Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Presenting School Learning Findings

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Principal Leadership for Parent Engagement in Disadvantaged Schools

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Education ((BRIEFSEDUCAT))

  • 282 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter presents research findings on school learning arising from the Principal Leadership for Parent Engagement project. School learning encompasses Schwab’s (1973) dimensions/milieus of classrooms and curriculum (subject matter) as well as the additional commonplace of digital technologies (virtual classrooms). These three aspects are associated with school places and spaces (physical and virtual) where teachers typically work and students typically learn. Accordingly, analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected from the participating schools and principals is presented under three headings: classrooms, curriculum (subject matter), and digital technologies (virtual classrooms). The concept of agency as achievement (Biesta & Tedder, 2007) is further employed to conceptualise what helped or hindered the principals’ effectiveness in parent engagement and the qualities and strategies associated with their success. This chapter casts new light on how the principals’ available resources—cultural, material, structural (Priestley et al., 2015)—affected their orientations to agency (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998) within their different settings and contexts. Based on the findings we draw conclusions about principal leadership for parent engagement that relate to the effect of traditional barriers to parent engagement on principal manoeuvrability for change and action; unexpected barriers to parent engagement as a result of the intensification of teachers’ work and rise of performativity; and the role of principals in championing emerging parent engagement opportunities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Apple, M. W. (2001). Markets, standards, teaching, and teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(3), 182–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2016). National assessment program—Literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN). Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan.

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2018). Australian curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/about-the-australian-curriculum/.

  • Barr, J., & Saltmarsh, S. (2014). “It all comes down to the leadership”: The role of the school principal in fostering parent-school engagement. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 42(4), 491–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barton, G., Garvis, S., & Ryan, M. (2014). Curriculum to the classroom: Investigating the spatial practices of curriculum implementation in Queensland schools and its implications for teacher education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 166–177. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n3.9.

  • Biesta, G., & Tedder, M. (2007). Agency and learning in the lifecourse: Towards an ecological perspective. Studies in the Education of Adults, 39(2), 132–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmore, J. (2004). Leading as emotional management work in high risk times: The counterintuitive impulses of performativity and passion. School Leadership and Management, 24(4), 439–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. W. (2010). Interview: Raewyn Connell. Teacher quality and the problem with markets. Partnerships with parents. Professional Voice, 8(2), 55–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cranston, N. C. (2007). Through the eyes of potential aspirants: Another view of the principalship. School Leadership and Management, 27(2), 109–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Education. (2018). Curriculum into the classroom (C2C). Retrieved from https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/school-curriculum/C2C.

  • Emirbayer, M., & Mische, A. (1998). What is agency? American Journal of Sociology, 103(4), 962–1023.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evetts, J. (2011). A new professionalism? Challenges and opportunities. Current Sociology Monograph 2, 59(4), 406–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodall, J. (2018). Parental engagement in children’s learning: Moving on from mass superstition. Creative Education, 9, 1611–1621. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2018.911116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall, J., & Montgomery, C. (2014). Parental involvement to parental engagement: A continuum. Educational Review, 66(4), 399–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gronn, P. (2003). The new work of educational leaders: Changing leadership practice in an era of school reform. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, A. (2000). Professionals and parents: A social movement for educational change. In N. Bascia & A. Hargreaves (Eds.), The sharp edge of educational change: Teaching, leading, and the realities of reform (pp. 217–235). London, UK: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinrichs, J. (2018). School leadership based in a philosophy and pedagogy of parent engagement. School Leadership and Management, 38(2), 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2017.1406905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mleczko, A., & Kington, A. (2013). The impact of school leadership on parental engagement: A study of inclusion and cohesion. International Research in Education, 1(1), 129–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: An ecological approach. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pushor, D. (2018). Using participatory action research to create systematic parent engagement. Journal of Family Diversity in Education, 3(2), 17–37. Retrieved from http://familydiversityeducation.org/index.php/fdez.

  • Schwab, J. J. (1973). The practical 3: Translation into curriculum. The School Review, 81(4), 501–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, P. (2001). How principals lose “face”: A disciplinary tale of educational administration and modern managerialism. Discourse, 22(1), 5–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victory, M. (2011). Beyond the classroom: Beginning teachers’ communication with parents. Professional Voice, 8(2), 41–48. Retrieved from http://www.aeuvic.asn.au/pv_8_2complete.pdf.

  • Willis, L.-D. (2013). Parent-teacher engagement: A coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing approach (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, L.-D., & Exley, B. (2018). Using an online social media space to engage parents in student learning in the early-years: Enablers and impediments. Digital Education Review, 33, 87–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, L.-D., Povey, J., Hodges, J., Carroll, A., Pedde, C., & Campbell, A. (2018). What gives some Principals the edge on parent-school-community engagement? Principal leadership for engaging parents and community in disadvantaged schools: Four case studies. Brisbane, Qld: The University of Queensland. Retrieved from https://issr.uq.edu.au/files/5273/FINAL%20Case%20Studies%20Document.pdf.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, QLD, Australia

    Dr. Linda-Dianne Willis

  2. Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Indooroopilly, QLD, Australia

    A/Prof. Jenny Povey

  3. Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Dr. Julie Hodges

  4. School of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Prof. Annemaree Carroll

Authors
  1. Dr. Linda-Dianne Willis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A/Prof. Jenny Povey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dr. Julie Hodges
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Prof. Annemaree Carroll
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda-Dianne Willis .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Willis, LD., Povey, J., Hodges, J., Carroll, A. (2021). Presenting School Learning Findings. In: Principal Leadership for Parent Engagement in Disadvantaged Schools . SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1264-0_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1264-0_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-1263-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-1264-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation