Digital technologies and parental involvement in education: the experiences of mothers of primary school-aged children

Abstract

This paper makes a contribution to the developing field of the political economy of educational technology and to an understanding of the significance of digital technologies for home-school relations. The digitalisation of social life is increasing and the impact of digitalisation on home-school relations, parents, and children is under-researched. This article draws on a new qualitative study where fifteen mothers were interviewed about parenting a primary school aged child in England with a focus on digital technologies, home-school relations, and parenting. I argue that processes of digitalisation are contributing to a bureaucratisation of home-school relations. Drawing on Weber’s social theory, I argue that managing communications and information is taking precedence over other aspects of parental involvement in education. In this process, digital technologies are contributing to increasing demands for involvement in education that are placed on parents, reinforcing the wider norms of the intensification and professionalisation of parenting.

Keywords:

• Digital technologies
• home-school relations
• motherhood
• parental involvement

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the women who gave up their time to participate in this study; the reviewers whose feedback was very useful in improving this paper; and my colleagues who commented on an earlier draft of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For clarity, I refer to primary school child or children in the text rather than child/children.

Additional information

Funding

The fieldwork for the project was supported by research support funds from Keele University.