Barr Jenny, Saltmarsh Sue

Abstract：Parent-school engagement is widely understood to be an important factor in children’s school experience and educational outcomes. However, there is considerable variation in the ways that schools manage their relationships with parents, as well as variation in what parents themselves view as important for engagement with their children’s schooling. In a qualitative study conducted with parents in urban, outer metropolitan, regional and rural areas of the Australian state of New South Wales, we found that parents considered the attitudes, communication and leadership practices of school principals to play a crucial role in fostering and maintaining relationships between parents and schools. These findings suggest that despite policy rhetorics positioning schools and parents as ‘partners’ in the educational equation, parents are more likely to be engaged with schools where the principal is perceived as welcoming and supportive of their involvement, and less likely to be engaged where the principal is perceived as inaccessible, dismissive or disinterested in supporting their involvement.

Keywords：Parent-school engagement; partnership; principals; school leadership

总结：

1、家校合作已经成为儿童学校经历和教育成果的一个重要因素。然而，学校在管理与学生父母之间关系的方式上有相当大的变化，同样，作为孩子教育的重要参与者的父母，其自身的看法也有了变化。

2、在一个对澳大利亚新南威尔士州中城市、大都会和农村地区的父母的质性研究中，笔者发现父母认为校长的态度、沟通和领导实践在促进和维护家长和学校关系中扮演着非常重要的角色。

3、这些研究结果表明，尽管政策理论把学校和家长在教育方程上定位成“合作伙伴”，但是父母更有可能从事学校中那些校长欢迎并且支持他们参与进来的事务中，而不太可能去从事那些被认为是难以接近的、不屑一顾的或是无私地支持他们的事务。

来源:Educational Management Administration & Leadership. Jul2014, Vol. 42 Issue 4, p491-505. 15p.