols, 1991 in Soo-Yin, 2003).
 
Involvement of parents in their children’s home assignments
Learning at home serves various purposes besides enhancing the child’s 
learning experience. It stimulates, supports and enhances learning that has 
already started at school (Trahan & Lawer-Prince, 1999, in Soo-Yin, 2003). When 
referring to home work, we may speak of learning through play, of homework 
assignments and activities closely related to the school curriculum – from lear-
ning mathematics to natural and social sciences, as well as languages. Parents 
help their children in setting their goals for a particular school year or for the 
future, advise them in their choice of elective subjects and in extra-curricular 
activities. For all these activities, parents may or may not obtain certain orien-
tations and guidelines from teachers. Epstein (1987 in Soo-Yin, 2003) speaks of 
two types of activities that parents develop at home. He quotes common skills 
or behaviour, and specifi c skills. Common skills are those stimulating critical 
thinking, problem solving skills, development of language skills, development of 
social and emotional skills, or development of specifi c behaviour. Specifi c skills 
16 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

are those which integrate family and parents to assist a child in examining, 
completing or complementing the skills he has begun developing with his tea-
cher in the class and during lessons. Most parents help their children on the ba-
sis of their past experience in schooling and their acquired knowledge of school 
subjects. Parents mostly desire to obtain more information on their child’s home 
assignments, the rules on home assignments and approaches which they could 
use to help their child in the learning process. The question is whether parents 
have enough knowledge to provide adequate assistance to their child.
According to Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2001 in Jordan et al., 2001), research 
shows that involvement of parents in assisting their children with homework 
encompasses several questions, namely questions concerning the content, pro-
cesses and results of parent involvement. It would be worthwhile to study the 
motivation of parents to help their children, the dynamics of effi cient interaction 
between parents and the child during assistance with homework, and specifi c 
mechanisms of involvement infl uencing pupil’s learning results.
Involvement of parents in homework may infl uence pupil’s achievements 
through different types of activities, such as imitation, encouragement and di-
rect teaching. Moreover, it may also show a more extensive infl uence, for instan-
ce changing child’s attitudes to homework, perception of his or her abilities, and 
self-control. The issues worth exploring in the future are processes and results 
of parents’ help to a child and study of different activities through which parents 
encourage and infl uence effi cient home work of pupils. 
Training parents to assist their children with their home work
Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2001 in Jordan et al., 2001) point out that parents 
get involved in homework because they are persuaded that their co-operation is 
needed as to bring about certain changes, and that their involvement is expected. 
In literature it can also be observed that parents want to know more about the 
teacher’s aims concerning homework and how to be more effi cient in assisting 
their child. Some of them (Faires et al., 2000 in Jordan et al., 2001) propose 
educational programmes for parents in order to use subject-specifi c strategies 
of aid with homework that support pupil’s progress and learning. The question 
is, however, how to effectively educate parents to obtain skills for providing such 
assistance to their child. Training Latin American mothers for reading activities 
with their child at home proved a particular success in the USA, and resulted in 
better school performance (Melzi et al., 2000 in Jordan et al., 2001). 
Parents may, despite their positive attitude towards assisting their chi-
ld with homework, be under stress regarding homework, their own limited 
knowledge of certain subject areas and relevant strategies they should apply 
in working with their child. It would be interesting to fi nd out how teachers 
and other school staff can effectively support parent assistance in pupils’ ho-
mework. 
Homework that requires interaction between parents and the child as part 
of an activity, may be, according to certain authors, a way of supporting the 
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 17

involvement of parents and increasing pupil’s achievements. Homework, parti-
cularly that which is planned by teachers to stimulate the interactions between 
parents and their child, has shown positive results in different subject areas 
(Epstein et al., 1997 in Jordan et al., 2001; Van Voorhis, 2000 in Jordan et al., 
2001). Van Voorhis emphasizes that well-planned tasks requiring interaction 
may have various positive effects: they may help the child develop learning 
strategies, prepare lessons, participate in learning situations, develop personal 
responsibility for homework, as well as stimulate mutual relations between the 
parents and their child, and develop communication between parents and the 
teacher. Teachers should consider and systematically plan tasks that require in-
teraction between parents and their child to specifi cally stimulate involvement 
of parents and achievements of pupils.
Naturally, the methods, as well as the infl uence of parent assistance and 
involvement, vary depending on the child’s age. Nevertheless, authors (Walker 
and Hoover-Dempsey, 2001 in Jordan et al., 2001) point out that it is necessary 
to maintain tasks that encourage the interaction between parents and children 
also with older children. The amount and adequacy of aid should be regulated 
in respect to the child’s age. Studies of home assignments in Slovenia (^agran 
1990, ^agran 1993a, ^agran 1993b, ^agran 1993c, ^agran 1997) included re-
search into their effectiveness and investigation of innovations regarding con-
ventional practice in home assignments. ^agran (1993c) specifi cally points out 
the effectiveness of unconventional home assignments’ practices which more 
than usual emphasize the teacher’s role in planning, transmitting, carrying out 
and assessing home assignments. The role of parents is presented in the process 
of carrying out home assignments in terms of their co-operation and »optimal 
assistance in relation to the child’s age and both physiological and psychologi-
cal characteristics without limiting the child’s independence« (^agran 1993c, p. 
251). 
The purpose of the research
Within the goal-oriented research project »Vzvodi uspe{nega sodelovanja 
med domom in {olo: sodobne re{itve in perspektive (Levers of successful co-
operation between the school and home: modern solutions and perspectives)« 
(Kalin et al. 2008) we were interested in how teachers and parents evaluate 
mutual co-operation and which are the key problems of such co-operation. We 
gave special attention to identifying drivers of change – improvement of co-ope-
ration of school and family, teachers and parents. In this paper we will limit our 
discussion only to a part of fi ndings linked to the following research questions: 
1. To what extent are a child’s learning achievements, his or her wellbeing 
among school mates and the teacher-child relationship factors of co-
operation between teachers and parents?
2. To what extent can parents help their child in preparing for school and 
lessons according to teachers’ and parents’ opinions?
18 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

3. What are teachers’ and parents’ attitudes regarding overburdening parents 
with their child’s school obligations?
4. Are there any statistically signifi cant differences between teachers and 
parents in answering the above-mentioned questions?
5. Are there statistically signifi cant differences between parents in answering 
the above-mentioned questions depending on their gender, level of edu-
cation, number of children in family, the grade attended by their child and 
their child’s learning success?
6. Are there statistically signifi cant differences between teachers in answering 
the above-mentioned questions depending on their years of teaching 
experience, the triad they teach or whether and they come from an urban 
or non-urban school?
Method 
We used a descriptive and causal-non-experimental method of pedagogical 
research. The basic population included all primary schools in Slovenia (N = 
448), which were further divided into two strongly distinguished strata, namely 
urban (N = 237) and non-urban schools (N = 211). Strata were conceived as in-
dependent groups within the entire basic group. We then randomly selected 20 
urban and 20 non-urban primary schools from the abovementioned strata, thus 
forming the random sample at the fi rst level. At each school we selected ’a’ clas-
ses of the 3
rd
 grade, 5
th
/6
th
 grade and 9
th
 grade and distributed questionnaires to 
the parents of the pupils. We received 1690 completed questionnaires. All the 
teachers at all forty schools of the random sample were included in the research. 
We received 467 completed questionnaires.
Anonymity was ensured to both teachers and parents. Questionnaires for 
teachers and parents contained multiple choice questions, scales and open-
end questions. We made telephone contact with all the schools included in 
the sample, explained the contextual guidelines of the research and asked for 
their co-operation. Simultaneously we acquired data of the number of children 
in ’a’ classes of the third, fi fth/sixth and ninth grade and the number of tea-
chers at each particular school. We sent questionnaires to schools by post in 
November 2007, and we received the completed questionnaires towards the 
end of December 2007 and in the beginning of January 2008. The data was 
processed with the SPSS statistical package, using descriptive statistical and 
hi-square test. 
Results and interpretation
To what extent pupils’ learning achievements, their wellbeing among school 
mates and the teacher-child relationship depend on co-operation between tea-
chers and children.
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 19

Parents enter into co-operation with the teacher for various reasons, and 
their expectations usually also vary to a large degree. The same is true for tea-
chers. We tried to verify varied expectations by asking teachers and parents 
which is the most important reason of co-operation, and how they rank three 
basic reasons: child’s learning achievement, child’s wellbeing among school ma-
tes and the teacher-child relationship. Both parents and teachers ranked these 
three reasons according to importance using the following scale: 1 – the most 
important reason for me, 2 – reason of medium importance, and 3 – the least 
important reason to co-operate for me. Ranking of each of the reasons is presen-
ted below. 
Let us fi rst have a look at the results of comparison for the whole sample in 
terms of percentage of parents’ and teachers’ answers.
Parents’ most frequent fi rst ranking answer is the teacher-child relation-
ship (45.8 %). The child’s wellbeing among their school mates is the most fre-
quent second ranking answer (37.9 %), however it was closely followed by the 
teacher-child relationship (37.4 %). The most frequently third ranking answer 
is the child’s learning achievement (48.9 %). 
Teachers most often chose the child’s wellbeing among school mates as their 
fi rst ranking answer (42.1 %) – this also appears as the second ranking answer 
in the same percentage of responses. The most frequently chosen third ranking 
reason is the learning achievement of the pupil with 56.5 % of answers.
Parents with primary, vocational and secondary education more often cite 
learning success as the most important reason – parents with primary educa-
tion gave this answer in 31.4 % of cases, while the share of parents with highest 
education, ranking learning success in fi rst place, is 22.7 %. The latter most of-
ten (53.5 %) rate learning success as the least important reason for co-operation 
with teachers. Parents with a higher level of education more often mention their 
child’s wellbeing among school mates as the most important reason for co-opera-
tion – 41.5% of parents with a university degree responded this way. 
Among all groups of parents, parents with one child most often cited lear-
PARENTS TEACHERS
Learning 
achievement
Wellbeing Relationship 
with 
teachers
Learning 
achieve-
ment
Wellbeing Relationship 
with 
teachers
F f % f f % F f % f f % f f % F f %
1 384 26.3 408 27.9 668 45.8 101 22.4 190 42.1 160 35.5
2 362 24.8 554 37.9 545 37.4 95 22.1 190 42.1 166 36.8
3 714 48.9 498 34.1 247 16.8 255 56.5 71 15.7 125 27.7
Total 1460 100 1460 100 1460 100 451 100 451 100 451 100
Table 1: Comparison of reasons for co-operation between teachers and parents by their importance.
Legend: 1 – the most important reason for me, 2 – reason of medium importance, 3 – the least impor-
tant reason to co-operate for me.
20 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

ning success as the most important reason for co-operating with teachers. The 
frequency of the answer that the child’s wellbeing among school mates is the 
most important reason for co-operation increases in line with the increase in the 
number of children in the family in question. 
Teachers most often chose child’s wellbeing among school mates as the 
most important reason (42.1 %). Child’s relationship with teacher is a less im-
portant reason for teachers, while parents mention it as the most important. It 
is noteworthy that out of all three reasons, learning success is the least impor-
tant for both teachers and parents.
Parents’ assisting their children in preparing for school and lessons
We were interested in teachers’ and parents’ views on the question to what 
extent parents can help their child prepare for school and lessons, and to what 
extent teachers and parents believe that parents are overburdened with their 
child’s school obligations. Involvement of parents in helping the child with ho-
mework poses various questions: from the parents’ motivation in helping their 
child, to strategies parents use to help their child. A special question thus opens 
concerning qualifi cation of parents to give such help and concerning the neces-
sity to educate parents as to how to help their child in a more suitable way.
We established that parents and teachers show statistically signifi cant dif-
ferences (χ
2
 = 2.446E2; g = 2, α = 0.000) in their answers on how parents can 
help their child prepare for school and lessons.
65.8 % of the parents in the sample estimate that they know how to help 
their child in almost all subjects if necessary . T eachers chose this answer in 27.3 % 
of cases. Most teachers (71.2 %) estimate that parents know how to help their 
child in only some subjects; this answer appears in parents in 30.8 % of cases. 
3.4 % of parents and 1.5 % of teachers say that they do not know how to help in 
any subject. 
Parents are therefore more confi dent of their own abilities to help, while 
teachers recorded the answer that parents can help to a lesser degree. 
Do you view that you can help your child prepare for school and lessons?
I can help with 
all subjects
I can help with 
some subjects
Almost with none 
of the subjects
Total
Parents
f
1084 507 56 1647
f %
65.8 30.8 3.4 100.0
Teachers
f
125 326 7 458
f %
27.3 71.2 1.5 100.0
Total
f
1209 833 63 2105
f %
57.4 39.6 3.0 100.0
Table 2: Teachers’ and parents’ attitudes on how parents can help their child prepare for school and 
lessons.
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 21

In relation to achieved education we established statistically signifi cant 
differences (χ
2
 = 2.154E2; g = 4, α = 0.000) in the responses to the question how 
parents can help their child in preparations for school and lessons. 
As many as 88.8 % of parents with the highest education answered that 
they can help their child in all subjects, while this percentage decreases in line 
with the level of achieved education and reaches 43.2 % in parents with only 
primary and vocational education. These parents answered in the highest de-
gree (49.1 %) that they can help their child with some subjects. 10.7 % of the 
highest educated parents chose this answer, although we expected this share to 
be smaller. Parents with the lowest education stated that they cannot help their 
child with any of the subjects in the highest share (7.7 %). 
We established statistically signifi cant differences in relation to the number 
of children in the family (χ
2
 = 46.273; g = 6, α = 0.000) regarding the question on 
helping their child prepare for school and lessons. The share of parents' answers 
that they can help their child in all subjects decreases with the number of chil-
dren in the family – this is stated by 74.2 % of parents with one child and 55.6 % 
of parents with four or more children. The share of answers that they can help 
with some subjects increases from 24.2 % in parents with one child to 30.6 % 
in parents with four and more children.
Parents' answers differ in a statistically signifi cant degree in relation to 
the child's learning achievements (χ
2
 = 2.2828E2; g = 4, α = 0.000). Parents 
of children for whom descriptive assessment is used, can help their child with 
all subjects in 90.6 % of cases; the lowest share (33.8 %) of these answers is 
among parents of children with good, satisfactory and unsatisfactory learning 
achievements. These parents contribute the highest share of answers that they 
Do you view that you can help your child prepare for school 
and lessons?
I can help with 
all subjects
I can help with 
some subjects
Almost with 
none of the 
subjects
Total
Education:
PS + VS
f
202 230 36 468
f % 43.2 49.1 7.7 100.0
SS
f 493 218 17 728
f %
67.7 29.9 2.3 100.0
Coll.+Univ. 
and above
f 372 45 2 419
f %
88.8 10.7 0.5 100.0
Total
f 1067 493 55 1615
f % 66.1 30.5 3.4 100.0
Table 3: Teachers’ and parents’ views on how parents can help their child prepare for school and les-
sons.
Legend: PS = Primary school; VS = Vocational school; SS = Secondary school; Coll. = College; Univ. 
= University
22 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

can help with some subjects (58.1 %), while 8.1 % cannot help in almost any of 
the subjects. 60.7 % of parents of children with excellent and very good lear-
ning achievements answer that they can help with all subjects, while 35.4 % 
can help with some subjects. Parents of children with less satisfactory learning 
achievements can help their children to learn only some subjects. Therefore 
we could raise questions whether parents need help or training to adequately 
support their child’s learning, as well as how this help could be carried out and 
by whom. 
In relation to the class attended, there are statistically signifi cant differen-
ces (χ
2
 =3.132E2; g = 4, α = 0.000) in parents’ answers to the question whether 
they can help their child prepare for school and lessons. As the child’s grade 
increases, the percentage of parents who can help the child with all subjects 
decreases – from 89.6 % in the third grade to 40.8 % in the ninth grade. The 
percentage of parents saying that they can help in some subjects similarly in-
creases (from 10.2 % in the third grade to 50.1 % in the ninth grade), as does the 
percentage of parents who cannot help their child at all any more (in the ninth 
grade there are 9.1 % of such parents and 0.2 % in the third grade).
We also researched the teachers’ opinion whether parents can help in pre-
paration for school and lessons at home. We established statistically signifi cant 
differences in relation to the triad in which teachers teach (χ
2
 = 86.047; g = 4,
α = 0.000). 
Teachers' opinions are similar to those of parents. As the teacher’s number 
of years of working in schooling increases, teachers view that parents are less 
and less able to help their child – from 50.6 % of teachers who estimate that pa-
rents can help with all subjects in the fi rst triad, to only 6.6 % of parents, who, 
according to teachers, can help in the 9
th
 grade. According to teachers, 89.2 % of 
Do you view that you can help your child prepare 
for school and lessons?
I can help 
with all 
subjects
I can help 
with some 
subjects
Almost 
with none 
of the 
subjects
Total
Learning achievement
Descriptive 
assessment
f
483 49 1 533
f %
90.6 9.2 0.2 100.0
Excellent and very 
good 
f
502 293 32 827
f %
60.7 35.4 3.9 100.0
Good + satisfactory 
+ unsatisfactory
f
92 158 22 272
f %
33.8 58.1 8.1 100.0
Total
f
1077 500 55 1632
f % 66.0 30.6 3.4 100.0
Table 4: Teachers’ and parents’ attitudes about how parents can help their child prepare for school 
and lessons
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 23

parents can only partly help their children in the 9
th
 grade, while they estimate 
the share of such parents to amount to 49.4 % in the fi rst triad. 
Teachers’ and parents’ attitudes regarding overburdening of parents with school 
obligations of their child
We were interested in teachers’ and parents’ attitudes regarding overburde-
ning of parents with school obligations of their child. It is a known fact that school 
to a great extent determines the dynamics and characteristics of family life. 
Do you view that you can help your child prepare for school and 
lessons?
I can help with all 
subjects
I can help with 
some subjects
Almost with 
none of the 
subjects
Total
Grade
Third
f 510 58 1 569
f% 89.6 10.2 0.2 100.0
fi fth and 
sixth
f 359 184 8 551
f% 65.2 33.4 1.5 100.0
Ninth
f 212 260 47 519
f% 40.8 50.1 9.1 100.0
Total
f 1081 502 56 1639
f% 66.0 30.6 3.4 100.0
Table 5: Parents’ views on how they can help their child prepare for school and lessons in relation to 
the grade attended
Do you view that parents can help their child prepare for 
school and lessons?
They can 
help with 
all lessons
They can 
partly help 
They can help with 
almost none of the 
subjects
Total
Triad
First 
triad
F 80 78 0 158
f% 50.6 49.4 0.0 100.0
Second 
triad
f3 3 8 4 0 1 1 7
f% 28.2 71.8 0.0 100.0
Third 
triad
f 11 149 7 167
f% 6.6 89.2 4.2 100.0
Total
f 124 311 7 442
f% 28.1 70.4 1.6 100.0
Table 6: Teachers’ views on how parents can help their child prepare for school and lessons in relation 
to the triad they teach
24 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

We established a statistically signifi cant difference between teachers and 
parents (χ
2
 = 56.313; g = 4, α = 0.000) regarding the statement that parents are 
overburdened with school obligations of their child.
In fact, parents and teachers most often declared that they partially agreed 
with the statement. The share of such answers is somewhat greater in teachers 
(47.4 %), compared to parents (37.1 %). Signifi cantly more teachers than parents 
disagree with the statement; this applies to 32.8 % of teachers and 24.8 % of 
parents. The share of parents who agree or absolutely agree with the statement 
exceeds the teachers’ share. Teachers less often believe parents are overburde-
ned with their child’s school obligations. As much as a third of parents agree with 
the statement that they feel overburdened with their child’s school obligations. 
Parents are overburdened with school obligations of their child.
I absolutely 
disagree
I don’t 
agree
I partially 
agree
I agree I absolutely 
agree
Total
Parents
f 74 399 597 345 195 1610
f % 4.6 24.8 37.1 21.4 12.1 100.0
Teachers
f 12 149 215 60 18 454
f % 2.6 32.8 47.4 13.2 4.0 100.0
Total
f 86 548 812 405 213 2064
f % 4.2 26.6 39.3 19.6 10.3 100.0
Table 7: Teachers’ and parents’ attitudes regarding overburdening of parents with school obligations 
of their child.
Parents are overburdened with school obligations of their 
children.
I absolutely 
disagree
I 
don’t 
agree
I partially 
agree
I agree I absolutely 
agree
Total
Education:
PS +VS
f 27 117 163 96 47 450
f% 6.0 26.0 36.2 21.3 10.4 100.0
SS
f 30 149 276 164 99 718
f% 4.2 20.8 38.4 22.8 13.8 100.0
Coll.+Univ. 
and above
f 15 129 147 77 45 413
f 3.6 31.2 35.6 18.6 10.9 100.0
Total
f 72 395 586 337 191 1581
f% 4.6 25.0 37.1 21.3 12.1 100.0
Table 8: Parents’ views regarding being overburdened with school obligations of their child depending 
on their level of education
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 25

Parents’ answers to this question show statistically signifi cant differences 
(χ
2
 = 20.922; g = 8, α = 0.007) also in view of their achieved education. Partial 
agreement is the most frequent answer in all groups of parents. 6 % of parents 
with primary and vocational education say that they do not agree at all, while 
the same answer is recorded in 4.2 % of parents with the highest education. 
The latter hold the biggest share of the answer that they do not agree (31.2 %). 
The answer »I absolutely agree« is most often given by parents with secondary 
education (13.8 %). 
Statistically signifi cant differences (χ
2
 = 34.735; g = 12, α = 0.001) appeared 
in parents’ responses also in relation to the number of children in the family. 
The overwhelming majority of parents partially agreed. The answer »I absolu-
tely disagree« was mostly (8.7 %) given by parents with four or more children, 
in frequency (5.4 %) they are followed by parents with one child. Most parents 
with one child maintain that they don’t agree, while parents with two children 
say that they absolutely agree (14.1 %); in this they are followed by parents 
with four or more children (12.6 %). It seems that parents with two children 
experience overburdening in the highest degree.
Parents’ answers also show statistically signifi cant differences (χ
2
 = 24.654; 
g = 8, α = 0.002) in relation to the class attended by their child. Everywhere the 
most frequent answer was partial agreement – from 41.7 % to 50.8 %. Among 
parents of children in the 5
th
 and 6
th
 grade, 6.1 % do not agree at all with the sta-
tement, while in other two grades the share of such parents is 3.8 % and 3.9 %. 
Parents of children in the 9
th
 grade most often partially agreed with the state-
ment – in 40.1 %. Agreement is most often expressed by parents of children in 
the 5
th
 and 6
th
 grade (25.4 %), while absolute agreement is in the highest share 
expressed by parents of children in the 3
rd
 grade – 13.7 %. 
Parents are overburdened with school obligations of their 
children.
I absolutely 
disagree
I don’t 
agree
I partially 
agree
I 
agree
I absolutely 
agree
Total
Grade
Third
f 22 141 201 121 77 562
f% 3.9 25.1 35.8 21.5 13.7 100.0
fi fth and 
sixth
f 33 111 191 137 67 539
f% 6.1 20.6 35.4 25.4 12.4 100.0
Ninth
f 19 146 202 86 51 504
f% 3.8 29.0 40.1 17.1 10.1 100.0
Total
f 74 398 594 344 195 1605
f% 4.6 24.8 37.0 21.4 12.1 100.0
Table 9: Parents’ attitudes regarding overburdening with school obligations of their child in relation 
to the grade attended by the child
26 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

In the sample of teachers there are statistically signifi cant differences 
(χ
2
 = 32.758; g = 8, α = 0.000) in their agreement with the statement in relation to 
the triad where they teach. 46.2 % of teachers in the fi rst triad do not agree that 
parents are overburdened with school obligations; while partial agreement is ex-
pressed by 41.7 % of teachers. It is characteristic of the second triad that 50.8 % 
of teachers partly agree with the statement, while 21.2 % do not agree. Most 
teachers from the second triad absolutely agree (7.6 %) that parents are over-
burdened. Third triad teachers also partly agree with the statement (50.3 %), 
while total agreement was expressed by 17 % of them – this is the largest share 
when compared to teachers of the other two triads. 
A statistically signifi cant difference was also recorded among teachers (χ
2
 
= 31.751; g = 12, α = 0.002) in relation to years of teaching when evaluating the 
statement that parents are overburdened with school obligations of their child. 
Teachers with most years of teaching to the greatest extent disagree with the 
statement that parents are overburdened – their share is 8.1 %. In this group, 
52.2 % of teachers express partial agreement. Teachers with the shortest time 
of teaching agreed similarly– 52.9 % of them partly agree that parents are over-
burdened.
 
Conclusions
We found that parents most often cite the teacher-child relationship as 
the reason for their co-operation with teachers (45.8 %), while teachers cite the 
child’s wellbeing among school mates as the most important reason for co-opera-
ting with parents (42.1 %). Parents with primary, vocational and secondary edu-
cation more often mention learning success as the most important reason, while 
Parents are overburdened with school obligations of their 
children.
I absolutely 
disagree
I don’t 
agree
I partially 
agree
I 
agree
I absolutely 
agree
Total
Triad
First
f 4 72 65 11 4 156
f % 2.6 46.2 41.7 7.1 2.6 100.0
Second
f 6 25 60 18 9 118
f % 5.1 21.2 50.8 15.3 7.6 100.0
Third
f 1 48 83 28 5 165
f % 0.6 29.1 50.3 17.0 3.0 100.0
Total
f 11 145 208 57 18 439
f % 2.5 33.0 47.4 13.0 4.1 100.0
Table 10: Teachers’ attitudes regarding overburdening of parents with school obligations of their 
child, in relation to the triad they teach
Teacher - parent partnership in the light of ensuring better pupils’ learning achivements 27

for parents with higher education the child’s wellbeing among school mates is 
of most importance. Our research pointed out that learning success is a more 
important reason for parents with one child. The child’s relationship with the 
teacher is a less important reason for teachers, while for parents it fi gures in the 
fi rst place. It is noteworthy that among all three reasons (child’s learning suc-
cess, teacher-child relationship, child’s wellbeing among school mates), learning 
success is the least important for both teachers and parents, even though some 
differences between teachers and parents appear, which certainly infl uences 
the readiness of parents to get involved in and to co-operate with the school and 
teachers, while on the other hand it infl uences teachers and their organizing of 
those forms and methods of co-operation where parents will be able to get invol-
ved according to their basic expectations about co-operation with teachers. 
In general, parents and teachers partly agreed that parents were overburde-
ned with school obligations of their children. Parents expressed a higher degree of 
agreement than teachers. It may be interesting to note that it is the parents with 
two children who feel the heaviest burden and not those who have four or more 
children. We can conclude that the difference between how teachers and parents 
experience overburdening with the child’s school obligations arises due to diffe-
rent understanding of the parents’ role in their child’s learning. We can see two 
different interpretations. On the one hand parents may take too much responsi-
bility for their child’s school obligations, they may even do the homework instead 
of the child and experience that school to a large extent determines their family 
life. On the other hand teachers may fail to notice such parents’ distress and not 
discuss the subject with them suffi ciently, or fail to explain to the parents where 
they see their role in a child’s school obligations, or they plan school obligations 
insuffi ciently without taking into account the parents’ role in assisting their chi-
ld. All these interpretations are merely indirect and subjective. Further suitable 
research in this area is needed to achieve a more objective view.
65.8 % of parents in the sample estimate that they know how to help their 
child with almost all subjects if help is needed. Most teachers (71.2 %) estimate 
that parents know how to help child only with some subjects. Parents are the-
refore slightly more convinced in their own abilities to help, while with teachers 
the answer that parents can only partly help prevails. Our fi nding is that the 
share of parents answering that they can help their child with all subjects de-
creases with the level of achieved formal education of parents. 10.7 % of parents 
with the highest achieved education answer that they can help their child only 
in some subjects, while this answer was given by 49.1 % of parents with primary 
and vocational education. Parents of children with less satisfactory learning 
achievements can help their children only in some subjects. This opens que-
stions about possible parents’ needs for appropriate training to help their chi-
ldren, especially at the beginning of schooling when their role has more signi-
fi cance than later, when it is important that children themselves assume more 
responsibility for their learning and learning success. This also gives rise to 
the question about the nature of parental assistance to the child in preparation 
for school and lessons. Answers indicate that teachers to a lesser degree plan 
28 CONTEMPORARY PEDAGOGY 5/2008 Jana Kalin

homework which would require parents’ involvement, or they do not give home 
assignments to systematically encourage interaction between parents and chi-
ldren. Communication about school work, along with particular home assign-
ments where the child has to co-operate with parents, can be an encouragement 
for the child to learn, and it also raises the child’s motivation for learning, helps 
to internalize the value of education, etc. (Gonzalez-DeHass et al. 2005). In this 
respect, teachers would probably need more systematic training also in the area 
of giving home assignments and other forms of encouraging communication 
between parents and children through school work. 
On the other hand, as mentioned in the theoretical introduction, it is spe-
cially important for parents to be aware of their responsibility to create family 
environment, supportive of learning, where they express suitably high (but not 
unreal) expectation about child’s learning achievements and future career and 
that they get appropriately included in their child’s education in school and 
community (Henderson and Berla 1994). 
The problem may lie in the fact that parents see themselves more as di-
rectly helping their child in learning and preparing for the lessons than pri-
marily supporting their child’s learning and encouraging learning, where the 
level of formally achieved education of parents and the acquired knowledge for 
specifi c help in preparations for lessons and work with home assignments have 
considerably smaller value than the awareness of the value of education and 
appropriate encouraging (supporting) of a child’s learning and development.
The research undoubtedly opens new questions about possibilities and 
power of co-operation between teachers and parents, and about drivers neces-
sary for appropriate involvement of parents to bring about specifi c results in the 
area of the child’s learning achievement. Research carried our abroad (Hender-
son and Berla 1994; Hoover-Dempsey et al. 2001 in Jordan et al. 2001; Gonza-
les-DeHass et al. 2005; Pomerantz et al. 2007) indicates that active involvement 
of parents signifi cantly infl uenced learning achievement of pupils. In our envi-
ronment we would need systematic research of this area and with it appropriate 
training of teachers for planning, introduction and evaluation of those types of 
involvement and co-operation with parents that will, in the highest possible 
degree, ensure optimum development of each individual and learning achieve-
ments in line with each individual’s capabilities.
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