Nature of Parental Involvement: Perspectives from Principals, Teachers and Parents

Abstract

This chapter examines the practice of and factors related to parental involvement based on the experiences and perspectives of principals, teachers and parents. After presenting the general characteristics of the fields where parental involvement takes place, we will describe the enactment of parental involvement in school from the experiences of principals and teachers as well as the practice of parental involvement at home and in school from the experience of parents. The habitus of these three groups of stakeholders will then be compared. With knowledge about their views and ideologies on home–school collaboration, participation of parents in school-based management and related aspects, we will assess how their habitus and the objective conditions of different fields as well as different types and amounts of capital maneuvered by parents affect parental involvement enacted or practiced at the field of home and school. In the final section, a summary of key findings that have strong implications for establishing an effective and efficient home–school collaboration model will be presented.