Time: Monday, 26/Aug/2024: 11:30 - 13:00 Session Chair: Laurence Lasselle |
Location: Room 003 in ΧΩΔ 01 (Common Teaching Facilities [CTF01]) [Ground Floor] Cap: 40 |
Paper
School Choice Fever: Exploring the Educational Burden of Chinese Rural Families
Durham University, United Kingdom
Presenting Author:‘School choice fever’, or the over-heated competition for school choice, has become one of the most pressing concerns of Chinese society. Parents rush to get their children into top schools to give them an edge on a series of entrance examinations. The huge school choice fees and high-priced school district housing turned school choice-making into a game of power and money, which adds a heavy burden on the low- or middle-income families (Wu, 2013). Such fervent competition is believed to have corrupted the educational system and reproduced the social class inequalities (e.g., Liu and Apple, 2016; Zhou et al., 2020). In recent years, the school choice fever has spread from large and medium- sized cities to counties and rural areas of China, where quality educational resources are in striking shortage compared to urban areas. Though school choice is vital for rural families, previous research suggests many of them cannot choose the school they desired due to the restrictions of policies and their lack of economic, social resources.
Bourdieu's theory has been widely applied to school choice research across various context, offering a theoretical framework for understanding the differential school-choosing experiences undergone by families with different SES, the perceptions of school choice policy by parents, and the link between school choice and social reproduction (Ball & Gewirtz, 1997; Khalil & Kelly, 2020; Yoon, 2020). Applying Bourdieu's theory to China's school choice situation is especially relevant given the increasing demand for educational opportunities and the imbalanced distribution of educational resources, which particularly hinders lower socioeconomic status families from meeting their educational needs.
Though Bourdieu’s theory has been widely applied in school choice studies across the world, previous analysis is mainly focused on the middle class and urban contexts, lacking explanations for the motivations of, and strategies used by rural parents, who are generally in lower socioeconomic status in China (Lu & Chen, 2004). Researching the school choice of disadvantaged groups is crucial for understanding the reproduction of social inequalities and protecting the rights of education for marginalised children.Therefore, this ethnographic research aims to fill the gap by investigating Chinese rural families’ school choice. The research aspires to answer the following questions:
- How do rural families articulate their motivations, experiences, and decision-making processes regarding school choice?
- Are there any difference in making school choice among rural families of different socio-economic status?
- What types of support do rural families find beneficial in making school choice decisions?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
The study adopts an ethnographic approach, allowing for a deep, contextual understanding of the decision-making processes among rural families regarding school choice.
The research was conducted in three distinct yet interconnected sites within B City, Anhui Province: L Village, L Town Centre, and the urban district of B City. This multi-site design allows for a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis, offering insights into varying socio-economic contexts and their influence on school choice behavior, thus shedding light on urban-rural disparities. Analysis of policy documents was carried out to provide a comprehensive background for the study.
On October 1st 2023, I arrived at L Village situated in L Town, B City, commencing my fieldwork. I resided in the home of a local resident who owned a small village store. The room I live in is on the second floor of the store, which is strategically located at the corner of the village's central street. Benefiting from this location, this store served as an informal hub of the local community, with many villagers stopping by to chat or shop, thereby creating an ideal setting for gathering information.
Purposive sampling, specifically maximum variation sampling, was employed to select a diverse range of participants based on socio-economic backgrounds and geographical locations. The primary participants are families with children aged 11-14, transitioning from primary to secondary education. The sampling expanded through snowballing techniques, ensuring a broad spectrum of perspectives.
Data collection primarily involves semi-structured, in-depth interviews, aimed at understanding the 'why' and 'how' of school choice decisions. These interviews delve into participants' perceptions of policies and the challenges they face.
The participants of the first- and second-round data collection (Oct 2023 to January 2024) included 40 parents, 8 grandparents, 22 children, and 15 teachers, totalling 85 individuals mainly from the above three locations.
Following this, the one-year, longitudinal participant observation within selected families will offer a 'thick description' of the educational decision-making process, highlighting daily consultations, compromises, and conflicts inherent in these choices. The data collected will be analysed using thematic analysis.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
This study aims to shed light on the intricate dynamics of school choice in rural China, exploring the interplay of socio-economic factors, family dynamics, and educational choices.
The initial data collection reveals a complex scenario where socio-economic status prominently influences school choice. Particularly notable is the strategic utilisation of cultural and social capital by rural school teachers to secure optimal educational environment for their children. This strategy starkly contrasts with the challenges faced by economically and socially disadvantaged families in accessing quality education.
Moreover, the fervent pursuit of making school chocie is found to be intricately linked to the pressures of an exam-oriented educational system. This system fosters pervasive intergenerational pressures, with parents and grandparents (especially those caring for left-behind children) placing high academic expectations on children. These pressures often result in heavy academic loads and profound impacts on children’s mental health, exacerbated by their awareness of the sacrifices made by their families in their educational journey.
An intriguing finding is the divergent attitudes towards school types among rural families. While there is a strong preference for private schools and a general aversion to rural public schools, a notable discord exists between parents’ favoring of boarding schools and children’s resistance to them. This disparity not only underscores the varied perceptions and values linked to different educational institutions but also highlights the unique needs of rural families, such as the need for full-boarding school with closed campus management due to parental migration for work.
In conclusion, this study offers a detailed perspective on the factors shaping educational choices in rural China, providing crucial insights for educators, policymakers, and families. The findings underscore the need for policies that resonate with the realities of rural communities, paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable educational system in China.
References
Ball, S. J., & Gewirtz, S. (1997). Is Research Possible? A rejoinder to Tooley’s ‘On School Choice and Social Class ‘. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18(4), 575–586.
Khalil, L., & Kelly, A. (2020). The practice of choice-making: Applying Bourdieu to the field of international schooling. Journal of Research in International Education, 19(2), 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240920954045
Liu, S., & Apple, M. W. (2016). Parental Choice of School, Class Strategies, and Educational Inequality: An Essay Review of School Choice in China—A Different Tale?(X. Wu, New York, NY: Routledge, 2014, 168 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-81769-1). Educational Policy, 30(6), 940–955.
Lu, M., & Chen, Z. (2004). Urbanization, Urban-Biased Economic Policies and Urban-Rural Inequality [J]. Economic Research Journal, 6(5), 50–58.
Reay, D. (1996). Contextualising Choice: Social Power and Parental Involvement. British Educational Research Journal, 22(5), 581–596. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1501671
Wu, X. (2013). School choice in China: A different tale? Routledge.
Yoon, E.-S. (2020). School Choice Research and Politics with Pierre Bourdieu: New Possibilities. Educational Policy, 34(1), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904819881153
Zhou, X., Mau, A., & Jordan, L. (2020). Gaming the no-choice system? School choice and persistent educational inequality in China. Research Papers in Education, 1–19.
Paper
Educational Aspirations Among Native and Immigrant Mothers in Germany
Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany
Presenting Author:This study addresses socially-induced inequalities in educational attainment, highlighting how higher education and associated life opportunities are not equally accessible to all societal groups. Parental freedom in educational decision-making plays a crucial role in determining their children’s educational outcomes. These decisions are influenced by educational aspirations, which are strongly correlated with the actual educational achievements of children. In Germany's highly stratified education system, research has underscored the immense importance of parental aspirations during the transition from primary to secondary schools, with early selection processes impacting variously across social classes. While numerous studies, predominantly quantitative, have shown a strong correlation between parental education and aspirations, with a historical focus on the father's occupational status, recent interest has shifted towards exploring the impact of maternal education on educational inequalities. This shift is partly due to mothers – despite egalitarian role models in Germany – still assuming the majority of caregiving and educational responsibilities, but it is also closely linked to social advancements in women's rights to education and employment. Therefore, this study focuses on maternal educational aspirations for their children during the transition to secondary education. An additional crucial factor is the family's migration background. Germany, faced with multiple migration waves, serves as a pertinent context for this study. There are significant educational inequalities between migrants and natives and the European Union plays a pivotal role due to its legal provisions and agreements in migration and free movement. Two EU decisions are particularly relevant for this study: first, the freedom of movement for workers, enabling EU citizens to work and live in other EU countries without needing work or residence permits. According to Eurostat data, 10.2 million EU citizens of working age (3.9%) live in a member state other than that of their nationality, a significant increase from 2.4% in 2009. Second, EU programs fostering education and research mobility, enhancing the diversity of residence rights and conditions for mothers in Germany, thus creating a heterogeneous group of migrant women. Considering migrant experiences is therefore essential in researching educational inequalities and informing targeted educational policies beyond Germany. While the influence of parental educational aspirations on children's actual educational attainment is undisputed, the processes and mechanisms underlying this connection remain unclear. Of high interest is how these aspirations are successfully implemented and why some social groups are better at translating high aspirations into reality than others. This study investigates maternal biographies to holistically capture and qualitatively locate maternal educational aspirations. The study's theoretical framework follows two key implications: rational decision-making and implicit capital transmission. Rational choice approaches center on the idea that individuals consciously make decisions to maximize their utilities, as proposed by G. S. Becker, and invest in human capital to promote long-term household economic success. However, migrants often face lower educational levels, work experience, and language barriers, suggesting a lower human capital as a plausible explanation for disparities between immigrant and native populations. Extending monetary approaches, Pierre Bourdieu's concept of capitals considers various resources, including economic, social, and cultural capital. Bourdieu highlights a crucial oversight in economic theories: the transmission of capital within families and social groups, arguing that cultural capital, encompassing knowledge, skills, and cultural competence, is acquired and passed down within the family through informal processes such as social interactions, upbringing, and cultural practices. In the context of the diverse socioeconomic and migration backgrounds of the mothers in the present study, this theoretical combination establishes a framework for analyzing the interplay between individual choices and societal structures offering significant explanatory potential.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
The study's research question necessitates an open, biographically oriented approach. Biographical research, through the reconstruction of individuals' perceptions and interpretations, provides authentic data on the topic of interest. Therefore, biographical narrative interviews with mothers in Germany were conducted between 2020 and 2023. The data collection adhered to the Grounded Theory tradition. The primary sampling criterion was having at least one underage child, preferably at the transition from primary to secondary school. The final sample included 17 mothers aged 26 to 50, with eight born in Germany and nine abroad, including Russia and Romania (among them, 4 Romani mothers). The European Qualifications Framework was used to account for educational levels, covering levels one to eight. Mothers' educational levels were acquired either abroad, in Germany, or through a combination of training and recognition procedures. Three mothers lacked professional qualifications, seven underwent vocational training, and eight held university degrees (Master of Arts), with one possessing a doctorate (PhD). A brief questionnaire was presented to the participants after the interview, in which they were asked to specify the type of school they intend to send their child to and the ideal educational qualification they wish their child to achieve (educational aspirations). One year later, the mothers were contacted again to inquire about the actual school they sent their child to, in order to compare whether the educational aspirations were indeed realized. After conducting and transcribing the 17 interviews verbatim, a six-step narrative-analytical approach was employed for analysis. This approach allows systematic segmentation of the life narrative into phases, each with a specific function, referred to as process structures by Schütze. This methodology enables the reconstruction of recurring patterns, attitudes, and the entire educational trajectory beyond attained qualifications. Insights into migrant biographies also reveal how educational processes occur across national borders and how discontinuities and institutional barriers affect the recognition of foreign qualifications. Overall, the analysis uncovers mothers' efforts, investments, and concerns for their children's education. It also brings to light educational decisions and aspirations made against a backdrop of rational decisions and the invisible transmission of cultural capital within the family through hidden mechanisms, accessible mainly through qualitative approaches.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
Biographical analyses revealed two opposing trends in mothers' life courses. Some mothers actively guide their academic and personal self-fulfillment, while others passively experience their circumstances, confronting extensive institutional barriers. Migration experience and educational level crucially influence these trajectories. Depending on migration status, mothers may face limitations impacting their academic paths and lowering educational aspirations for their children. Work permits and residency status of their spouses can compel them to accept precarious work conditions, leaving little time for their children. Some migrant mothers, denied education in their childhood, express no educational aspirations for their children, partly due to varying awareness about the German education system. The study also uncovers trends beyond educational aspirations, highlighting the realities of mothers' lives and suggesting areas for further research. Parents experience intense educational pressure from narratives of an 'educational crisis' and inadequate institutional infrastructures. Many doubt the ability of schools and kindergartens to provide sufficient personal and professional development for their children, leading them to undertake independent support efforts from an early stage. This situation demands significant monetary and time investments from mothers, who often feel solely responsible for their children's 'successful' upbringing. In 2022, 63 percent of mothers with children over six opted for part-time work, one of the highest rates in the EU-27. Although part-time employment can adversely affect career progression and pension contributions, mothers often reduce their working hours for 'family and child management', sometimes to the point of self-sacrifice. A comparative analysis across European countries could shed light on labor market incentives and conditions for policies that better support mothers in balancing work and family life.
References
Becker, B. (2010): Bildungsaspirationen von Migranten – Determinanten und Umsetzung in Bildungsergebnisse.
Becker, B., and Gresch, C. (2016): Bildungsaspirationen in Familien mit Migrationshintergrund. In: Diehl, C.; Hunkler, C., and Kristen, C. (Eds.): Ethnische Ungleichheiten im Bildungsverlauf. Mechanismen, Befunde, Debatten. Wiesbaden: Springer SV, 73–115.
Becker, G. S. (1964): Human capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education. New York: Columbia Univ. Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1983): Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, soziales Kapital. In: Soziale Welt, Sonderband 2, 183–198.
Europäisches Parlament (2024): Kurzdarstellungen zur Europäischen Union. Freizügigkeit der Arbeitnehmer. : Europäisches Parlament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/de/sheet/41/freizugigkeit-der-arbeitnehmer (Retrieved January 29, 2024).
Eurostat Statistics (2024). Erwerbstätigenquoten nach Geschlecht, Alter und Staatsangehörigkeit (%). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/LFSA_ERGAN__custom_107085/bookmark/table?lang=de&bookmarkId=eb11a019-2016-46bc-b9ef-0f958228f70e (Retrieved January 26, 2024).
Glaser, B. G., and Strauss, A. L. (1967): The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New Brunswick: Aldine.
Gresch, C. (2012): Der Übergang in die Sekundarstufe I. Leistungsbeurteilung, Bildungsaspiration und rechtlicher Kontext bei Kindern mit Migrationshintergrund. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Klapproth, F. (2020): Familie und Bildungsaspirationen. In: Ecarius, J., and Schierbaum, A. (Eds.): Handbuch Familie. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, 1–20.
Kurz, K., and Paulus, W. (2008): Übergänge im Grundschulalter: die Formation elterlicher Bildungsaspirationen. In: Die Natur der Gesellschaft: Verhandlungen des 33. Kongresses der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie, 5489–5503.
Relikowski, Ilona; Yilmaz, Erbil, and Blossfeld, Hans-Peter (2012): Wie lassen sich die hohen Bildungsaspirationen von Migranten erklären? Eine Mixed-Methods-Studie zur Rolle von strukturellen Aufstiegschancen und individueller. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 52, Vol. 52, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 111–136.
Schütze, F. (1984): Kognitive Figuren autobiographischen Stegreiferzählens. In: Kohli, M., and Robert, G. (Eds.): Biographie und soziale Wirklichkeit: Neue Beiträge und Forschungsperspektiven. Stuttgart: Metzler, 78–117.
Stocké, V. (2013): Bildungsaspirationen, soziale Netzwerke und Rationalität. In: Becker, R., and Schulze, A. (Eds.), Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 269–298
Trubeta, S. (2022): Diskurse um EU-Binnenmigration aus Süd- und Südosteuropa. In: Zeitschrift für Migrationsforschung 2 (1), 61–94.
Paper
Parental Involvement in Elementary Education in Kazakhstan: Nature, Factors, And Implications for Academic Achievement
Nazarbayev Intellectual school of Physics and Math in Semey
Presenting Author:Research background
Parents take the central part in all spheres of their children’s lives, including education. Historically, parents were the ones who educated their offspring or chose the governors for them. In the beginning of 20th century, with the expansion of formal education, however, schools became the primary places to cultivate knowledge and develop skills (Scully, Barbour, & Roberts-King, 2015). Since then, family-school collaboration underwent dramatic changes (Epstein & Sanders, 2002). Initially, there was a clear cut between the roles families and school performed: schools aimed at developing basic literacy, calculation, and sciences, whereas parents taught their children culture, moral and religion (Hill & Taylor, 2004). Today’s curriculum has further expanded to incorporate many aspects which were traditionally considered as a family responsibility to foster, leaving the majority of parents uninvolved (Scully et al., 2015).
Most commonly, parental involvement is identified as a critical factor to accelerate students’ academic achievements. A substantial body of research confirms the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement (Castro et al., 2015; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Jeynes, 2012); however, the results vary greatly from low-moderate positive to negative and non-existent (Mattingly, Prislin, McKenzie, Rodriguez, & Kayzar, 2002; McNeal, 2001). The consistent positive effects of parental involvement, according to Borgonovi and Montt (2012), are most commonly noted in the US and the UK, where it has been most thoroughly researched. Parental engagement has also been investigated in such varied cultural contexts as Mexico, Korea, Egypt, Iceland, Greece, Hong Kong-China, Italy, New Zealand, Germany, and the Netherlands. However, empirical research on parental involvement in Central Asia is rather limited.
Research problem
OECD report on Parental Involvement in Selected Countries and Economies participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) states that parental involvement might be successfully used as a mean to ease financial pressure on the education budget through minimizing the number of students who fail to complete the annual academic program and need additional subsidizing from the government to repeat the year (Borgonovi & Montt, 2012). Parental involvement is also reported to increase the level of the school completion rate, which is pivotal for children’s future economic success, especially for those coming from low-income families (Barnard, 2004).
Parental involvement is beneficial to practically every group of stakeholders involved in education. Sung (2010), however, claims that effectiveness of parental involvement interventions is closely related to the cultural context it is taking place. A considerable number of countries and policies worldwide have acknowledged the value of parental involvement and committed to launching intervention programs (Domina, 2005), whereas engaging parents in education is still an unexplored terrain in Kazakhstani context. It is yet to be found out what the parental involvement beliefs and practices in Kazakhstan are, which factors affect parents’ choice to become involved in their child’s schooling and what the relationships between parental involvement and academic achievement are.
Aim of the study
The study aims to investigate how the concept of parental involvement is understood and practiced in Kazakhstani context as well as to determine the factors which affect the degree of parental engagement.
Research questions:
1. How is the concept of parental involvement understood by Kazakhstani parents in elementary school?
2. Which types of parental involvement are typically practiced in elementary schools in Kazakhstan?
3. What are the factors which affect the degree of parental involvement in these settings?
4. What is the relationship between parental involvement and students' academic achievement in elementary school in Kazakhstan?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
The nature of the research questions formulated in this study suggested a quantitative methodology to be applied. A non-experimental exploratory survey research design was employed to explore the nature of parental involvement in Kazakhstan, to study the relationship between parental involvement and students’ academic achievement, to investigate the factors which mediate them.
Non-probability maximum variation sampling was chosen to collect data from parents who have their children in various academic settings, represent different family characteristics and come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
The research aimed to collect data from the parents who have their children in Grade 1 and 4 of the elementary school, to allow the comparison of parental involvement practices across the first and the last stages of primary education. Four primary schools in Semey were approached with the request to participate in the study. Selected schools varied in school location (SES-advantaged areas/SES-disadvantaged areas) and language of instruction.
The research intended to collect data from 200 parents. The sample, however, comprised 172 parents aged 20 to above 50 years old. 85 percent of parents either had a Bachelor or a Master’s degree, while 42 percent graduated from vocational colleges or chose not to pursue further education after secondary school.
This research used self-completion paper-based questionnaires to collect nominal data on respondents’ background and to measure parental involvement beliefs, parental involvement practices and students’ academic achievement. It consisted of 56 multiple choice questions and comprised five sections.
To measure parental involvement beliefs (Section 1), a scale was developed based on the indices adopted from Catsambis (1998), Catsambis and Garland (1997), DePlanty, Coulter-Kern and Duchane (2007), Fan (2001). Three indices were chosen to represent each of the six parentail involvement dimensions. Section 1 included 18 items and utilized a six-point Level of Agreement Likert-scale. The same scale of indices as for parental involvement beliefs was employed to collect the data on parental involvement practices (Section 2).
In Section 3 – Information about the child and his/her academic achievement – parents were asked to self-report on their child’s global academic and subject-specific achievement.
Section 4 consisted of four close-ended questions about family demographics, which allowed collecting the information about family structure and the number of siblings the child had. Four close-ended questions in Section 5 aimed to collect data on family socioeconomic status: parents’ educational background, their employment schedule and family income.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
The purpose of this study was three-fold: first, to study how the concept of the parental involvement is understood and practiced by Kazakhstani parents within the Epstein’s (1995) theoretical framework. The second aim of the research was to investigate the factors which affect parents’ decision to become parentally involved. Finally, the study was targeted to examine the relationship between parental involvement and student’s academic achievement, thus adding to the ongoing debate in the field. A non-experimental exploratory survey research design was applied to answer the research questions. A self-report paper- based questionnaire was utilized for the data collection.
The analyses of the mean scores for each of the six parental involvement dimensions revealed that beliefs and practices of the home-based activities (Type 1, Type 3, Type 4) were prevalent in the Kazakhstani society. Parents’ beliefs about and practices of Parenting dimension were found to be particularly strong, whereas Decision Making dimension scored the lowest.
Although the majority of the factors this study scrutinized did not prove to be significant predictors of the parental involvement beliefs and practices in the Kazakhstani Elementary schools, the research was able to confirm the role of the child’s gender on the range and frequency of the parental involvement practices parents tended to adopt. Parental involvement was also found to be affected by the mothers’ employment working schedule as well as child’s grade and the language of instruction employed at the school. Pearson correlation analysis of the relationship between six parental involvement dimensions and students’ general academic achievement, achievement in math and reading did not yield many strong connections between the variables.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). Contexts of child rearing: Problems and prospects. American Psychologist, 34(10), 844-850. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.844
Brown, M. C. (1994). Parental involvement as a variable in reading readiness: A review of related literature. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.: ED 384850. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED384850.pdf
Catsambis, S. (1998). Expanding the knowledge of parental involvement in secondary education: Effects on high school academic success (CRESPAR Report 27). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Chen, J. J. L. (2005). Relation of academic support from parents, teachers, and peers to Hong Kong adolescents' academic achievement: The mediating role of academic engagement. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 131(2), 77-127. doi:10.3200/MONO.131.2.77-127
Epstein, J.L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701-712. doi:10.1177/003172171009200326
Fan, X. (2001). Parental involvement and students' academic achievement: A growth modeling analysis. The Journal of Experimental Education, 70(1), 27-61, doi:10.1080/00220970109599497
Hill, N. E., & Taylor, L. C. (2004). Parental school involvement and children's academic achievement pragmatics and issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(4), 161-164. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00298.x
Hoover-Dempsey, K., & Sandler, H. M. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children’s education? Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 3-42. doi:10.3102/00346543067001003
IAC (Information-analytic centre). (2014). OECD Review of Policies to Improve the Effectiveness of Resource Use in Schools: Country Background Report for Kazakhstan. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/school/CBR_Kazakhstan_english_final.pdf
IAC. (2015). Osnovnye pokazateli doshkolnogo, obshego srednego, tekhicheskogo i professionalnogo obrazovaniya 2015-2016 [Core indicators of pre-school, secondary, technical and vocational education 2015-2016]. Astana, Kazakhstan: Information-Analytic Center.
IAC. (2016a). National report on the state and development of the educational system of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2015. Astana, Kazakhstan: Information-Analytic Center.
Nurbek, S. (2017, October). Values in Kazakhstani Society: Their impact on Education. Paper presented at IX International Research-to-Practice Conference of AEO Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools “Values, Wellbeing and Innovation for the Future of Education”, Astana, Kazakhstan.
Pons, A., Amoroso, J., Herczynski, J., Kheyfets, I., Lockheed, M., & Santiago, P. (2015). OECD Reviews of School Resources. Paris, France: OECD Publishing.
Scully, P. A., Barbour C., & Roberts-King, H. (2015). Families, schools, and communities: Building partnerships for educating children. London, UK: Pearson
Sung, H. Y. (2010). The influence of culture on parenting practices of East Asian families and emotional intelligence of older adolescents: A qualitative study. School Psychology International, 31(2), 199-214. doi:10.1177/0143034309352268
Paper
When We Open The Doors. Renewing The Family-School Corresponsibility In The Primary School As A Resource For Countering Educational Poverty
Unimore, Italy
Presenting Author:The present work, which is part of a larger doctoral dissertation project, stems from a series of questions regarding the reality of the Italian Primary School experienced by the researcher herself in the dual role of teacher and parent. The critical issues related to the participation of families in school life as well as the apparent lack of incisiveness of the Primary School in making a difference for those children who come from poor educational backgrounds, raised a number of questions about the underlying motivations behind the two phenomena and a possible correlation between the school-family co-responsibility variable and the fight against educational poverty in the Primary School. The main questions that have emerged are:
What are the beliefs, motivations, preconceptions, and emotions that shape the relationality of teachers and parents?
Through building a meaningful school-family dialogue in primary school, is it possible to trigger virtuous mechanisms to counter educational poverty?
A traditional literature review and empirical research were conducted to answer the research questions.
In this regard, after the literature review of publications related to both educational poverty and school-family educational co-responsibility, this study attempts to suggest a possible way forward that puts back at the center: dialogue, openness to the other's point of view, the generative resources of families (Amadini 2013, 2018, 2019; Maia, 2022) as well as the capabilities of each person (Sen, 1990, 2014; Nussbaum, 2006, 2011, 2014) as necessary and no longer procrastinable premises for concrete projects and actions that counter educational poverty, at school. A major source of theoretical inspiration for this work is the Reggio Children Approach (Edwards, Gandini, Forman, 2017), which makes family and community participation a foundation of its pedagogical thinking and educational action in the 0-11 range.
The complexity of the new social and family contexts, the recent pandemic and a widespread crisis of values represent, in general, a challenge for school worldwide. In Italy, the Primary school, in particular, due to a kind of its intrinsic conformation, shows, with some evidence, how complex it is for the actors involved in the educational process to be able to enter into relationships and create positive synergies and shared planning (Dusi, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2022; Epstein, 2018; Pati, 2011, 2019).
In this paper, through empirical research, we investigate school-family co-responsibility and its possible role in combating educational poverty by collecting the voices of parents, by collecting parents and teachers voices through online questionnaires and focus groups and by involving them in a shared micro-projectuality to be realized at school.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
In order to answer the research questions as postulated, it was necessary to resort to a type of inquiry that would draw its information from experience by giving voice to the protagonists of the context under investigation. The approach that considers knowledge inseparable from the knowing subject and is the basis of this work, is that of empirical phenomenology (Husserl, 1913; Scott, 1991; Sità, 2017).
Following a phenomenological approach, a Mixed Method survey was used in order "to find the best possible answers to the question that originated the research itself" by combining quantitative and qualitative analysis (Mortari, Ghirotto, 2012). The basic idea of the Mixed Method is to be able to meet different research objectives, that is, to arrive at the explanation of factors on the basis of others and to understand in a deeper way some individual and/or collective dynamics. In this type of research all phases "constitute a single study and the two moments- qualitative and quantitative-cannot be separated" (Mortari, Ghirotto, 2012).
This work applied an explanatory type strategy with sequential architecture, that is: it started with a first quantitative study followed by a second qualitative one to understand in depth what emerged in the first.
The instruments used were: an online questionnaire for both parents and teachers to collect quantitative data and a couple of in-depth online focus groups (by category of participants) to collect qualitative ones.
There were 49 completed questionnaires from teachers and 69 from parents in two different Primary Schools.
One focus group per category was conducted in each school and one micro-project meeting between teachers and parents is being held for each school. The mixed-group micro-project phase (still ongoing) is also conducted online and recorded as a focus group activity.
The use of the Mixed Method ensured, therefore, both a quantitative type of analysis on the recursiveness of motivations, feelings, attitudes or preconceptions regarding the themes investigated, and then cross-referencing them with other factors such as biographical data, geographic origin, family characteristics and so on; and a qualitative type of analysis that would allow us to explore and understand the meanings that the participants involved attributed to events and experiences related to school life and their participation as well as to the theme of educational poverty.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
Although the analysis and collection of data is still in progress, it is possible to make some preliminary observations about the fact that there are points of convergence in thinking between teachers and parents from which they can start to meet in a dialogical relationship.
The transcripts of the focus groups are still being analyzed and show a shared desire to make the school-family partnership effective by moving beyond the biases and preconceptions that emerged in both the questionnaire and the separate group focus groups.
The micro-project phase (still ongoing) is providing the ground for concrete experimentation with what educational co-responsibility means and how it can be placed at the service of combating educational poverty.
Research questions are expected to be answered in a way that confirms the urgency for Italian primary schools to "open the doors" to families with a view to making them co-protagonists in the educational project concerning their children.
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