De Ouder-School Relatie op de Middelbare School in Nederland

Abstract

This research focused on the contact dimension of parental involvement in secondary education in the Netherlands. Parental involvement has been found to be beneficial to the learning achievements and enjoyment of students, the job satisfaction of educational professionals and satisfaction and feeling of competency for parents. However, parental involvement decreases as students age. To study how the parent-school relationship can be improved, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 7 parents and 5 educators of a Dutch pre-vocational school in the suburbs of Utrecht. Thematic analysis found increased contact between parents and teachers and transparency around teacher departure and the application of school policy would likely improve the relationship between the parents and school. It was concluded that the relationship could be improved through more response from teachers to parents and making written commitments. Limitations were the small sample size, the lack of parents with lower SES and/or migration background and a selection-bias. Future research should focus on the student perspective and conduct experimental research on parental involvement programs.