A rural playcentre

Our AGM was fast approaching, and some of us were feeling uneasy that a core group of people were taking responsibility for most of the jobs. We were concerned that those people were at risk of burning out and that others were unaware of the requirements of being a Playcentre parent.

We looked at our mission statement, which said, “Parents should manage and govern the centre cooperatively”, and we asked ourselves, “What would cooperative processes look like if they were happening at a high level?”

We decided we wanted to find out “To what extent are we equipping Playcentre members to be fully involved?”

We decided that over the next 2 weeks, we would:

• audit the enrolment process – including any oral or written information that is offered both from our centre and the Playcentre Association
• talk to other Playcentres about how they convey expectations
• survey our parents.

Gathering was completed by different members of our team. Auditing the enrolment process involved recording all the steps in the welcoming process for new families that took place over 3 sessions with the information officer. All oral and written information given to new parents about our expectations for the involvement of parents in the Playcentre was also recorded.

Our president talked with other Playcentres. She discussed options with the Association and other centres, and she collected examples of contracts used in other centres.

We developed the survey questions carefully at our next meeting. We wanted to make sure that the questions were helpful – that they gave us the information we needed and didn't request extraneous information.

We asked:

• Why did you choose Playcentre for your child?
• What is expected from you at Playcentre?
• What do you think the minimum requirements for Playcentre members should be?
• How does Playcentre accommodate your unique skills, strengths, interests and needs?

When the information was brought back to the larger meeting, there was a great deal of discussion. We were pleased to discover the extent of parents' enthusiasm about their involvement, and we realised that we already had a lot of information available for parents as a result. However, when we looked at some of the comments that parents had made, it was evident that the issues weren't clear-cut. We used an adaptation of Rogoff's (2003) Transformation of Participation diagram (see Appendix 2: Focuses of Analysis template) to explore some of the issues that our information raised.

Focuses of analysis

Aspect of analysis: Parent-help roster

Individual

The Playcentre Association has a philosophy based on emergent leadership and parents playing an active role in their children's learning. We have an expectation that all parents attend planning sessions. Some parents, however, often didn't identify attendance as a requirement for these sessions. Others felt that their lack of contribution led to frustration for those who were actively involved on this level.

Interpersonal

Our president advised that several Playcentres were now using agreements (contracts) reached at enrolment. These were reported to be very successful. The survey responses revealed that parents had created good relationships with other Playcentre members at Playcentre sessions. They identified a strong sense of belonging and fulfilled their parent-help responsibilities with great enthusiasm. As a result, they felt that they had wonderful interactions with the children.

Cultural/institutional

We realised that these parents were very much part of the children's extended Playcentre experience. They communicated socially with other parents in the weekends or by email. We asked ourselves how we could support the needs of our unique community while being fair to everyone. When we looked at the roles our parents played outside the formal planning sessions, we realised that many of our parents who were reluctant to attend planning sessions were doing wonderful things elsewhere – there was the management of the finances, the funds raised by various individuals, the building being kept in pristine condition, the working bees, the shopping that got done, and the library that was so well organised.

We asked ourselves if it was realistic and fair to expect all families to contribute in the same manner, given their different strengths, interests, and circumstances. We also asked whether parent participation had to be at the level of working during the session and wondered if other areas could be considered.

Conclusion

We surprised ourselves by the shift in our thinking as we worked through this process. Up to that point, it was generally agreed that as members of our Playcentre, we were expecting everyone to be involved at all levels of teaching and learning as well as management and governance. By looking at the issue from a range of perspectives that were unique to our community, we realised that what we expected was not always realistic or perhaps even necessary to achieving our goals.

Through our many discussions, we concluded that lots of things were going really well in relation to our enrolment process and parent involvement. We looked back at our review focus and decided that the enrolment process fully equipped our parents to be involved, but this review had exposed so much more.

We recognised the value of the different ways people can contribute and how important it was for us to avoid being too rigid in our requests. We started to see that although our vision stated that “Parents are respected, valued, and supported”, our practices might not respect and value parents' strengths and interests. We demanded so much from them from the outset. We started to think that we might need to divide some of the tasks across our community so that people could do the things that they enjoyed. We decided that we would trial a contract that parents would complete at enrolment and that we would provide a range of contributions for families to choose from.

Practices you could help with

The way we foster learning

What you would be able to do and any additional talents or skills that you could offer:

• Playcentre training.
• Parent help on the roster.
• What else?

The way we work together

What you would be able to do and any additional talents or skills that you could offer:

• Working bees.
• Maintenance.
• Tidying up at the end of sessions.
• What else?

The way we manage this Playcentre

What you would be able to do and any additional talents or skills that you could offer:

• Attend meetings.
• What else?

Conclusion

We realised that circumstances are not the same for all families and recognised that people have different capabilities. We applied this understanding to the new commitment form.

We also recognised the importance of discussions as well as written material. This applied not only to commitments to participate in our Playcentre but also to our developing a strong communal sense of belonging. As a result, we planned to hold social events. We developed a statement to help us to remember the things we value, and this is on the wall of our Playcentre.

We also decided that having self-review on the agenda for every meeting from now on will keep us on track. Our meetings can be consumed with “business”, so this item allows us to focus on the things that really matter to us all. The process of reflecting individually and as a group is very empowering. Engaging in the process of self-review in a deliberate way was the beginning of creating a community of reflective practice and recording our progress. There’s always more to learn.