Barriers to parental involvement in education: an update

The article on barriers to parental involvement in education that was published in Educational Review in 2011 has been surprisingly widely read and cited. The article was prompted by concern over the apparent gap between the rhetoric and reality of parental involvement evident in preceding years. It presented a model which discussed four types of barriers to the establishment of effective parental involvement in education: individual parent and family barriers; child factors; parent–teacher factors; and societal factors. In order to provide an update on the 2011 article, and on the current situation regarding parental involvement, a small-scale study was conducted with 11 primary schools in the UK. Findings indicated that, while the above factors were still important, the pressures on parents due to declining support for families from external agencies and services has meant that schools are developing broader roles in supporting parents. This suggests that a more optimistic pattern of parental involvement in education may be emerging.