This thesis begins with a qualitative systematic review conducted as a meta-ethnography. It explores the views of parents from areas of low socio-economic status on the factors that influence their involvement in their children’s education. The findings suggest that ‘power’, ‘communication’, ‘relationships’ and ‘role construction’ are influential factors that impact on home–school partnerships. Existing research appears to have had little impact on the development of home–school partnerships responsive to the perspectives of parents. Moreover, studies selected within the meta-ethnography did not recognise parents as agents of change. The bridging document brings together the epistemology and research design, making links between the literature review and the research project. A Participatory Action Research framework was used to elicit and then communicate parent views so that they were listened to and responded to by the school. Inclusive and democratic approaches were adopted in a multi-ethnic inner-city school over a period of thirteen months to facilitate the co-learning of those involved in the project. The processes involved using tools in an interactive manner (including focus groups and interviews) and a graphic elicitation (the Ishikawa Fishbone technique) to consult with parents. School staff were invited to reflect on the parent consultation. Outcomes of the project reflected several ideas and priorities for parents. Procedural and interpersonal communications between home and school were identified by them as key themes. Time and space were created for teachers and head teachers to receive feedback and to build upon parents’ views with their own contributions. A meeting with head teachers led to reflective questions being asked that linked to next steps and actions. The thesis discusses the project outcomes in relation to four ideas: ‘concrete versus abstract ideas: procedure and artistry in learning’, ‘professionalism and authority’, ‘teacher efficacy in in response to the parent link worker’ and ‘communication space for professionals’. I conclude that parents’ participation and agency proved difficult to develop and scaffold within this context. However with the time, space and structure afforded by a Participatory Action Research frame, members of staff were able critically to consider and reflect upon the complexities of parents’ involvement and that school staff were able to consider the implications for an organisation.

This thesis problematises home-school ‘partnership’ and comprises three chapters: a systematic literature review, a bridging document and a piece of empirical research. In the systematic review I examine the role of social class in parent-school relationships and provide a synthesis from documented experiences of parents and teachers of both working and middle class backgrounds. The findings suggest that parental social class can impact on interactions with teachers in differing ways. Power was found to be embedded in school cultures and in the boundaries and receptivity between working and middle class parents and teachers. Reciprocal relationships were possible when local knowledge and community practices were rooted in school culture. The bridging document discusses my theoretical underpinnings, epistemological decisions and ethical considerations of the research and brings together the literature review and the research project. The empirical research explored whether mutuality was possible in parent-teacher relationships and if so its nature and role. Through conceptualising mutuality through a relational and dialogic lens I was interested to find out if there was potential to create conversations between parents and teachers which were jointly owned, non-goal directed and on-going and would go some way to creating more equitable participation. A participatory action research (PAR) framework was adopted with five mothers and five members of staff in a local primary school in the North East of England. Joint and separate sessions of parents and teachers took place over a seven month period. Relational approaches, based on narrative therapy and Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), were used and multiple forms of data were co-created. Parents and teachers identified what had been important about the way they were working together. Three processes that may have enabled mutuality to develop are discussed; i) making connections through the ‘other’, ii) outsider’s perspective, and iii) creative tension in dialogue. This paper concludes that despite literature suggesting parent-school relationships almost always develop in the interests of the staff and school rather than parents from areas of socio-economic disadvantage, this research proposes that mutuality created the potential to move beyond existing power imbalances and towards more equitable practices.

In the past 15 years educational literature and policy have highlighted the importance of parent-school relationships in the attainment and life achievements of all children and young people, in particular those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SENID). Recent changes in legislation relating to SENID promote 'person-centred' approaches to working with children, young people and their families, and recommend that they are fully involved in decisions made about support, aspirations and achievement (Dill, 2015). This study adopted a Foucauldian approach to analyse semi-structured interview data from three Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) employed in maintained primary schools within a large London Borough, where the researcher was a Trainee Educational Psychologist (TEP). The study sought to add to the growing body of literature exploring the barriers and facilitators to parent-school relationships. It explored constructions of the 'relationship' present in the accounts given by SENCOs with a view to deconstructing and analysing embedded assumptions or discourses that may perpetuate unbalanced power relations. It explored the positioning of parents and SENCOs within these discourses and subsequent implications for action and subjective experience. The results imply that conflicting discourses within educational rhetoric make it difficult for SENCOs to adopt partnership relationships with parents and that wider changes may be necessary to create a more equitable climate. Implications for professional practice are considered and it is proposed that through their work with parents, schools and SENCOs, EPs are well placed to promote reflexive practices and person-centred, collaborative approaches to working with children, young people and their families.

Performance measurement within public services is a key feature of the literature but at ward level it has been an under-studied concept. This thesis presents research within a ward with deprived and affluent areas, focusing on community education service provision and the part performance measurement plays in it. The literature shows the importance of community education services in deprived areas to empower residents. They have the potential to impact positively on the lives of individuals and communities. Performance measurement is meant to ensure the delivery of value for money, quality services but it can instead be a barrier. In subjective areas like community education, measurement is difficult. The primary research was conducted in a qualitative case study. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with ward stakeholders. The key findings identify constraints surrounding performance measurement in subjective services. While there was increased emphasis on measuring performance the value of such procedures was questioned. Performance measurement practices did not necessarily lead to improved service outcomes. The findings uncovered many specifics concerning both the process and the context. As community education was credited with reducing public service dependence by supporting self-reliance, dedication to such services was seen as necessary. Changes were needed, in performance measurement and more broadly, as there was a risk that the sector would not be able to operate soon. Despite the various representative bodies, effective local input, which was needed, had yet to be achieved. The findings draw out real issues with potentially serious implications. They highlight how the public service provision might be improved at the most micro level of democracy, the ward, where citizens experience first-hand public services. The research could therefore be of value to policy-makers and those responsible for service provision.

This research explores the understanding teachers have of their local school environment. Using one primary and one secondary school, teachers understandings were explored via the collection and analysis of data predominantly of a qualitative nature. School documentation, teacher interviews and observation of meetings provided the main sources of data used to identify teacher attitudes and knowledge of their local environment. The research concludes that the relationship schools have with their local environment is based upon a lack of any systematic approach to collecting information about the local community or systematic analysis and description of the local environment. Whilst the schools suggested that they worked in partnership with individuals and agencies within the local community, the operations of the schools reflected an unequal distribution of power, the majority of which was held by the schools. Teachers tended to interpreted their actions in terms of their own professional needs rather than as a product of a systematic consideration of objectives, needs and aspirations that have been agreed jointly with members of the local community and hold sceptical attitudes towards the members of the local community in terms of the potential contribution they can and do make to the professional work of teachers. The schools demonstrated characteristics of a paternalistic monopoly in the operational style with which they interact with their local communities. The schools use their power to control their relationship with the local community of service users and attempt to control the lifestyles of members of the local community.

The importance of parental involvement in their children’s learning are highlighted by many studies in the literature and this study attempted to increase parental involvement in their child’s science and general learning. This study includes several aims that were investigated in two stages. The first aim of this study, which investigated in Stage One was to identify the extent of parental involvement in their child’s general and science learning, and the relationships between level of involvement and parents’ backgrounds (parents, gender, child’s gender, school group, science based career, family education). The second stage included the main purpose of this study. This purpose was to investigate the effects of parents’ practising online science activities with their child intervention on parental involvement and parents’ attitudes towards science as well as children’s attitudes towards science. Parents of either public and private schools’ children from two different cities (Hatay and Gaziantep) of Southern Turkey participated in this study. Different groups of parents and their children took part in the two stages of this study. For Stage One, 202 parents participated in the parental involvement questionnaire from both private and public schools located in these two cities. 36 (18 parents for each experimental and control group) private school parents and their children participated in the Stage Two of this study. One private school from each city was selected to be the experimental and the control group. A quasi-experimental research design with experimental and control groups was used. Experimental and control groups were formed according to a matching technique which involve matching parents to the groups according to their involvement level, gender and education level. Parental involvement questionnaire, parents’ and children’s attitudes towards science questionnaire, weekly feedback forms, parents’ interviews were the main data collection tools for this study and these were used as pre and post-interventions. The intervention implemented with experimental group’s parents and their children for five weeks. Parents were provided with science activities of an online website and instructions through email and handout by the science teacher. They expected to practise these activities weekly with their child at home. The results from Stage One showed that parents’ level of involvement, role construction beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes towards science were positive, but their perceptions of invitation from teachers and their child were low. The results from Stage Two demonstrated that the intervention positively increased parental involvement in their child’s general and science learning and the invitations from teachers and their child. A positively small difference for parents’ self-efficacy beliefs was also found. However, parents’ and children’s attitudes towards science and parents’ communication with teacher did not change after the intervention. In addition, a small decrease was found regarding parents’ role construction beliefs.

No description available.

No description available.

Viewing parents as partners within education is enshrined in legislation. Using dyadic case studies of parents and teachers, jointly involved with children "giving cause for concern", this thesis shows that relationships between parents and teachers, when involved in a collective social practice of a potentially conflictual and contradictory nature, are characterised by diverse agendas, expectations and priorities. In these cases, the parent-teacher interface functions as a critical meeting ground for dialogue and as a lens through which to view the dynamics of mutuality and reciprocity. Wenger's concept of the 'community of practice', deployed as an 'ideal model', functions as a template for examining parent-teacher relationships within a social theory of learning which sees learning as an expression of social participation. Membership of a 'community of practice' implies collaborative mutual engagement in a joint project where meaning and strategies are constructed through negotiation and where participation increases whilst exclusionary processes decrease. The research reveals a spectrum of non-linear relationships subject to differences in socio-economic status, gender, personality, situation, motivation and context. Given the non-linear nature of relationships, and the need for liaison and negotiation of meanings, can this theory, with its social rather than didactic approach to problem-solving, contribute to the improvement of school and teacher-parent focused educational decision-making situations which affect children's life chances? Schools are potential sites for shared practice. However despite the legislation and the rhetoric, many schools lack effective mechanisms and resources for facilitating the active participation of parents and children. This thesis explores themes in relation to linking special educational needs, parent-teacher relationships and the 'duty of care' to the 'community of practice' theory. It draws attention to implications for the construction of effective parent-teacher partnerships grounded in a broad conceptualisation of inclusion and democratic decision-making processes.

No description available.