| Citation: | Hanafin, J., & Lynch, A. (2002). Peripheral voices: Parental involvement, social class, and educational disadvantage. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(1), 35-49. |
Annotation:
This research study gives voice to working class parents in the UK. Findings showed that parents wanted to be involved in their childrenÕs schooling, they were capable of being involved, and they had a contribution to make to schools and school personnel. The research was conducted in a large urban area of the Republic of Ireland, an area with high unemployment, high levels of leaving school early, dependence on the welfare payments system, and low levels of educational participation. The school was one of approximately 400 primary schools in the disadvantaged areas schools scheme. An informal group interview approach was used, consisting of three rounds of meetings for three separate groups of parents (nine meetings in all). Meetings were taped and analyzed for topics, from which three consistent themes emerged: issues within the classroom, issues within the school, and issues regarding home-school links. In addition, parents were asked to respond to two questions: ÒWhat is education?Ó and ÒWhat is education for?Ó The final meeting was reflexive in which parents considered and amended tape transcripts. Although the findings suggested that at least some participating parents represent more peripheral voices in that they saw this research as a rare opportunity to express their feelings about school, often, parents understand a great deal more about schooling and education than middle-class professionals give them credit for knowing. The researchers caution that Òheterogeneity in working-class voice merits further research.Ó
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