Black parental involvement in education

The study was conducted in the backdrop of Section 24(1)(a) of the South African Schools Act (SASA) 84 of 1996 which promulgated that parents should be involved in the education of their children. To fulfil this requirement, each school is expected to have a legally constituted School Governing Body (SGB) as part of school governance. The involvement of the SGB does not exclude parents involving themselves in school activities as individuals but as organised groups geared towards working on a specific project of the school. Involvement also implies helping the child at home. The study investigated the extent to which black parents involve themselves in school activities as envisaged by the SASA. Conceptual literature relating to issues of parental involvement in school was reviewed. Specifically the concept parent/parental involvement as it relates to black parents was explored. Factors promoting or hindering parental involvement in school were also examined. The research is qualitative. Participants included principals, teachers, learners and chairpersons of school governing bodies of ten selected schools in the major townships of Port Elizabeth. Views and experiences of participants were captured and explained through in-depth interviews and observations. Results are discussed in relation to the relevant literature, allowing grounded theory to emerge. What emerged was a desperate situation of non-involvement of black parents in school activities largely because of the failure of the Department of Education (DoE) to capacitate all parties involved in strategies to involve parents in school. The potential for generalizability and transferability is discussed in the report and possible intervention strategies are recommended at micro- and macro-levels. The study demonstrates that the DoE needs to follow up on its policies to ensure that the envisaged change is realized