A Study On The Organization Of Parent Teacher Association In The United States

Parent Teacher Associations in the United States play an important role in promoting American parental involvement in school education and protecting children’s rights and interests.Although our country attaches equal importance to parents’ participation in school education in education research and education policy,there is a lack of social organizations dedicated to promoting efficient communication among family,school and society.Understanding and learning from the organization experience of Parent Teacher Association in the United States is of great significance to promote the organization design and rapid development of Parent Teacher Association in China,so as to promote parents’ participation in school education in China.This study describes the development history and organizational elements of Parent Teacher Association in the United States,and explores the mechanism of its collaborative operation,in order to provide experience for the improvement of Parent Teacher Association in China.This study mainly includes five parts.The first part introduces the organization history of Parent Teacher Association in the United States.The organization and development of Parent Teacher Association in the United States benefits from its unique social and cultural background,as well as the continuous efforts of social welfare workers.With the organizational development of the Parent Teacher Association in the United States,it has a profound impact on the educational reform in the United States.Since the participation of parents has been regarded as a solution to the problem of educational equity by the American society,the role of the association as a link for parents to participate in school education has become more and more prominent.In general,even though the organization of the Parent Teacher Association in the United States has gone through the preparation period,the exploration period and gradually matured,but affected by the changing social environment,the American parent teacher association will carry out long-term organizational adjustment under the guidance of the organizational mission.The second part describes the resources of American parent teacher association.As the basic element for the survival and development of PTA,organizational resources are the basic guarantee for the realization of organizational goals and the construction of organizational structure.In terms of human resources,the PTA has a mature human resource base after years of accumulation.In addition to the formal staff,volunteers and members of the PTA are important forces in organizing activities.In terms of material resources,fixed assets,including land,buildings and equipment,and current assets,such as membership dues,public donations and project service income,together provide material conditions for PTA to carry out its work at national,state,local,school and family levels.Intangible resources,as invisible organizational resources of PTA,mainly include social culture,policy system,experience and knowledge.On the one hand,the long-standing concept of parent participation and the gradually improved social support network of parent participation in the United States constitute the external environmental resources of its organization and operation;on the other hand,the values,technical knowledge and practical experience of the Parent Teacher Association of the United States,which has been continuously constructed and accumulated in its long-term organizational practice,form the internal human resources of its organization and operation.The third part describes the organizational structure of American parent teacher association.As the carrier element of American parent teacher association,organizational structure is the structural system formed in the aspects of duty scope,responsibility and power.It is a means to achieve the goals of the American parent teacher association,reflects the division of labor and cooperation among the members of the association,and is an important guarantee for the effective development of the work of the association.On the one hand,the branch structure of American parent teacher association has spread all over the United States,forming a hierarchical structure system of National Association overall planning,State Association connecting the preceding and the following,and local association specific practice.On the other hand,the governance Department of the PTA has clear responsibilities and powers,including the strategic decision-making of the board of directors,the assistant implementation of the committee,the advice of the board of directors and the daily operation of the staff.In addition,the democratic and pluralistic members of PTA are the basic unit of its organizational structure,providing material and human resources for its organizational operation.The fourth part discusses the cooperative operation of American parent teacher association.The "organization" of the American parent teacher association is not only a noun,it is also a verb.The first is to establish goals and principles to provide guidance for the collaborative operation of the organization,so as to reasonably coordinate and organize all kinds of resources of the American parent teacher association.The second is to adhere to the continuous initiative activities to promote positive changes in the external environment of the organization.Third,focus on community construction,improve the environment for parents to participate in school education,so as to increase the enthusiasm of family participation.Fourth,based on the development of project activities to promote the growth of students.Fifthly,PTA has also established extensive cooperative relations with relevant organizations,associations and enterprises,enriching organizational resources.Finally,through the fifth part of this study,combined with the practical experience of the organization structure and function performance of American parent teacher association,the author puts forward the improvement path of Parent Teacher Association in China.The first is to formulate the organization strategy of Parent Teacher Association;the second is to construct the organization structure of Parent Teacher Association;the third is to integrate the organization resources of Parent Teacher Association;the fourth is to establish the organization system of Parent Teacher Association;the fifth is to shape the organization culture of Parent Teacher Association.There is no doubt that in the process of American parents’ participation in school education,from national education decision-making to school internal governance,and then to the protection of children’s rights and interests,we can see the positive performance of American parent teacher association.However,the organization and construction of localized Parent Teacher Association must be combined with China’s social and cultural background.