Developing the home-school relationship using digital ... - Futurelab

INTRODUCTION1.2 PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT AND HOME-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS11.2 PARENTALENGAGEMENT ANDHOME-SCHOOLRELATIONSHIPSParental engagement in children’s learningat home has been consistently shown to bea significant factor influencing children’sachievement at school, and as such hasreceived significant recent attention fromeducational researchers, policy-makersand school practitioners. However, parentalengagement in children’s learning at hometakes place in the wider context of home-schoolrelationships. Parents’ involvement with schoolmay be a first step towards their engagementwith children’s learning and schools may beable to support this kind of engagementwith learning.A good relationship between home andschool may also be able to reveal some of the‘invisible’ and sometimes informal engagementwith in-school and out-of-school learning thatparents have with children at home.However, the home-school relationship issignificant in itself beyond its role in facilitatingand revealing parents’ engagement in learning.This focus on home-school relationships allowsfor a broader view of how the connections andinteractions between children’s experiencesat home and at school contribute to a widerpicture of their learning. It also provides spaceto focus on children’s roles and experiencesin connecting these overlapping spheres oftheir lives, rather than seeing them simplyas the product of their parents’ and teachers’educational efforts.6