Contestation or Collaboration? A Comparative Study of Home–School Relations

Abstract

In this article we focus on two public elementary schools that are known to have a great deal of parental participation, examining the relationships parents and school personnel build, and how these relationships unfold. We found that accommodation and community typified parent–teacher interactions at one school, while interactions at the other could be characterized as ambivalent and fraught with competing demands. We argue that social class and school culture interact to shape what is possible for parents and teachers to accomplish in the way of forming strong and meaningful relationships, ultimately leading to quite different outcomes.