Perspectives of family–school relationships in Qatar based on Epstein’s model of six types of parent involvement

Abstract

Establishing a collaborative relationship between family and school is associated with positive outcomes for children; however, little research exists, especially in the Arab Gulf region, on whether the perspectives of those who are involved in children’s development and learning are similar regarding family–school relationships. Thus, the primary purpose of this research is to investigate how parents of children, early childhood teachers, subject coordinators, school administrators, and school counselors living in Qatar perceive family–school relationships. A survey was developed based on Epstein’s six types of parent involvement and administrated to 552 participants in Doha city. To add more information and deepen the findings, the authors interviewed a subsample of the participants (n = 60). Overall, participants expressed high to moderate levels of family–school relationships. Learning at home exhibited the highest mean score among Epstein’s six types model of parents involvement, while decision-making received the lowest level. Furthermore, school staff responded more positively regarding family–school relationships than did parents. Implications for school and family practices and policy development are discussed, together with directions for future research.

Keywords:

• Family–school relationships
• family involvement
• Epstein’s six-types model
• early childhood education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to express deepest gratitude and appreciation to the parents of children and school staff (early childhood teachers, administrators, coordinators, and school counselors) whose generous participation made this study possible.