Abstract
Family school partnerships are a significant factor in addressing academic challenges
and subsequent learner performance. They are a significant factor in addressing
academic challenges in rural public schools and subsequent learner performance. Issues
including poor communication and low parental participation sometimes impede these
connections. Although studies recognise the value of these collaborations, a number of
institutional and socioeconomic obstacles prevent them from being successfully
implemented, which reduces their influence on learner academic achievement. Family
school partnerships are a bi-directional relationship between the educational institution
and the community of care the child receives. This could be parents, siblings,
grandparents, caregivers or the general community (as is often the case in South Africa,
especially in rural communities or informal settlements). This community of care is
referred to as family for the purpose of this study. Collaborative partnerships among
families, school staff, and community members are essential for the academic success
of all learners. This study explored the significance of forming family school partnerships
to improve academic performance of grade 10 learners in a rural public school in
Limpopo, South Africa. This study aims to enhance the improvement of learner academic
performance by providing support strategies that can improve academic performance.
The study has adopted an interpretivism paradigm. Data was collected through semistructured
individual interviews, and thorough document analyses were employed. The
participants involved in the study were purposefully selected, comprising of four learners
who were performing unsatisfactorily in their academics, four parents of the selected
learners and two teachers. The study was underpinned by the Epstein model of school,
family, and community partnership which was appropriate for the study, as it advocated
for parents to form partnerships with school personnel by following the six guidelines
amongst stakeholders who should uphold mutual responsibility and collaboration.
The findings of the study have revealed that parents do have an understanding of family
school partnerships and what is required of them; they are aware of the benefits of
collaboration between the school and home environment. However, the findings have
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also indicated that families are faced with challenges, which are causal factors preventing
them from upholding their children’s academic integrity, which need to be addressed by
schools, (strategies discussed) to assist the advancement of family school partnerships.
Teachers unanimously supported the fostering of family school partnerships. It is
recommended that future research could also follow learners from primary to secondary
school to analyse how family school partnerships evolve as learner’s advance through
various educational stages and it would be interesting to have learners’ perspectives of
family school partnerships.
Keywords: Family school partnerships, learners, support, academic performance,
teaching and learning