Parents and Teachers’ Involvement in Designing Educational Programmes within the Albanian Curricula of Pre-university Education: Their Perceptions in this Context

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the legislative measures and their implementation regarding the participation of children, parents and teachers in creating an educational program in pre-university education system, as a need for better involvement in school of all the actors, as well as the need for the children’s wellbeing. In addition, the study aims to bring parents’ and teachers’ views on the obstacles they face when they try to collaborate and participate in school life and in designing an educational program. Qualitative methods are used to achieve the aim of this study. The data were collected through document analysis (legislation, strategies, and regulations) for analysing how the law addresses participation of children, parents and teachers’ in school and through semi-structured interviews with parents and teachers from two primary schools so that they can state their perceptions on participation in school life. Each of them was posed 12 different interview questions. After evaluating the responses, some important issues were identified. The participation of children, parents and teachers in Albanian education system has changed in recent years, even promoted as a key that leads to success. However, because of the monist system, where such participation was neither legally recognised nor culturally accepted, this trinomial collaboration has not been easily introduced and integrated in the Albanian educational system. However, parents do not feel very involved in school life, or appreciated when they try to get involved, even though it is legally admitted the need for the collaboration between family and school. They neither take part in the approval of the curricula of the educational institution, nor in the selection of school textbooks as provided by the law. Research has shown that schools as bureaucratic and conservative institutions need to have clear written policies to encourage the participation of the parents and children when drafting an education program. However, when teachers were asked about parents’ participation in school, they said that in many cases parents neglect the collaboration with the school and appear usually when there are problems or troubles, while the participation of children in creating an educational program is still lagging behind.