Collaboration between family and school and its relationship with the social and academic skills of Roma students from the Canary Islands

José Carmona-Santiago , Marta García-Ruiz , Mª Luisa Máiquez , María José Rodrigo

The social gap of the Roma people is still substantial, and extends to the school dimension in the form of greater school dropout and failure rates. The present study has a twofold objective: a) to analyze the perception, on the part of both parents and teachers, of the quality of relationships between family and school; and b) to examine the extent to which the quality of said collaboration is related to the children¿s social skills and academic competence. The participants were 60 families of Roma ethnicity, 80 children of these families, and 33 teachers who teach them, residing in the Canary Islands. The data were collected by means of questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive analyses and the CHAID decision tree technique. The independent variables were the factors of the family-
school collaboration questionnaire, the variables of the families¿ socio-demographic profile, the existence of inappropriate behaviors at school, and school absenteeism. The dependent variable was the factors of the students¿ social skills and academic competence. The results showed that families and teachers perceived a good atmosphere at school but a low level of participation in school activities. The level of social skills in the students was good, and the decision tres indicated that this was associated with an absence of inappropriate behaviors at school, more family support with schoolwork, and more family participation in school activities. Academic competence was lower and associated with less family support with schoolwork and more absences from class. In conclusion, in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, the educational inclusion of the Roma people is possible, and with additional efforts to improve family-school collaboration, it will also be possible to improve educational success.

Escritor

José Carmona-Santiago

Escritor

Marta García-Ruiz

Escritor

Mª Luisa Máiquez

Escritor

María José Rodrigo

Materia

INVESTIGACIÓN EDUCATIVA

Idioma