Survey and interview data were collected through a two-staged, mixed method, research design to examine the effects on schools and classrooms of school councils formed in response to a large bundle of government reform initiatives in Ontario. Results suggested that, at best, councils had a weak positive influence on both classroom practice and school wide decisions. Councils that were relatively influential had, among other features, highly competent parent chairs, facilitative principals who wanted the councils to be useful to their schools, and a history of productive working relationships between teachers and parents.
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