Room to Manoeuvre: Mobilising the ‘active partner’ in home‐school relations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent shifts within the popular conception of education as an aspect of the market economy positioning parent as consumer, teacher as producer and educated child as product have reformulated the various stakeholders as ‘partners' in the business of educating children. This article, based upon data collected in an action research and development project, attempts to open up an interpretation of the dynamics of home‐school relations in terms of a matrix of ‘mobilisations' and ‘demobilisations' between parents, teachers and children. In interpreting the agency/structure dualism in terms of such an interactive matrix, the article aims to establish some additional bases for practical and theoretical manoeuvres.