Teachers urged to end ‘them and us’ attitudes towards parents

TEACHERS must take down barriers around schools to allow parents more involvement, an expert said yesterday.

Seamus O’Brien, senior education consultant at Marino Institute of Education, said students could see education in a different light if their parents were allowed more input on school policies.

“There’s a certain amount of partnership at primary level because parents are in school more often with younger children, who only have one teacher every year. But at second level, schools often operate behind barriers and there is a ‘them and us’ situation. Teachers and principals often dominate but we must encourage them to hear other points of view,” he said.