Abstract
A family-school partnership approach towards behaviour modification of high-school learners has become an urgent need as behavioural problems have led to learner suspension, expulsion or dropping out of school. Historically, families and schools had distinct roles where families were responsible for extracurricular education while schools oversaw the formal education of learners. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the experiences of families and schools in modifying the behaviour of learners in high-school settings. This study used a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design and an interpretive paradigm. Eleven parents and four school-based support team (SBST) coordinators across the three selected high schools were purposefully selected to participate in this study. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory, Epstein’s family-school partnership framework and the empowerment theory are the theoretical frameworks that underpinned this study. Data collection included individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data across the data sets. The findings of the study revealed that families and schools generally lack an understanding of the concept of family-school partnerships. Additionally, families and schools indicated that they were uncertain about their roles in modifying the behaviour of learners in high school settings. Families and schools felt that they lacked the ability to modify the behaviour of learners in high school settings. Families also experienced challenges in parenting high-school learners with behavioural problems. Some of the high-school learner’s behavioural problems exhibited were symptoms that could be associated with mental health issues. Recommendations made were educating families and schools about family-school partnerships as a tool to modify the behaviour of learners in high school settings; establishing support groups for parents of learners presenting with behavioural problems; and raising awareness of learners presenting with behavioural problems as a barrier to learning.
Key words: Behaviour modification, family, family involvement, partnership, School.