The Two Sides of “Vigilance”: Differentiating Lower and Higher Levels of Parent Engagement

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Parental Involvement

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with 122 parents, this paper examines qualitative differences in how they understand “parent engagement”. While all parents see themselves as “vigilant”, our data finds that philosophies of parent engagement vary in three key ways: (1) Connections and Comfort Level; (2) Roles and Responsibility; and (3) Agency. We discuss this three-part typology and distinguish between lower and higher levels of engagement within each type. In conclusion we explain how these understandings inspire more “symbolic partnerships” versus “learning partnerships” that are more directly related to literacy and numeracy learning and children’s school success more generally.

Authors

• Janice Aurini, University of Waterloo

• Emily Patricia Milne, University of Waterloo

• Cathlene Hillier, University of Waterloo