National Association of Parents and Teachers

About:

The National Association of Parents and Teachers of Serbia (NARNS) was developed with the support of the Open Society Foundations, UNICEF and the Ministry of Education. NARNS aims to develop a platform for discussion and a culture of respect and co-operation between parents and teaching staff. Parents and teachers work together on topics such as social inclusion, health and safety of children, transition of children from pre-school to the school education system, tolerance and fostering inter-culturalism, emotional literacy, which altogether influence the development of a positive school climate and improve education. NARNS also acts as a ‘broker’ between parents, teachers and the education system.

NARNS gathers representatives of three communities – professional associations of educators, parents’ associations and representatives of school clubs of parents and teachers, and school and municipal parents’ councils – as structures that enable joint co-operation of parents and educators within schools. There is a network of 12 city clubs of parents and teaching staff. The city clubs co-ordinate with local networks of clubs established in schools and pre-school institutions. They also work with the Roma community. So far, there are more than 80 school clubs, with over 4,500 active members.

Mutual trust between parents and teachers is established through joint activities, shared ownership and joint organisation of activities in schools. A team of transparently selected regional counsellors supports parents and teachers in establishing new clubs and strengthening the existing clubs and city networks throughout Serbia.

Outcomes:

This was the beginning of a new phase of development in the democratisation and modernisation of Serbia’s education system. Considerable resources and examples of good practice have been created to motivate parents and teaching staff to get involved and implement over 70 programmes at school, local and national levels. The association is part of a regional dialogue organised by Open Society Foundations in Berlin, which continuously brings together parent associations from Tajikistan, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia. This format enables the exchange of examples of good practice and spreads NARNS’s mission and vision to partner countries.

Key element(s) of the VIA Framework:

The NARNS initiative reflects the importance of SPACE and AUDIENCE for parental involvement. It can be challenging to create effective, sustainable avenues for parents to share their voices and advocate for improvements to their children’s education. This example shows that it is possible to harness existing local-level groups and clubs to initiate discussions and tangible, meaningful participation at a national level.

Learn more about NARNS on its website (in Serbian)

Access NARNS manuals and guides for parental participation (in Serbian)