Parental involvement in site-based management: lessons from one site

Abstract

Site-based management is a reform strategy that, in many instances, purports to enhance parental involvement in their children's education by providing them with opportunities to participate in decision-making processes within the school. Research on the degree to which this governance structure actually accomplishes this goal is mixed. Some describe sites where involvement in decision-making appears to increase parental agency and influence in a way that positively shapes learning and teaching. Other research presents evidence that, at many sites, participatory structures do little to alter traditional power relationships. They assert that the role of low-income, uneducated and minority parents, who were relatively powerless in centralized school systems, tend to remain that way in those attempting decentralization. This case study report offers insight into the dynamics of parental involvement in one low income, urban school that is struggling to improve student learning and draw parents into all aspects of their children's education. The authors explore factors in one site that constrain parental engagement in substantive educational decision-making, and they describe strategies for overcoming barriers to sustained and wide-spread parental involvement. They conclude with consideration of the application of their findings within sites seriously committed to educational transformation and powerful parental involvement in all aspects of school life.