Mònica Macià Bordalba obté el títol de doctora.

Dimecres 26 de setembre es va fer la lectura de la tesi Family-School Communication: Trends, challenges and ways forward escrita per Mònica Macià, membre del GrASE. La tesi, internacional i per articles, que ha obtingut la màxima qualificació es centra en:

“High-quality family-school communication is essential to establish positive synergies between the two educational contexts (families and schools) since, without information or dialogue, it is quite difficult for parents and teachers to advance along the path of understanding, trust, respect and cooperation. Thus, this research aims to develop a better understanding of the communication dynamics between families and school staff, as well as the weaknesses and challenges thereof, in order to provide some tips and recommendations to improve family-school communication.

To this end, an ethnographic approach was adopted. Specifically, the data were obtained from interviews with 200 families, teachers and school managers from 20 primary schools located in different autonomous communities in Spain, from observations and from document, web and blog analysis. The findings revealed a common pattern of communication among the educational institutions studied, which is rooted in old dynamics and is characterized by the scant use of digital media for two-way communication. The findings also showed that the main shortcomings of current communication are the prevalence of one-way communication; the link often made between communication and negative messages; the ineffectiveness of some channels when children act as mediators; the frequency of use of some media; and the challenges of work-family balance.

Thus, in order to overcome these and other shortcomings emerging from our research, a set of guidelines and strategies has been devised, which emphasizes what, when and where to communicate. This research also has clear implications for public policy since it considers teacher training as the first step towards improving family-school communication”.