”No parent left behind” : Föräldradeltagande för inkludering och effektivitet

Parents’ - as well as children’s - participation is highly stressed in every policydocument concerning pre-school and school, on local, national and internationallevel. In this article parents’ participation in pre-school and school is regarded as anelement of tension between policy and professional practice. Based on empirical datafrom three different studies, teachers’ professional attitudes and their conceptions ofparental participation in school are presented. Contradictions between policyambitions and professional practices are discussed in an historical perspective, andrelated to earlier emphasised equality in relation to the school. Changes are shown,especially in the policy discourse about parents’ participation: from the earlierobjective of enhanced democracy, which was seen as an important, basic value, tothe present goal of enhanced democracy and inclusion as a strategy for betterlearning outcomes and school efficiency