From past to present: how memories of school shape parental views of children's schooling

Abstract

Internationally, there is growing interest in children's transition to school and their readiness for formal education. Parents' memories of school offer important insights into children's preparation for school and how families view schools; however, few studies consider the influence of educational histories. To address this gap, a sample of 24 parents (16 mothers, 8 fathers) from lower income backgrounds were recruited to discuss the process of preparing their child for kindergarten and their recollections of school. During semi-structured interviews, parents shared their recollections of school and identified links between their memories and their current thoughts and behaviours as they prepared their child for school. Based on a thematic analysis of interview transcripts, three types of memories emerged as the most robust and meaningful in preparing for children's school entrance: (1) the influence of school transitions, (2) the social side of schooling and (3) special education labels. Experiences parents recall from their many years of first-hand exposure to school settings appear to impact the way they prepare children for school and their relationship with the school community. Suggestions are offered for school personnel and future research in this area.

The Starting School Study: Mothers' Perspectives of Transition to School

“…However, for some mothers in our study, this role may be dependent on their capabilities in taking on an advocacy role and dealing with the power differentials that exist in many schools (Hands, 2013). Parents' attitudes and involvement in children's schooling may be influenced by personal experiences of school, as a child (Miller, 2015;Turunen, Dockett & Perry, 2015).…”

Re-thinking memory and transitional justice: A novel application of ecological memory

“….collective memory is not an inert and passive thing, but a field of activity in which past events are selected, reconstructed, maintained, modified, and endowed with political meaning’ (Said, 2000: 185). It is also, thus, part of a broader chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1986: 724), wherein the passage of time – including its social and historical dimensions (Miller, 2015: 156) – impacts on other system elements, particularly at the individual and community levels.…”

Parental school satisfaction in the context of segregation of basic education in urban Finland

“…Research has also shown that there is a connection between parents' education and their school satisfaction. In this study, it is assumed that higher education indicates higher satisfaction, especially with regard to home-school cooperation because highly educated middle-class parents have better abilities and readiness to communicate and cooperate with schools than do working-class parents, which makes interacting with schools easier for them and also makes them more confident in this regard (Ball, 2003;Lareau, 2003;Miller, 2015). Hence, parents' orientation to and participation in communication and cooperation with schools differs based on their social class (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990;Hornby & Lafaele, 2011;Reay, 1998), which is also the case in Finland (Kalalahti, Silvennoinen, & Varjo, 2015b).…”

“…Friedman et al, 2006Friedman et al, , 2007Hornby & Lafaele, 2011;Kalalahti et al, 2015b). Because the expectations that schools have regarding parental involvement are likely to better match the values, capacities, and involvement styles of middle-class parents than those of working-class parents (Baeck, 2005), highly educated middle-class parents are more confident and have better abilities to interact with schools, and they feel more competent and entitled to criticize the school when they see a need to do so (Lareau, 2003;Miller, 2015;Räty et al, 2012). This is likely to contribute to their satisfaction; the smaller the social-psychological distance from the school and its values (Räty et al, 2009;Räty & Snellman, 1998), and the more compatible the habitus with the culture of a school (Bourdieu, 1993;Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990), the more satisfied parents are with home-school cooperation.…”