家長抱怨的正效應與負效應：家長「參與權」及教師「保護色」

Positive and Negative Effects of Parent Complaints: Parents’ “Right to Participate” and Teachers’ “Protective Cover”

家長參與權於法規已有規範，而家長抱怨教師管教學生的意見也愈來愈多。學校若是將家長抱怨視為「管教問題得失的鏡子」，親師合作以改善管教問題，家長抱怨便有其正面效應；若是將家長抱怨視為「攻擊」，處理時小心翼翼、充滿壓抑，甚至鬧上媒體或法院，引致教師觸法、賠款的後果，則不免讓教師人心惶惶，為保護自己，便只做學校規定的事，不做規定以外的事，師師披上「保護色」，影響教學創新與熱忱，造成負面效應。學校在處理家長抱怨事件時，最為難之處便是在「尊重家長教育參與權」與「維持教師尊嚴，避免教師為求自保而建立保護色」兩者間的權衡。建議學校可參考澳洲幼教機構訂立處理家長抱怨的SOP，不斷進行雙向溝通，直到達成共識。

Parental involvement regarding rights in school affairs have been regulated by law. There have been increasing complaints from parents regarding the disciplinary action school teachers take toward students in recent years. If parent complaints are viewed as a “mirror reflecting the correct and incorrect discipline,” teacher-parent collaboration to improve discipline is more likely to be achieved and parent complaints will have positive effects. If, however, parent complaints are seen as “attacks,” handling such complaints can become cautious and repressive, and even brought to the attention of the media or the courts. Finally, teachers often face the judgments of legal violations and compensation claims. It will inevitably make many teachers panic and learn to protect themselves, hiding behind school regulations while only doing what is required. However, this “protective cover” can hinder teaching innovation and enthusiasm. As such, parent complaints will have negative effects. When schools handle parent complaints, the most challenging aspect is balancing “respecting parents’ right to participate in education” and “maintaining teachers’ dignity and avoiding teachers’ creation of protective barriers for self-preservation.” We suggest that schools should refer to the SOPs established by Australian early childhood education institutions for handling parent complaints while engaging in continuous two-way dialogue until an acceptable consensus is reached.