Barriers to parental involvement / : perspectives of parents and teachers in a secondary school of the Maldives / Khadeeja Zuhurath

Abstract

Parental involvement in education is a huge topic of concern to parents, teachers, the school and the community. However, it was observed that, parental involvement is not up to a desired level especially in secondary schools. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the barriers to parental involvement from teachers and parents' perspectives and to explore the ways to increase parental involvement. For this study Epstein's types of parental involvement were used as a theoretical model.
To get answers for the research questions, qualitative phenomenology approach was used. The research school was a secondary school and the target population was parents and teachers of the school. Four parents and four teachers were selected as samples for the study using purposive sampling. Data was collected using in-depth interviews. To abide by the ethical issues consent was obtained from participants, school and the ministry. After collecting data, it was recorded and transcribed for analysis.
Data was analysed using inductive content analysis. ln this process, the transcriptions were coded and categorized to identify themes and sub themes. During data analysis procedure, trustworthiness of the data was considered by ensuring credibility, dependability, transferability, and conformability.
Data analysis had shown that, the barriers to parental involvement was due to three main factors; parent factors, school factors and ineffective communication. Conducting awareness programs, giving opportunities for parental involvement and increasing effectiveness of communication were identified as the ways to increase parental involvement.
Since parental involvement is a broad topic, further researches could be done to explore more about the nature and the types of parental involvement in the research school. With this understanding, parental involvement could be increased.

Key words: parental involvement, barriers to parental involvement, increase parental involvement, perspectives