This thesis examines how parent and student educational engagement can be enhanced through meaningful support and communication, focusing on how parent teacher meetings can be reengineered for a more inclusive approach. The research considers how parental academic socialisation enhances engagement, and how the development of student learning characteristics and attributes improve students’ scholarly self-regulation. The research draws on previous studies by Suizzo and Soon (2006), Vickers, Minke and Anderson (2002) and the Structured Conversations Strategy by the DfCSF (2009). It considers key theory associated with engagement and student motivation including Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997), Goodall (2017) and Grolnick, Ryan and Deci (1991).
The research conducted in two Catholic boys’ secondary schools took place over two academic years with Key Stage Four students taking GCSE Computer Science. Focusing on the interactions of the participants from a sociological perspective, an action research approach using an exploratory three-phase mixed method design was used to: understand how existing practices engender educational engagement; develop intervention instruments; and evaluate the impact of the instruments on engagement. The methods of inquiry included questionnaires, individual and group interviews and audio recordings of the parent teacher meetings. The findings were presented as key themes to enable accessibility and extrapolate practical advice from the rich data generated.
The findings showed that parent teacher meetings were used as reporting exercises, offering a limited purview for educational engagement. Students were either absent or rendered absent by their ambiguous role. Staff training to conduct these meetings tended to be observations of other teachers, often perpetuating the traditional approach, its limitations and equivocal nature.
Following the use of the intervention instruments, most participants preferred the reengineered meeting format since it created a meaningful opportunity for formative feedback and action with increased collaboration, student ownership and voice. There were clear, measurable, and communally agreed outcomes to the meeting format. Teachers valued the structured training in active listening and coaching techniques. Students became more self-regulating, developing key learning characteristics and metacognitive techniques. Self-evaluation tools empowered students to develop reflective practices, including accurately identifying their strengths and areas for improvement in the subject. The audits, text messages and toolkits helped parents feel more engaged, educated and confident in discussing pedagogy and the curriculum, resulting in increased levels of home dialogue regarding learning. Online parent teacher meeting software introduced in response to COVID-19 was advantageous for standardising meeting times, reducing home-school cultural barriers and the burden of attending a face-to-face meeting.
The research is unique in recognising the meeting as part of a wider engagement strategy using a suite of approaches, many of which are original, to further communication and support. Whilst the inclusive nature of the meeting with adolescent students differs significantly from previous studies, its unique value lies in the review and reporting of learning characteristics as part of formative feedback and action. The approach has the potential to be transformative for educators, having significantly impacted the researcher’s own practice. Its ease of commutation, low cost and participant beneficence offers schools a viable strategy for developing educational engagement.
Key terms: Reengineered parent-teacher meeting format, student inclusive, support and communication, educational engagement, parental academic socialisation, student learning characteristics and attributes, self-regulation, formative feedback and action, action research and exploratory mixed methods.
