The Management of Parental Involvement in Multicultural Schools in South Africa: A Case Study
Keywords:
Multicultural schools, Parent involvement, Qualitative research, School Management, South African case study
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the management of parental involvement in three multicultural schools in the Umlazi District in Durban, South Africa. A literature survey resulting in a theoretical framework on parental involvement in schools, multicultural schools, and the
managing of parental involvement in schools has been done. The contextual background of schools in contemporary South Africa is depicted. A qualitative research design has been used. Focus group discussions have been conducted, with a total of thirty-three principals, teachers
and parents. It has found that there is a low level of meaningful contact between school and parents. Apathy exists on the side of parents, low expectations on the side of principals and teachers, and an organisational structure facilitating parent-school interaction is lacking. In managing parental involvement in multicultural schools, school managers display
a lack of intercultural sensitivity.
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References
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Transforming education: The South African experience. New York: Nova Science.
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University of South Africa.
Van der Westhuizen, P. C. (1995). Effective Educational Management. Pretoria: Kagiso Tertiary.
Van Wyk, N., & Lemmer, E. (2009). Organising parent involvement in South African Schools. Cape
Town: Juta.
Van Wyk, N. (2010). Theories, policies and practices of parent involvement in education. In E.
Lemmer & N. Van Wyk (Eds.), Themes in South African education. Cape Town: Heinemann.
Williams, P. L., & Chavkin, N. F. (1989). Essential elements of strong parent involvement programs. Educational Leadership, 47(2).
Walsh, M. W., & Williams, G. R. (Eds.) (1997). Schools and Family Therapy. Springfield: Charles C
Thomas.
Wolhuter, C. C. (1998). Spektroskopie van die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel binne die
internasionale ry van nasionale onderwysstelsels. Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Opvoedkunde.
Bastiani, J. (1996). Parent involvement. Paper presented at a seminar on Parent Involvement, 26
March 1996, Rand Afrikaans University.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (1992). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Method. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Botha, R. J. (2000). Managing the school as an organization. Unisa Tutorial letter 104/2000 for
MEDEM 5-R. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
Castagno, A. E. (2009). Making sense of multicultural education: A synthesis of the various
typologies found in the literature. Multicultural Perspectives, 11(1), 43–48.
Chavkin, N. F. (1989). A multicultural perspective on parent achievement: implications for policy
and practice. Education Spring, 109(3), 276–285.
Chavkin, N. F. (1993). Families and Schools in a Pluralistic Society. Albany: State University of New York.
Cohen, L., & Manion, L. (2000). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.
Chrispeels, J. H. (1991). District leadership in parent involvement: Policies and actions in San Diego. Phi Delta Kappan, January, 367–371.
De Vos, A. S. (1998). Research at Grassroots: A primer for the caring profession. Pretoria: JL van Schaik.
Epstein, J. L. (1995a). School, family, community partnerships: caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, May, 701–712.
Epstein, J. L. (1995b). Perspectives and previews on research and policy for school, family and
community partnerships. In A. Booth & J. Dunn (Eds.), Family-school links: How do they effect
educational outcomes? Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.
Epstein, J. L. (2001). School, Family and Community Partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools. USA: Westview Press.
Epstein, L., & Dauber, S. L. (1993). Parents’ attitudes and practices of involvement in inner-city
elementary and middle schools. In N. Chavkin (Ed.), Families and Schools in a Pluralistic Society.
Albany, NY: State University of New York.
Epstein, J. L., & Sanders, M. G. (2000). Connecting home, school and community: New directions
for social research. In M. Hallinan (Ed.), Handbook of the Sociology of Education. New York: Kluwer.
Haberman, M. (1992). Creating community contexts that educate: an agenda for improving
education in inner cities. In L. Kaplan (Ed.), Education and the Family. Massachusetts: Allyn &
Bacon.
Henderson, A. T., & Mapp, K. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence: The impact of school, family, and
community connections on student achievement. Austin: Southwest Educational Laboratory.
Hester, H. (1989). Start at home to improve home school relations. NASSP Bulletin, January, 23–27.
Hoberg, S. M. (1999). Research Methodology. UNISA: Study Guide 2 for MEDEM2-R. Pretoria:
University of South Africa.
Jones, L. T., & Blendinger, J. (1994). New beginnings: Preparing future teachers to work with diverse families. Action in Teacher Education, 16(3), 79–86.
Lemmer, E. M. (1992). Quality research methods in education. South African Journal of Education, 12(3), 292–295.
Lemmer, E. M. (2000). The Epstein Model of Family school partnership: teachers’ experiences in
South African schools. Educare, 29(1&2), 60–75.
Lemmer, E. M. (2007). Parental involvement in teacher education in South Africa. 6th International conference of the European Research Network about Parents in Education (ERNAPE). Nicosia, Cyprus. August 29–31.
Mda, T. (1999). Education for divesity. In E. M. Lemmer (Ed.), Contemporary Education: Global issues and trends. Sandton: Heinemann.
Meier, C., Lemmer, E., & Van Wyk, N. (2006). Multicultural Education: An educator’s manual.
Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Michael, S. (2004). The Management of Parental Involvement in Multicultural Schools in the Umlazi District. Unpublished DEd thesis. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
Neumann, W. L. (1999). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative approaches. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.
Nkomo, M., Chisholm, L., & McKinney, C. (2004). Through the eye of the school – in pursuit
of social integration. In M. Nkomo, C. McKinney & L. Chisholm (Eds.), Reflections on school
integration. Colloquium proceedings. Cape Town: HSRC.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2008). Reviews of national
Policies for Education: South Africa. Brussels: OCED.
Pearson, N. (1990). Parent involvement within the school. Education Canada, Autumn, 14–17.
Ravn, B. (2003). Cultural and political divergences in approaches to cooperation between home,
school and local society in Europe. In S. Castelli, M. Mendel & B. Ravn (Eds.), Schools, families and community partnership in a world of differences and changes. Gdansk: Universytet Gdanski.
Sampson, E. E. (1999). Dealing with Differences: An introduction to the social psychology of prejudice. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Schumacher, S., & McMillan, J. H. (1997). Research in Education: A conceptual introduction. New
York: Harper Collins.
Squelch, J., & Lemmer, E. (1994). Eight Keys to Effective School Management in South Africa. Halfway House: Southem.
Squelch, J. (1996). Parent Participation: How to help your child succeed in school. Pretoria: Acacia Books.
Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (2007). Making Choices for Multicultural Education. New York: Wiley.
Soudien, C. (2004). Constituting the class: an analysis of the process of ‘integration’ in South African schools. In L. Chisholm (Ed.), Changing class. Education and social change in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC.
Smit, B. (2010). Doing research in Comparative Education. In E. Lemmer & N. Van Wyk (Eds.),
Themes in South African education. Cape Town: Heinemann.
Steyn, G. M. (2002). School management in South Africa. In N. Van Wyk & E. Lemmer (Eds.),
Transforming education: The South African experience. New York: Nova Science.
Van der Linde, N. (1997). Managing multicultural schools. Unisa manual for EDE MCI-E. Pretoria:
University of South Africa.
Van der Westhuizen, P. C. (1995). Effective Educational Management. Pretoria: Kagiso Tertiary.
Van Wyk, N., & Lemmer, E. (2009). Organising parent involvement in South African Schools. Cape
Town: Juta.
Van Wyk, N. (2010). Theories, policies and practices of parent involvement in education. In E.
Lemmer & N. Van Wyk (Eds.), Themes in South African education. Cape Town: Heinemann.
Williams, P. L., & Chavkin, N. F. (1989). Essential elements of strong parent involvement programs. Educational Leadership, 47(2).
Walsh, M. W., & Williams, G. R. (Eds.) (1997). Schools and Family Therapy. Springfield: Charles C
Thomas.
Wolhuter, C. C. (1998). Spektroskopie van die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel binne die
internasionale ry van nasionale onderwysstelsels. Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Opvoedkunde.
Published
2018-01-16
How to Cite
Michael, S., Wolhuter, C. C., & van Wyk, N. (2018). The Management of Parental Involvement in Multicultural Schools in South Africa: A Case Study. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 2(1), 57-82. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.395
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