Thesis

A study of the perceived relevance and effectiveness of parents' meetings in primary schools

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2005
Thesis identifier
  • T11548
Qualification Level
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Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • The body of research on parents’ meetings characterises these events as stressful and unsatisfactory while projecting a superficial consensus between parents and teachers for the sake of the child. As the recent UK literature is based in a secondary education context, this study aims to examine whether these issues are relevant in primary education. Informed by grounded theory, the study analyses the opinions of a sample of parents, teachers and pupils from three primary schools in one local education authority in Scotland. The data was gathered by group interviews with pupils, parents’ meeting observation and a diary-interview approach with parents and teachers. The key issues of the satisfaction, purpose and organisation of parents’ meetings as well as the proposed participation by pupils was subjected to a larger sample of parents through an attitudinal questionnaire. The data analysis suggested that, overall, satisfaction for parents and teachers rested on the individual meeting encounter with the interpersonal qualities of the teacher being paramount. Professional autonomy persists as participants interpret the purpose and key teacher role as being to transmit information as the expert on the pupil. However, a traditional model of parents’ meetings is being challenged as some parents seek proactive roles on behalf of their child that could be interpreted as advocacy. This process appears to have ignored the arguments for greater pupil self-advocacy prompted by Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as no pupils were present at the parents’ meetings in the study. Adults in the second phase of the study indicated their willingness to include pupil participation in meetings in some form, while the majority of the pupils interviewed were positive about this proposal.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Christie, Donald (Donald F. M.)
Resource Type
DOI
EThOS ID
  • uk.bl.ethos.428361

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