The impact of school leaders on parental engagement in state, church and private schools

Abstract

One of the most important roles of school leaders is to bring all stakeholders together to support each other and work in collegiality to nourish the school’s vision, aims and ethos. This is all about effective school leadership which amongst multiple responsibilities, they should encourage and endorse active parental participation. It is only through parental engagement that schools can successfully provide meaningful learning to help children develop holistically and reach their full potential. By evaluating and reflecting on the differences between ‘parental involvement’ and ‘parental engagement’, this study investigates to what extent parental participation as envisaged in the National Curriculum Framework (2012) is being fulfilled in schools. In addition, by exploring the perceptions of a number of school leaders in state, church and private schools towards parental participation, the study determines to what extent parental engagement is actually supported across sectors and the differences between sectors and how school leaders impact parental engagement in the selected schools. Based on the study’s outcomes, additional recommendations are ultimately put forward for consideration, which school leaders may consider to increase parental engagement in their schools. The methodology of this study was based on qualitative research using purposive sampling. The data collection methods used to generate data were one-to-one semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Interviews were held with five selected Heads of School from different educational sectors whilst focus groups were held with parents in the schools of the interviewed Heads of School. This methodology made it possible to compare all the local educational sectors; giving a broader insight whether schools and stakeholders from various sectors perceive parental engagement differently as well as to what extent parental engagement in each sector is being sustained. The findings showed that all participants, both Heads and parents, recognise the importance of parental participation in children’s schooling. However, even though they all agreed that parents should be involved in their children’s education, there were some important disparities to what extent this should be the case; especially among the school leaders. This indirectly affects and impacts on the respective school’s culture and community as to how to perceive and engage in parental participation.