ABSTRACT

Parental involvement in children’s education contributes to children’s educational success. Most schools, therefore, aim to increase parental involvement and organise school-based activities that provide parents with interaction opportunities with teachers, school administrators, and other parents. Although the impact of parental involvement is studied frequently, little attention has gone into examining the interparental dynamics during school-based parental involvement activities. An ethnographic study conducted in five primary schools in The Netherlands shows how interactions among parents shape school-based parental involvement activities (in specific Parent Coffee Mornings). On the one hand, the interactions during Parent Coffee Mornings contributed to increased parental involvement, parents’ network, and social capital of parents. On the other hand, these interactions created patterns of exclusion among parents in what were intended to be inclusionary activities. Knowledge about the dual nature of these activities is likely vital for researchers and school administrations alike.

摘要

父母参与儿童教育有助于儿童教育的成功。因此，大多数学校的目标是增加家长的参与，并组织校本活动，为家长提供与教师、学校管理人员和其他家长互动的机会。尽管经常研究家长参与的影响，但很少有人关注在学校家长参与活动期间检查家长之间的动态。在荷兰五所小学进行的一项人种学研究表明，家长之间的互动如何影响学校的家长参与活动（在特定的家长咖啡早晨）。一方面，家长咖啡晨间的互动有助于增加家长的参与度、家长的网络和家长的社会资本。另一方面，这些互动在父母之间造成了排斥模式，而这些本来是包容性的活动。了解这些活动的双重性质对于研究人员和学校管理人员来说可能至关重要。