School-home connections: political relations in policy implementation

This paper examines whether teachers and parents feel they influence school leaders' work in the policy field of community participation in government schools within the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It reports on the implementation of recent policy initiatives designed to create school/family partnerships. In New South Wales, a move from decentralized school management to shared governance through devolution has placed greater responsibility on the schools and their leaders to gain the active participation of parents and community members and to be more publicly accountable to them. In particular, the Scott Management Review required that each school prepare, in collaboration with school councils, a School Renewal Plan that detailed the school's agreed-upon educational goals and priorities over a 5-year period. In 1994, the Home-School Connections Project was initiated in the Baysview area to explore the nature and effectiveness of home-school linkages. Data were collected through surveys of families and teachers in eight primary schools, interviews with parents and teachers, document analysis, and observation. Findings indicate that a significant number of parents sought ways to participate in their children's education and that many teachers attempted to attract parents into the classroom in ways beyond traditional school-council processes. Teachers were moving toward greater parent participation, though not all wanted to step beyond the traditional role of teacher. Authority was negotiated and shared among different interest groups over different problems and solutions. In summary, effective parent participation enhances the authority of both the home and the school/teacher. It is pointed out that the diversity of opinions need not be threatening; shared meanings are possible and the only way forward. Appendices included a sample report card and an abstract of related research (teacher-parent practices and perceptions of an urban-government school).