Institutional Involvement of Parents in School Management, Brings the Albanian School Closer and Faster with the European Ones

Abstract

In developed countries there are identified some models of school-based management, especially related to the decision-making processes, based on the role that different actors have in it. This defines also the level of decentralization and school autonomy. In the framework of the decentralization reform in education area, even in Albania there are made positive steps towards transfer the authority into school level. The new law of pre-education system has created more opportunities especially for institutionalized involvement of parents in school management. Institutionalized involvement of parents in “school-based management”, despite the progressive steps that have been made in Albania, still faces critical challenges to be functional. The focus of our research is identification of these challenges and barriers that parents face, recommending more legal opportunities, further support for parental capacity building, several means and mechanisms, for a real and effective role of parents in school management.This paper has been written based in surveys, interviews and focus groups discussions, developed in five urban schools and in four rural schools. The research showed that not all parents’ rights in school have been considered; showed that even legal spaces are not fully applied, that institutions/organizations that represent parents’ voice in school do not function properly etc.In order to address these issues this paper emphasis the need for more legal improvements, parental capacity building initiatives and also institutional strengthening of school-based parental structures.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n7p437