Parent participation in curriculum decision making: a case study

Abstract: This study is an historical study of parent participation in school level decision making, particularly in curriculum issues, in relation to the Victorian Government policies of Devolution through the 1980s. It was conducted as a case study of one rural secondary school, examining how the role of parents in the school's curriculum development and associated decision making structures may have changed during the decade from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. The findings indicated that little effective parent participation developed or took place in the school over the period under study. Major contributing factors identified are the lack of policy direction and official mechanisms, especially in implementation of change, the definition of appropriate participant roles, the culture of traditional authorities in education (teacher in the classroom, principal in school processes and bureaucracy in administration), and the local factors of community attitudes and demographic profile. While the local factors are significant, it is concluded that the policies did not provide sufficient direction or mechanism to overcome the entrenched culture of traditional authorities in schooling. Changes in practice were directed more by the influence of specific personalities in single situations than any development of general attitude or institutional structure.Submission note: A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Education by Research, to the School of Education, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria.Originally part of the Australasian Digital Theses (ADT) database