Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.61.3.6
Saving Little Red Riding Hood: A Qualitative Study of Parental Role Construction for Involvement in Children’s Education
Zrinka Ristić Dedić
orcid.org/0000-0002-7520-2139
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Boris Jokić
orcid.org/0000-0001-6640-9755
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
In the Hoover-Dempsey at al. model (2005), parental role construction for involvement
in children’s education is defined as socially constructed beliefs and expectations
about what parents should do in relation to their children’s education. The qualitative exploration
of parental role constructions and factors that might shape parents’ understanding of their
role was conducted in five elementary schools in Zagreb, Croatia. Data was collected via 59
semi-structured interviews with parents of children attending primary and lower secondary
education. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied for interview data coding and analysis. Most
parents exhibited an active role construction and experienced a strong sense of personal responsibility
for their children’s educational outcomes and development. Parents’ beliefs about
necessary and appropriate involvement activities, rights and responsibilities were shaped by
immediate and wider social contexts including school, as well as by perception of the child’s
developmental needs. Parents constructed their role through processes of social comparison
with other families in their social networks, and by reflecting on their childhood memories
and their own current experiences with others related to schooling. Three modalities of role
construction were identified that shape parental decisions regarding the form and intensity of
their involvement with their child: proactive support and assistance, on-demand activation
and active control.
Keywords
parental role construction; involvement in children’s education; educational achievement; primary education; lower secondary education
Hrčak ID:
314507
URI
Publication date:
21.2.2024.
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