Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling: - PowerPoint Presentation

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Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling: Rhetoric and Reality

Thea Brown, Alison Lundgren and Lisa-Maree Stevens, Monash University, VIC

(Thea. Brown@med.monash.edu.au)Slide2

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Viewing Collaborative Divorce and Shared Parenting Through the Lens of Parents’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schooling

Can the new Legislation achieve Shared Parenting in relation to Children’s Schooling? Or is it Political Rhetoric than cannot translate into Parental Reality? Slide3

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Problem first noted by educational researchers

Children progressed better academically when both parents involved

Serious Problem because

Children’s academic achievements and financial well-being fall post separation

Education is a strategy to overcome economic disadvantage Slide4

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Subsequently Non-Residential Parents raised issues

Issues were about a loss of the link between themselves and their children’s schooling: no feedback from teachers, no information like reports, school newsletters, unable to attend school events and volunteer activities Slide5

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Curtin University team did 3 - 4 studies, 1996-2005

Vast Majority of Non Residential Parents little involved in Children’s Schooling despite desire to be so

Less than half received school reports despite new Education Department policy

Researchers thought Non-Residential Parents “excluded”

Looked for C”wealth family law reform Slide6

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Monash Researcher found

All States, except VIC, have publicly accessible policies with NSW policy and website as the best

Vic Principals interviewed

Policy and court orders vague, left up to Principal, no training, no support; Principals took varying approaches

Noted more shared parenting; unaware of new legislation

Wanted guidance for grandparent sSlide7

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Larger study of School Staff and Non-Residential Parents showed schools and parents in great difficulty despite new legislation

Teachers saw problem as out of their control

Non-Residential Parents still reporting feeling excluded, unwelcome, ignorant, uninvolved with children’s schooling; had little knowledge of or communication from schools Slide8

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

One group reported more positively

Non-Residential Parents who were Teachers

A Finding of Concern indicating that problems may be too great for most parentsSlide9

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

One respondent reported one non-government school’s special program

Training for all staff working with children whose parents had separated

Special Orientation for Separated Parents spelling out policies, procedures, services, and WELCOME

Special Groups for Children

Counselling ServiceSlide10

Shared Parental Responsibility and Children’s Schooling

Despite Legislation Shared Parenting Hard to implement

Most Schools have not developed strategies to manage parental separation let alone shared parenting

Shared Parenting requires Supporting Services from the Socio-Legal Family Law Service System

AND

from other system like Schools

Multi-targeting school systems, centrally and locally, needed but….