Investigating Home-School Partnership In School Activities At Two Selected Primary Schools In Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia

ABSTRACT 

This study emerged as a result of the researcher’s interest in the home-school partnership concept when she began with her teaching career. The researcher realised that learners sometimes were given projects, homework and tasks that required assistance from guardians, which was not always forthcoming. This study was guided by the following research questions: 

1. How much are guardians involved in their children’s school activities? 

2. What are guardians’ perceptions of schools’ expectations of their involvement in their 

children’s schooling? 

3. What are the perceptions of teachers and school management on the involvement of guardians? 

Data analysis in qualitative research has a two-fold purpose to understand guardians’ and teachers’ perceptions of home-school partnership in the children’s school activities, the participants’ perspective and to answer the research questions. This process was demanded by the nature of the research questions which requires an in-depth discussion and understanding of the principals and school board committees’ perspective.  This study used the qualitative research approach outlined by Gray (2009) to give meaning to the data and for organizational purposes. It was also conducted through intense contact within a field or real life setting whereby the researcher visited guardians to get first-hand knowledge about their perceptions on the home-school partnership and interviewed the principals, teachers and chairpersons of the school board in order to get a holistic view on the issue.  Thirty-six participants voluntarily participated in in-depth interviews. Interview data were transcribed and subsequently analysed to facilitate the development of themes. In-depth interviews were utilized to construct participant profiles and to generate themes. Themes that emerged were as follow: 

(1) Participants’ understanding of the concept home-school partnership. 

(2) Issues guardians discuss with their children and benefits of teachers having partnerships with the guardians. 

(3) Mode of communication between school and home, ways schools can utilize to support guardians to promote home-school partnership. 

(4) Practices to involve guardians in homework activities. 

(5) Barriers to home-school partnership and 

(6) Workshops for guardians to learn more about home-school partnership. 

The themes were analyzed and the results discussed. Thereafter, the discussion of the findings, recommendations for practice and research concluded the study. Suggestions were made to implement changes in home-school partnership as a form of academic support. The researcher offered recommendations about ways guardians, teachers, principals and SBCs can collaborate with each other to benefit learners. As each group reaches out effectively to the other, new themes for partnership are likely to be forged, and the challenge to find new and lasting pathways for home school partnership is likely to be met.