THIS PAPER DISCUSSES THE key findings from a qualitative case study that was conducted in response to one regional Queensland state school's identified need for a customised approach to parent engagement in the early years. Data was collected via six semi-structured focus group interviews with parents (n = 18) of children in the Preparatory year level at the school. A priori analysis of the data revealed three key barriers to parents' engagement with the school: communication, consistency and family commitments.
The intention of this study was to capture parents' perspectives and experiences in order to customise and strengthen the school's approach to parent engagement. The key findings and implications presented herein contribute to the body of knowledge on parent engagement practices in early childhood education settings. Moreover, this article emphasises the importance of the development of an individualised approach to parent engagement that is informed by parents.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BorgonoviF., & MonttG. (2012). Parental involvement in selected PISA countries and economies. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 73.Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
2.
CreswellJ. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
3.
Council of Australia Governments (COAG). (2009). Investing in the early years—a national early childhood development strategy: July 2009.Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.
4.
DanielG. (2015). Patterns of parent involvement: A longitudinal analysis of family–school partnerships in the early years of school in Australia. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(1), 119–128.
5.
DenscombeM. (2007). The good research guide: For small scale social research projects.Berkshire, England: Open University Press.
DockettS., & PerryB. (2007). Transitions to school: Perceptions, expectations, experiences.Sydney, NSW: University of NSW Press Ltd.
10.
DockettS., & PerryB. (2014). Continuity of learning: A resource to support effective transition to school and school age care.Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Department of Education.
EpsteinJ. L. (1992). School and family partnerships. In AikenM. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of education research (6th ed., pp. 1139–1151). New York, NY: Macmillan.
13.
EpsteinJ. L. (2011). School, family, and community partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
14.
EpsteinJ. L. (2013). Ready or not? Preparing future educators for school, family, and community partnerships. Teaching Education, 24(2), 15–118.
15.
FabianH. (2013). Towards successful transitions. In MargettsK. & KienigA. (Eds.), International perspectives on transition to school: Reconceptualising beliefs (pp. 45–55). Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis.
16.
FlyvbjergB. (2011). Case study. In DenzinN. K. and Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 301–316). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
17.
FreemanD. (1998). Doing teacher research: From inquiry to understanding.Pacific Grove, CA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
18.
GreenC. L., WalkerJ. M. T., Hoover-DempseyK. V., & SandlerH. N. (2007). Parents' motivations for involvement in children's education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 532–544.
19.
Hoover-DempseyK. V., & SandlerH. M. (1995). Parental involvement in children's education: Why does it make a difference? Teachers College Record, 97, 310–331.
20.
Hoover-DempseyK. V., & SandlerH. M. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children's education? Review of Educational Research, 67, 3–42.
21.
MargettsK. (2002). Transition to school—Complexity and diversity. European Early Childhood Research Journal, 10(2), 103–114.
22.
PomerantzE. M., & MoormanE. A. (2010). Parents' involvement in children's schooling. In MeeceJ.L. & EcclesJ.S. (Eds.), Handbook of research on schools, schooling, and human development (pp. 398–416). New York, NY: Routledge.
23.
StakeR. (1995). The art of case study research.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
24.
TekinA. K. (2011). Parent involvement revisited: Background, theories, and models. International Journal of Applied Education Studies, 11(1), 1–13.
25.
TaylerC. (2013). Entry to school. In HattieJ. & AndermanE.M. (Eds.), International guide to student achievement (pp. 25–27). Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis.
26.
YinR. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
