Schools as sustainable learning environments: a framework for enhancing parental engagement
| dc.contributor.advisor | Mahlomaholo, M. G. | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Bagarette, N. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Jeremia, Meko Teko | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-11-03T10:49:05Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-11-03T10:49:05Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2013-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: The democratic dispensation in RSA since 1994 brought hope for parents to take their position alongside the teachers in the education of their children. The expectation was that more parents would engage themselves and also be welcomed into the school to shape the direction of their children‟s education and thus help change the traditional school landscape. However, the realization of full parental engagement, especially in township schools, was just a utopian dream in that many schools found this very elusive because of intransigent, deep-rooted power inequities between the teachers and parents. The study is couched in critical emancipatory research (CER) paradigm which recognized parents as equal partners in the education of their children. Through CER parental engagement which is about equitable power sharing and responsibilities in teaching the learners is actualized. This is opposed to „involvement‟ which allows parents to speak through the mouths of the teachers by simply doing the things that teachers tell them to do. Through the principles of Free Attitude Interview technique (FAI) by Meulenberg- Buskens, one big open-ended question: “How can we enhance parental engagement such that it is sustainable?” was posed to initiate the discussions. This question opened a communicative space between the parents and other community members regarding their engagement. This question was followed by clarity-seeking questions in order to fathom the nature and extent of parental engagement at the participating schools. This open-ended question allowed the previously marginalized parents to speak for themselves regarding their engagement and what they would like to see happening in their children‟s education. Through CER and FAI parents and other community stakeholders with interest in education, were regarded as assets instead of adversaries who can co-construct knowledge regarding the direction that the schools should take. The study used the critical discourse analysis (CDA) by van Dijk to analyse data from the participants. This allowed the study to have access to rich data in the form of spoken words from the participants which were transcribed verbatim into text. The CDA allowed the study to analyse data at three levels; namely, the textual, discursive and structural levels. This broad analysis allowed the study to uncover subtle power relations between the teachers and the parents and which accounted for low parental engagement at the participating schools. Through CDA the study found that parents have invaluable knowledge which if recognized can benefit the participants such as school, teachers, learners, other parents, and the community in general. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: Die demokratiese bestel in die RSA na 1994 het hoop aan ouers gebring om hul plek langs die onderwysers, deur wie hulle kinders onderrig word, in te neem. Die verwagting was dat meer ouers self betrokke sou raak en verwelkom sou word in die skool om die rigting van hul kinders se onderrig te help vorm, en ook die tradisionele skool-landskap te verander. Die realiteit is egter dat die verwagting van volle ouerbetrokkenheid, veral in “township” skole net „n utopiese droom was in die sin dat baie skole dit onaanvaarbaar gevind het a.g.v. diepgewortelde, onversoenbare magsverskille tussen onderwysers en ouers. Die studie is gesetel in die krities-emansipatoriese navorsingsparadigma waar ouers erken word as gelyke vennote in die onderrig van hul kinders. Deur hierdie navorsingstipe word ouerdeelname, wat te make het met regverdige magsdeling en verantwoordelikhede in die onderrig van die leerders, gerealiseer. Dit is in teenstelling met “betrokkenheid” waar ouers by monde van onderwysers praat deur slegs te doen wat deur die onderwysers aan hulle voorgesê word. Deur gebruik te maak van die beginsels van Meulenberg-Buskens se “ Free Attitude Interview”-tegniek (FAI) is „n ope vraag gestel om die besprekings te inisieer: Hoe kan volhoubare ouerbetrokkenheid bevorder word? Hierdie vraag het „n kommunikatiewe ruimte, rakende hul deelname, tussen ouers en ander lede van die gemeenskap geopen. Die vraag is gevolg deur ander vrae wat daarop gemik was om duidelikheid te bring t.o.v. ouerdeelname by deelnemende skole. Hierdie ope vraag het voorafbenadeelde ouers toegelaat om self hul mening te lig t.o.v. hul betrokkenheid en wat hul graag sou wou sien gebeur t.o.v. hul kinders se onderrig. Deur gebruik te maak van krities-emansipatoriese navorsing sowel as die FAI-tegniek is ouers en ander deelnemers in die gemeenskap wat belange het by die onderwys, beskou eerder as bates wie kan help bou aan kennis rakende die rigting wat die skole moet inslaan. Hierdie studie het Van Dijk se kritiese diskoers-analise gebruik om data wat ingesamel is van die deelnemers, te verwerk. Deur van hierdie metode gebruik te maak kon waardevolle inligting, in die vorm van deelnemers se eie woorde wat verbatim getranskribeer is in teksformaat, versamel word. Die kritiese diskoers-analise het gelei daartoe dat die data op drie vlakke geanaliseer kon word,nl. op tekstuele, diskursiewe en strukturele vlak. Hierdie wye analise het die studie in staat gestel om subtiele magsverhoudingkwessies tussen ouers en onderwysers bloot te lê en dat dit die rede was vir die lae ouedeelname by deelnemende skole. Kritiese diskoers-analise het tot die bevinding gelei dat ouers oor kennis van onskatbare waarde beskik wat, indien dit erken word, kan lei daartoe dat die skool, onderwysers, leerders, ander ouers en die gemeenskap oor die algemeen baat by sal vind. | af |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/7412 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Engagement | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Involvement | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Asset approach | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Deficit approach | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Empowerment | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Emancipation | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Sustainable | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Environment | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Domination | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Power sharing | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Voice | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Education -- Parent participation -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Parent-teacher relationships -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Community and school -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (Ph.D. (School of Education Studies))--University of the Free State, 2013 | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Schools as sustainable learning environments: a framework for enhancing parental engagement | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |