Abstract:
ADeweyan (1916) democratic theoty ofeducation called for the participation ofall
citizens in deliberating important educational issues to improve overall student learning.
Thus, the move to include parents in educational decision making can be considered to be
rooted in democratic principles. To gain greater insight into the issue ofparent
involvement in educational decision making, one elementary school was studied and a
triangulization method was employed in an attempt to clarify the important issues
surrolUlding the move to include parents in the governance ofschools. The three methods
to gain information included surveys, interviews, and documentation ofsignificant school
events and related work. All ofthe parents and teachers ofthe school were surveyed, 10
parents and 6teachers were interviewed, and related school events were recorded. The
survey design was modeled on the Parent Involvement Questionnaire (PIQ) created and
reported on by Chavkin and Williams (1987). The results ofthe surveys were used as a
guide for the interview questions. An interview outline was developed based on
Seidman's (1991) open-ended approach and Patton's (1980) standardized open-ended
interview style in which parents and teachers were asked about their experiences and
opinions on anmnber ofparent involvement issues. Parents and teachers in this school
indicated agreater interest in becoming more aware ofeducational issues such as school
budget and school discipline policies. Although the parents indicated agreater interest in
school matters and the teachers indicated awillingness to include parents in school
matters, both the parents and teachers in this study perceived the role ofthe parent as
advisory, not decision making. It was concluded that to ensure ameaningful and functional
role for parellts as tlleir p811icipatioll ill educational matters evolves, SCllools must have a
clear vision ofthe primary goal ofall schools, namely, to foster and nourish democratic
citizens for ademocratic society (Glickman, 1993). Furthennore, intentional practices
such as Purkey's (ad) 5-P Relay approach, based on a democratic theory and practice of
education, will have to be employed in order to give parents an authentic voice in
educational matters and provide an avenue for parents to acquire the necessary skills and
lmowledge needed to do so. As schools, school boards, and the Ministry ofEducation
implement parent involvement guidelines and policies, developmental needs ofeach
school need to be considered to ensure the employment ofdemocratic practices not
authoritarian mandates. Parent interest and involvement, at whatever level, should be an
important element in the overall move to make schools part ofthe democratic society they
were meant to be.
