Understanding parental involvement with schools and parental engagement with learning across schools in areas of socioeconomic deprivation in Wales

Parents’ involvement and engagement with their child’s school and learning are important in children’s educational outcomes and their overall life successes, and both parental involvement and engagement are seen to be socioeconomically distributed. This paper aims to explore to what extent and how parents from areas of socioeconomic deprivation are involved in their children’s school and engaged in their children’s learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children, parents, and school staff from four schools in areas of socioeconomic deprivation across Wales. These interviews primarily explored parental involvement with schools and parental engagement with learning. Findings revealed that parents were involved in a range of parental involvement activities and events. However, there were differences in the levels of parental engagement reported by families and schools, with schools reporting limited parental engagement with learning. Variations stemmed from differences in how parents and schools conceptualised “learning”. Barriers to parental involvement and engagement showed schools’ limited understanding and consideration of the poverty faced by families, and deficit approaches towards parents were evidenced. To understand parental engagement with learning further, there is a need for a broader conceptualisation of learning and its value, to encompass non-academic and less formal development opportunities. Further research to explore and assess the impact of parental engagement with learning, both formal and informal, on children’s academic and non-academic outcomes is recommended. In addition, the research recommends schools attempt to further understand the complexities of families and their wider environment to tailor involvement and engagement approaches.