Recommendations for families and comunity members

1. Family and community members from all backgrounds can participate in heterogeneous groupings providing extra support to students’ learning.

2. In order to increase minority students’ achievement, and to contribute to a positive recognition of multiple identities, the participation of family and community members from minority cultural backgrounds becomes essential. These adults create a role model for children, thus helping overcome stereotypes and prejudices about minority groups through their interactions with all students.

3. Five types of family and community participation have been identified (informative, consultative, decisive, evaluative and educative). Among those, the decisive, evaluative and educative types are the ones that research is identifying as best guaranteeing school success for all.

4. Family and community members can contribute to the general evaluation of the school by being involved in school management bodies created for this matter and composed of teachers, families, students, other professionals, community members, etc.

5. Families and community members can participate in students’ learning processes through intervening in the students’ learning activities, both during regular school hours and after school time.

6. The participation of families in family education programmes in schools is a successful action that raises students’ achievement. Family and community members should participate in the decisions about these family education programmes in schools.

7. Female relatives and other women from the community can participate in classrooms and other learning spaces of the school, playing a significant role in helping overcome gender inequalities in education.