Leveraging Families as Assets and Champions to Promote Secondary School Completion and Success. Policy Brief

Overview & Synopsis

The Government of Bangladesh recognizes the importance of families' active engagement in their children's education to ensure student participation, outcomes, and well-being. However, national policies and plans envision a limited role for families in supporting their children's secondary education, particularly in rural and remote communities where barriers to education are notable. This policy brief informs education systems leaders on strategies and efforts to deepen family, school, and community partnerships in rural and urban secondary schools and to ensure there are mechanisms in place to meaningfully engage families in their children's learning and schools. An analysis of six national policies and plans was conducted to identify how education leaders envision the roles and responsibilities of families across education frameworks and the current approaches to family, school, and community engagement in the education system. In addition to policy analysis, research was conducted directly with 535 families, 225 educators, and 973 students in 14 rural and urban secondary schools in Bangladesh. Research was led by educators and researchers from the Education and Cultural Society (ECS), a national civil society organization in Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution from February 2023 to May 2024. The methodology used in this research was the Conversation Starter Tools, a mixed-methods participatory approach developed by CUE in collaboration with global collaborating organizations, including ECS. Five key findings from the research are presented along with key recommendations for national education leaders to implement evidence-informed strategies to promote family-centric education systems.