Governing the Family through Education: A Genealogy on the Home/School Relation

Abstract

We examine a century of rhetoric on the home/school relation and investigate how current ideas about this relationship and associated parent involvement might inhibit the realization of justice, equity, and excellence in education. The phrase home/school relation refers to the actual and theoretical pattern of prescribed interactions and communication between families and schools, with an emphasis on optimizing children's development and achievement. Parent involvement, in the home and in the school, is defined as a set of behaviors that results from parents' and schools' understanding of the home/school relation. Excerpts from texts written by post-structuralist philosopher Michel Foucault guide the historical analysis of published rhetoric on the home/school relation. Ultimately, this review serves to refocus attention on the home/school relation and associated parent involvement to expand insight and opportunity for equity in schools.

Kirsten Kainz is a statistician and investigator at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She specializes in quantitative research in education policy for promoting high quality schools for all children.

Nikki L. Aikens is a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Her research and policy interests focus on the early educational experiences of low-income, ethnic minority, and at-risk children and families.