Developing the home-school relationship using digital ... - Futurelab

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS3.5 BOUNDARIES AND PRIVACY33.5 BOUNDARIESAND PRIVACYConnecting different identitiesThe child at home is not the same as thechild at school. The differences in ‘identity’and values between the home and school cansometimes be a source of tension. Teacherswho know something about children’s homelives can avoid unnecessary friction if theymake mistakes about parents, etc. Whenchildren know something about teachers’lives outside school this can make them seemore ‘human’ and again break down barriersin communication.Parents may not always realise their childrencan be quite different at school to how they areat home; children who at home are talkativeand lively may be quiet and reserved in school.When parents see video of their children’sclassroom, they are often most interested inthe way that their child acts in this differentenvironment, gaining a new understanding ofdifferent aspects of their children’s personality.When teachers have seen photos of children’slives and experiences outside school, it hasin some cases helped them understand thediverse range of experiences that a class ofchildren bring with them to the classroom. Inthese and other ways, digital technologies canbe used to share aspects of children’s homeand school lives with teachers and parents sothey both have a more rounded and completeunderstanding of the child 76 .“I’m a completely different person at home”(Year 8 student)Maintaining boundaries andschool-home balanceChildren are also keen to protect thedifferences between home and school, andkeep some separation between the differentspheres of their life. Certainly if any personalinformation about their home lives is to beshared with teachers at school, children wantto be the one to do it, to manage which staffand children see it, and to at least know whathas been said.“When I get home, that’s my time”(Year 10 student)Digital privacy and data securityIf digital technologies are used to connectchildren’s lives at home and at school, childrenneed to have some control over who can seewhich photos, documents, data about them,choosing privacy options at a granular level.While children will not always have the last sayabout which information is shared betweenparents and teachers, they need to at least beincluded in any communications between homeand school about them.Keeping data private and secure is arequirement of schools sharing informationabout children outside school 77 . It is alsoimportant to consider how the use of digitaltechnologies in home-school relationshipsis integrated with child protection policies.Questions of moderation, child protection,and procedures for dealing with potentialdisclosures of abuse via digital channels needto be considered.Children are also often protective of their homeas a space of relaxation, of freedom from thedemands and pressures of school, and are asconcerned with achieving a good ‘work-life’balance as many working adults are. For manychildren, time at home is ‘their’ time. Childrencan therefore resent what can be perceivedas the intrusion of school into their time athome. For example, when parents continuallyemphasise the need for revision, children feelthey are never able to be free from the pressureof exams.As many people who own email-enabledphones know, it is all too easy for digitaltechnologies to blur the boundaries betweenwork and home life. In the drive to use digitaltechnologies to support parents’ engagementwith children’s learning, there is the possibilitythat children’s home lives become increasinglydefined by school expectations. So, when digitaltechnologies are used to enable children andtheir parents to log on to school resourcesand continue school learning at home, it isworth considering how to support children andparents to achieve a good balance between thedemands of school and the need for relaxationand leisure time within the home.4676. The video and photo sharing activities here were used within the Home-School Knowledge Exchange project, see Hughes, M andGreenhough, P (2006). Boxes, bags and videotape: enhancing home-school communication through knowledge exchange activities.Educational Review - Special Issue, 58,4: 471-48777. There is a series of good practice guides describing how to keep sensitive and personal data on learners, staff and otherindividuals secure, available from Becta at schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=lv&catcode=ss_lv_mis_im03&rid=14734