Conference Agenda

Parental involvement (PI) is widely acknowledged as a key factor in students’ academic achievement, motivation, and social development (Epstein, 2018; Hill & Tyson, 2009). International research consistently demonstrates that effective school–family partnerships contribute not only to improved learning outcomes but also to the reduction of educational inequalities and the strengthening of inclusive school cultures (Hornby, 2011; Bacskai et al., 2024). Despite this evidence, teachers’ attitudes toward collaboration with parents often remain ambivalent or deficit-oriented, particularly in relation to families from disadvantaged backgrounds and parents of adolescent students (Pusztai et al., 2024; Hornby & Lafaele, 2011).

Teachers frequently interpret parental involvement primarily as a mechanism for control or problem-solving, rather than as a form of partnership based on shared responsibility and mutual trust (Hornby & Lafaele, 2011). Research indicates that such orientations are deeply embedded in teachers’ professional beliefs and are only weakly influenced by traditional, theory-driven teacher education programs (Denessen et al., 2009; Willemse et al., 2018).

Teacher education and professional development often fail to provide opportunities for experiential and reflective engagement with the complexities of school–family collaboration (Povey et al., 2016). While targeted training programs have shown positive effects on teachers’ family engagement practices in some contexts (Smith, 2017), such initiatives remain rare in Central and Eastern Europe, where empirical evidence on effective interventions is still limited (Pusztai & Csók, 2023). This gap highlights the need for innovative, practice-oriented learning environments that address not only knowledge but also teachers’ attitudes, role perceptions, and professional dispositions toward parental involvement.

This study addresses this need by examining the potential of a purposefully designed analogue board game as an intervention for developing partnership-oriented attitudes toward PI among teacher trainees and practicing teachers. The research is situated at the intersection of parental involvement research (Epstein, 2018), inclusive education (Hornby, 2011), and game-based learning in higher education (Sousa et al., 2023; Noda et al., 2019). From a theoretical perspective, the study draws on Epstein’s framework of school–family–community partnerships, which conceptualizes parental involvement as a multidimensional and shared responsibility, as well as Hornby and Lafaele’s (2011) model of barriers to PI, emphasizing personal, perceptual, institutional, and societal factors shaping teachers’ practices.

In addition, the study is informed by experiential and transformative learning theories, which emphasize the role of authentic experiences, reflection, and cognitive dissonance in reshaping professional beliefs (Mezirow, 1997; Avalos, 2011). Game-based learning, particularly analogue board games, has been shown to support reflective dialogue, collaboration, and the development of social and communicative competences in higher education contexts (Karbownik et al., 2016; Sousa et al., 2023). However, empirical research on board games explicitly designed to influence teachers’ attitudes toward parental involvement remains scarce.

Against this background, the study is guided by the following research questions:

1. To what extent does participation in a board game-based intervention influence teachers’ and teacher trainees’ perceptions of parental involvement as part of their professional responsibility?
2. How does the intervention affect the perceived importance of different forms of parental involvement at the primary and secondary school levels?
3. What differences can be identified between teacher trainees and practicing teachers regarding attitudinal change following the intervention?

By presenting empirical findings from Hungary, this study contributes to the European and international discourse on innovative approaches to teacher education and professional development, offering evidence on how analogue game-based learning can support reflective engagement with complex relational dimensions of teaching that are often marginalized in formal training programs.

Teacher shortages are a severe challenge for education systems worldwide (UNESCO, 2024). Strategies to address this issue include diversifying pathways into teaching, improving retention, and increasing the number of graduates from teacher education. Student teachers who leave university without a degree exacerbate shortages and impose costs on universities and the wider economy.

This study focuses on student teachers who intend to leave teacher education. Following Heublein’s definition, dropout refers to leaving higher education without a degree (Heublein, 2014). We examine drop out within teacher education specifically.

Several theoretical models frame drop out. Tinto (1975) emphasizes social and academic integration. Heublein (2014) proposes a three-phase model: (1) pre-study factors (social/academic background and degree choice), (2) study situation (motivation, behavior, performance, resources, and study/living conditions), and (3) the decision phase culminating in leaving. Motivation for or against drop out can be situated within expectancy–value theory (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). Bargmann et al. (2022) found that task effort and interest are associated with career decidedness and dropout intentions among student teachers.

Evidence on dropout in teacher education is mixed across institutions and programs. For example, Güldener et al. (2020) report lower dropout rates in German “Gymnasium” programs than in primary education. Mouton et al. (2020) showed that dropout intentions are multifactorial and most frequent early in studies, identifying 12 student profiles via latent class analysis. For student teachers, Westphal et al. (2024) identified three profiles of cognitive and motivational characteristics; students with an engaged mindset showed lower intentions to quit.

Given that dropout appears (a) concentrated in the first year, (b) driven by combinations of factors, and (c) shaped by an individual decision process, we focus on the question how many student teachers drop out during their first year, and what explanations do leavers provide.

Teacher shortages and high rates of teacher attrition in hard-to-staff schools represent a persistent and growing challenge across education systems internationally (Simon & Johnson, 2015; McPherson et al., 2025). Policy responses in many jurisdictions increasingly position school leadership, particularly principal effectiveness, as a central lever for improving teacher retention in disadvantaged, rural, and high-poverty schools (Grissom, 2011; Ellison & Woods, 2019). While there is strong empirical evidence that leadership matters more in such contexts than in more advantaged schools, this policy emphasis often carries an implicit assumption that “good leadership” can compensate for structural inequities. This paper interrogates that assumption by asking not only what school leaders can do to support retention, but critically what lies beyond their control.

The paper addresses the following research question:

- What structural constraints limit principals’ capacity to retain teachers in hard-to-staff schools, and which retention strategies remain within school-level control?

Empirically, the study draws on a social lab conducted with principals from hard-to-staff schools in Victoria, Australia, contexts characterised by chronic staffing shortages, geographic isolation, socioeconomic disadvantage, and constrained labour markets. While the empirical setting is Australian, the paper explicitly engages with an international literature that is heavily US-dominated and increasingly relevant to European systems facing similar shortages, particularly in rural regions, border areas, and disadvantaged metropolitan communities (Simon & Johnson, 2015; Tran & Dou, 2019). In doing so, the paper contributes a broader perspective that extends and challenges dominant policy narratives circulating globally.

Conceptually, the study is anchored in the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017; Bakker et al., 2023), which frames work environments in terms of the interaction between job demands (aspects of work that require sustained effort and generate strain) and job resources (aspects that support goal attainment, reduce demands, or foster growth). While the JD-R Model has been widely used to study teacher wellbeing and retention, this paper extends its application by foregrounding the ecological embeddedness of school leadership. Principals are conceptualised not as autonomous actors but as system-embedded agents operating within overlapping policy, labour market, funding, and accountability structures.

The presentation introduces the concept of asymmetric leadership leverage. This captures the empirical pattern that principals possess significantly greater control over resource-enhancing practices (e.g. relational trust, induction, professional support, school culture) than over demand-reducing conditions (e.g. salaries, housing availability, staffing supply, funding equity, accountability regimes). The framework distinguishes between controllable and structurally constrained dimensions of teacher retention, allowing for a more realistic theorisation of leadership work in hard-to-staff schools.

By making visible and documenting the limits of school-level action, the paper challenges heroic leadership narratives and contributes to international debates about multi-level responsibility for teacher retention. Rather than diminishing the importance of leadership, the paper reframes it as necessary but insufficient, arguing for policy approaches that align school-level practices with system-level interventions.