Parental and Family Involvement in Schools: Perceptions of Young Brazilian and Portuguese People from Underprivileged Contexts

Abstract

An understanding of young people's schooling processes and life projects requires a recognition of the broad social perspective that encompasses them. Families are clearly included in that perspective. The growing recognition that schools do not educate alone has led to a call for institutional efforts to involve parents and families in compulsory schooling in more inclusive ways. This article debates the complexity of parental and family involvement in schools from peripheral contexts, based on a study conducted in Brazil and Portugal. It aims at understanding how young people comprehend the school-family dynamics in their educational trajectories. Twenty-one biographical interviews were conducted with young people attending public secondary schools. A content analysis of the interviews led to the organization of parental/family involvement in schools according to three family rationales: (a) anchor families, defined by their coercive nature; (b) haven families, defined as safe spaces; and (c) windmill families, characterized by a rather close relationship with school.