Parental influence on school policy: some evidence from research

Abstract

Abstract Parental involvement in school policy has been a major theme of both Conservative and Labour governments. This paper reports findings from two research projects: one is a small‐scale comparative study of the operation of school boards and governing bodies in Scotland and England; the second is a study of a small number of local and national parental groups in Scotland. Parental influence is analysed at the level of the individual school, education authority and at national level. The paper disentangles policy rhetoric from the reality of parental involvement and raises questions about the extent to which parents have been 'captured' by teachers and others in determining policy matters.