Cake or curriculum? Principal and parent views on transforming the parental role in Saskatchewan schools

Based on a qualitative case study of two rural schools located in Saskatchewan, Canada, this article reports thematic interpretations of parents' and principals' perspectives on new expectations for parents to contribute directly to school improvement planning as inundated by School Community Council Policy. Data were collected through principal focus groups and semistructured individual interviews with two principals and six parents. Constructed themes point to: 1) ambiguity regarding the place of parents in school improvement planning; 2) a persistent, traditional division of labour between parents and principals within School Community Councils; and 3) recognition of parents' role as predominantly that of community liaison. Spillane, Reiser and Reimer's (2002) work on the role of cognitive schema in local interpretations of policy was used to reflect on these themes. Implications are extended beyond the Saskatchewan context to at count for a global trend in educational policy-making that centralises parents in children's academic performance. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of International Studies in Educational Administration (Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM)) is the property of Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)M3: ArticleSource type: Electronic(1