Effective home-school partnership: Some strategies to help strengthen parental involvement

Abstract

The primary aim of the study from which this paper derives was to investigate the level of parental involvement in the schooling of their children. The study employed a descriptive case study research design. All data were based on  unstructured interviews with the 30 parents whose children attended one of the primary schools located in the London area of England, United Kingdom. The results of the study showed that parents care about their children’s education, and want to get involved. However, results also showed that most parents do not always know how to get involved,  and some are even intimidated by the operational structures within the school. The study concludes that to  effectively involve parents in the affairs of the school, as well as in their children’s education, certain strategies must be popularised within the school. It is recommended that parents be made aware of the strategies for their  involvement in children’s education if such strategies are to be effective.

Keywords: children; cultural capital; strategies; education; home–school partnership; home visits; involvement; parents; parents’ evening; parent–teacher games; school childcare policy