“The Focus on Character Education is Crucial” Parent Perspectives on School Practices in NOW Lower Secondary School

Abstract

The aim of the article is to shed light on the perspectives of parents toward school practices in a lower secondary school which includes interest-based learning as its central goal and seeks to facilitate students’ autonomy and self-responsibility. Previous studies show that if student needs for autonomy are met, their interest and self-discipline will increase. Moreover, studies have also established that parents’ involvement in their children’s education is an important element when it comes to school performance and wellbeing. Parents are stakeholders within the school community and it is, therefore, important to examine their perspectives on school practices that emphasize these goals; especially so because studies have revealed how some teachers believe they lack ways and methods to organize teaching practices that strengthen student autonomy and sense of responsibility, as well as their freedom to make decisions concerning their learning. However, other teachers fear losing control in the classroom and even fail to see the purpose of emphasizing student autonomy. It is, therefore, important for the development of schooling in Iceland to shed light on the perspective of parents toward school practices where the support for student autonomy is fundamental.

NOW was founded in 2016, and is an independently run school for lower secondary students (grades 8–10) with an average of around 60 students. The school offers students increased choice regarding schooling beyond the traditional school system. The official goal of NOW is to facilitate interest-based learning which seeks to support students’ sense of self-responsibility and autonomy with learning arrangements and practices in which each and every student can discover and base their learning on their own interests. A specific emphasis is placed on offering students an opportunity to merge their schooling with their interest in sports where the students engage with learning with the same interest that drives their passion for sports. The point is to utilize the students’ interests and strengths to attract them to new areas and thereby increase the efficiency of their learning. Furthermore, the spirit of sports echoes the solidarity and unity that characterizes one of the many guiding principles of the school. NOW’s school practices are in many ways different from the those the parents were used to in their children’s previous schools. Among other things, the school practices are founded upon self-determination theories, and research based on these theories has brought to light the importance of supporting student autonomy when it comes to key aspects of learning, such as wellbeing, interest and self-discipline.

A case study was conducted in the spring of 2019 among parents of students who attended NOW lower secondary school. A phenomenological approach was used in seven personal interviews. The findings show that parents were generally content with the school practices, particularly the emphasis on character education, which has proven successful in encouraging students’ personal growth, in aspects such as resilience, responsibility, overall wellbeing and sense of joy. The parents specifically noted how students were encouraged to account for their state of mind, while also underlining the importance of diligence with regard to success. The parents also felt that the teachers listened to student voices, and that they mattered. Trust and respect in communication featured strongly in the interviews, where parents talked about how happy students were with the freedom to choose and the flexibility in learning which led to increased interest in some students while producing a sense of purpose in others. Less focus on teacher-centred instruction in comparison to more traditional schools, in conjunction with increased autonomy and self-responsibility across school practices, proved a difficult obstacle to begin with. According to the parents, many students saw a dip in their learning performance at the onset of the school year, which then bounced higher than they had ever experienced before, as time passed. Information about learning progress was published digitally and some parents had limited knowledge of the platform, leading to complications in following up their children’s studies.

The parents’ positive perspectives with regard to NOW practices indicate that many things can be learned from a school that emphasizes interest-based learning, and simultaneously seeks to facilitate self-responsibility and student autonomy. This particularly applies when the aim is to structure student-centered schooling as is encouraged in the National Curriculum, with its emphasis on student strengths, interest and initiative as well as requiring increased self-responsibility in their own learning. The parents seemed more familiar with the practices of the school than they had been in relation to their children’s previous schools, which underlines the importance of choice. The school is, therefore, interesting from a variety of perspectives and it is challenging to undertake studies in an environment that encourages selfresponsibility. In light of the fact that the education and wellbeing of children is a collaborative project of homes and schools, it is important to listen to parents’ voices.