Spotlight

Introduction

An important part of the teacher and school leader role is engaging with parents. In turn, parents play a key role in the education of their children (Figure 1). Decades of research has shown that when parents engage in their child’s learning, both at home and at school, student achievement and wellbeing are increased (Hattie, 2023; Kim, 2022; Sengonul, 2022; T. E. Smith et al., 2020). Schools that prioritise parental engagement can form a positive, collaborative culture that values input from both parents and teachers, and ultimately benefits students.

For the most part, it appears that in Australia parents and teachers are relatively content with the level of parent-teacher engagement in schools. A 2023 Queensland-based survey, completed by over 96,000 parents and over 50,000 school staff, found that the vast majority of parents felt supported by the school to help their child with their learning (89%), were able to talk to their child’s teachers about their concerns (93%), and that their opinions were taken seriously (81%) (Department of Education Qld, 2023). Teacher respondents also overwhelmingly believed that parental engagement was supported in their school, with 92% noting that parents were encouraged to be active partners in educating their child (Department of Education Qld, 2023).

Engaging with parents is, however, at times a cause of stress for teachers and leaders. In terms of the time demands, in 2022 most teachers (88%) reported spending 0-4 hours engaging with parents per week, with 9% spending 5-9 hours per week on parental engagement tasks (AITSL, 2023). Senior leaders in schools and early childhood education settings report spending more time engaging with parents, with 59% of leaders reporting that 5 or more hours per week were spent on parental engagement tasks in 2022 (AITSL, 2023). A 2023 nationwide principal survey found that school leaders report “parent-related issues” as a cause of substantial stress, though several other issues were reported as more stressful (Dicke et al., 2023).

This Spotlight summarises research on the impact of different types of engagement, and points to resources to assist teachers and leaders to constructively engage with parents. The Spotlight focuses on school-based engagement as well as how school-based engagement can enable parents to engage with students’ learning at home. Accordingly, “engagement” is discussed in terms of teachers and leaders engaging with parents and building teacher-parent relationships, as well as parental engagement with their child’s learning.

When teachers and school leaders engage with parents to provide a positive, collaborative environment, this can help parents engage with their child’s learning, and help teachers better understand the needs of their students. Parental engagement in learning means parents undertake an active, meaningful, and sustained sharing of their child’s education. Such engagement can provide additional months of academic progress over the course of a year (EFL, 2023; Hattie, 2023). The impact on learning can be even greater for children with low prior achievement (EFL, 2021; Jordan et al., 2000). To maximise the positive impacts of parental engagement, schools need to consider how best to tailor parent-school communications to encourage positive dialogue about learning. Maintaining this tailored communication strategy as children get older may also encourage parents to continue engaging with the school.

In addition to academic progress, parental engagement positively affects children’s classroom behaviour, school attendance, completion and socioemotional development (ARACY, 2016; Axford et al., 2019; Department for Education SA, 2021; Jennings & Bosch, 2011). Teachers and school leaders support parental engagement through strategies that connect learning with home, and by building partnerships with parents to enhance their educational roles and impact. Effective parental engagement is responsive and adaptable to the family’s specific needs and contexts, and teachers may need to undertake different engagement strategies over time depending on parent response. Whole-school approaches to parental engagement can be highly effective at encouraging involvement, however less intensive strategies, such as sending personalised communications, encouraging shared book reading, and providing parents with resources and support for parent-child conversations about learning, are also beneficial (EFL, 2019).

The importance of parental engagement is echoed in the Australian Professional Standard for Principals (Principal Standard), the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Teacher Standards), and in the Accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia: Standards and Procedures for the preparation of Graduate teachers (AITSL, 2011, 2014, 2019). At the forefront of Principal Standard Practice 5 (Engaging and working with the community) is ‘promoting parental and carer engagement as a key aspect of raising the achievement of all students’ (AITSL, 2014). Principals develop and maintain positive partnerships with parents and the wider school community to help build a culture of high expectations and shared involvement. Several Teacher Standards also focus on parental engagement (Figure 2) (AITSL, 2011). Teachers develop skills and strategies for engaging parents in the educational process to continually grow and deepen respectful collaborative relationships for improving education and wellbeing outcomes (AITSL, 2019).

Parental engagement involves partnerships between schools and parents, recognising shared responsibilities, and can be divided into two core domains (Fox & Olsen, 2014):

• Family‑led learning focuses on high aspirations for children, shared reading, a positive environment for homework, parent‑child conversation, a cognitively stimulating home environment and support for social and emotional wellbeing. This is also referred to as “at-home” engagement in this Spotlight.
• Family‑school partnerships that encourage positive parent‑teacher relationships, communication about children’s progress, and engagement in the school community, while equipping parents to effectively support and encourage their children’s learning and wellbeing. This is also referred to as “school-based” engagement in this Spotlight.

Ideally, strong family-school partnerships will enable family-led learning that includes active, meaningful, and sustained actions and attitudes centred on learning (Goodall, 2017).

There are many ways in which parents can engage with their child’s learning both at school and at home. The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) in partnership with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government and local schools (across the government, Catholic and independent sectors) developed a conceptual model outlining specific actions and attitudes central to parental engagement (Figure 3). This conceptual model provides the types of parental engagement that are most effective (Barker & Harris, 2020).

Parental engagement at school

Research affirms that parental engagement in learning matters across all school levels. Children have different cognitive and socioemotional needs depending on their educational level. Thus, changes in the type of engagement provided by parents are required over time to meet student needs (Garvis et al., 2019). Effective ways for parents to engage with learning typically shift from school-based activities (e.g. classroom volunteering) to mostly at-home activities (such as family discussions about expectations and aspirations) as children mature and gain greater self-regulation and autonomy in their education (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Jeynes, 2012; Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). For some parents, physically attending the school may not be possible, in which case it may be important for teachers to provide alternative communication methods (e.g., online, phone calls, and occasional after-hours events) to help ensure all parents have the opportunity to participate in a version of “school-based” engagement.

School-based engagement builds family-school partnerships by creating opportunities for collaboration, communication and shared decision-making between parents, teachers, and school leaders. School-based engagement can involve communicating with parents about information on educational expectations and student requirements, parents attending assemblies and events or volunteering in classroom activities, and conversations between teachers and parents about students’ progress or challenges. These types of engagement activities may be particularly important when supporting children with learning, behaviour or socialisation difficulties (Castro et al., 2015). Family-school partnerships are integral for parental engagement in learning, and partnerships should ideally be “co-constructed by both parties, not once but many times, on a continuing basis” (Goodall, 2018, p.617). Teachers and parents can be perceived as experts within different spheres of the student’s educational and personal development, and the “interdisciplinary co-work between experts and the level of collaboration is the most promising level with respect to effective student learning support” (Gerdes et al., 2022, p. 820). Both school-based engagement and family-school partnerships have been shown to positively affect students’ educational outcomes, from early childhood to adolescence (X. Ma et al., 2016; Barger et al., 2019; Gerdes et al., 2022).

Parental engagement in children’s education and care settings

Consulting and engaging closely with parents of young children is highly important in children’s education and care settings. The partnership between parents and teachers or educators can enhance teachers’ or educators’ knowledge about the specific needs of the children they care for, as well as ensuring that quality education continues at home. While research indicates that sharing information regarding a child’s daily activities at their children’s education and care setting is common practice, specifically working to engage parents with their child’s development is not (OECD, 2019, 2020). To mitigate this, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggests that it may be useful for children’s education and care settings to prioritise implementing professional development for their staff in this area, as well as providing educational resources to parents and carers on child rearing and development (OECD, 2020). Community engagement in early childhood education is also important, and can connect families and children’s education and care settings in valuable ways (OECD, 2011). Developing respectful and responsive connections with the wider community can contribute to further enriching the educational program for all children (ACECQA, 2024). Further, the wellbeing, learning and development of young children is nurtured when educators respect the diversity of families and communities, and share their aspirations for their children (ACECQA, 2022a, 2022b).

Collaborative partnerships between parents and early childhood educators enables effective monitoring of learning and development, and integrating multiple perspectives (Lagioia, 2012; O’Connor et al., 2018). Approaches to support collaboration between parents and educators have been informed by the seminal theory that positions “mutuality, reciprocity and shared decision-making” at the forefront of planning for the learning and development of young children (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p46). Parental engagement is furthered in children’s education and care services via accessible and understandable communications that detail a child’s progress against the approved framework’s learning outcomes, and how educators have supported and guided that child during their day. The Guide to the National Quality Framework notes that educational leaders “support educators to share information safely, sensitively and respectfully”, with importance placed upon the child and their family’s right to confidentiality (ACECQA, 2024, p. 149).

Parental engagement in primary schools

The primary school years offer many opportunities for teachers to engage with parents. Parent attendance at events such as assemblies, school fetes, and other school-based activities is one type of opportunity. As well as providing chances for parent-teacher interactions that can build trusting and considerate relationships, this type of involvement allows parents to demonstrate to their child the importance they place on education and attending school. Even this relatively shallow form of parent engagement has been shown to positively impact learning outcomes (Barger et al., 2019; X. Ma et al., 2016). Teachers and leaders can encourage this type of engagement through the use of clear, timely invitations that are personalised where possible, and through ensuring that parents know they are welcome to participate no matter their background, and no matter if they cannot attend every event.

For parents who are not seen at school events, it may be useful for teachers to tactfully enquire why this is. For some parents, attending the school may be impractical given other commitments, in which case building relationships through emails, phone calls, or notes sent home may be beneficial. Parents have suggested that “more information, rather than less” (Saltmarsh & McPherson, 2022, p. 153), is most useful, and teachers personally “touching-base” can address information deficits that may occur if teachers assume that parents are up-to-date with more general school communication platforms (such as Facebook) (Saltmarsh & McPherson, 2022).

Another type of engagement in primary schools involves parents more deeply in aspects of learning. This includes activities such as participating in open classrooms (i.e., classrooms that encourage parental drop-in sessions, or other in-person engagement), or taking part in sessions or conversations about the curriculum and strategies for assisting with learning. While this type of engagement can be logistically difficult for some parents, it is useful for parents to see what their child is learning and observe the teacher’s strategies that may be emulated by parents at home. Either face-to-face at school, or via emails, letters, phone calls, or other messages as required, teachers can also provide parents with tips and resources to make home reading more effective, such as prompts for parents to have longer and more frequent conversations with their child about the shared reading material (Merga & Mat Roni, 2018; Townsend & Bayetto, 2022; van Poortvliet et al., 2022). Indeed, furthering learning at home through activities such as shared reading, as well as more general conversations about the learning content and parents’ expectations of students, have been shown to substantially impact on students’ achievement (Jeynes, 2005; van Poortvliet et al., 2022).

Teachers can facilitate this type of engagement by ensuring invitations to classrooms are clear and welcoming, providing alternative arrangements where possible for those parents who cannot attend the school, varying times for parent classroom activities across the year, being clear about the expectations of parents, and looking for opportunities for parents to participate in classroom activities in a way that can be beneficial to students and teachers. Inviting parents into the classroom also presents further opportunities for teacher-parent connection. Early in a student’s education, parents may be anxious about how to support their learning, and one-on-one conversations can be a good opportunity for teachers to boost a parent’s confidence in their ability and to build the foundations for a collaborative partnership. These one-on-one conversations can also be useful for teachers to learn about the student’s strengths and development goals from the family’s perspective.

Parental engagement in secondary schools

Students become more autonomous as they progress through secondary school. Across this period, parents may respond to their adolescent’s independence by reducing their own engagement in school-based activities, in part due to the parallel reduction in invitations for attendance from the school, thus encouraging the growth of their child’s autonomy and development of their own identity (Daniel, 2015). Secondary school students, too, may begin to question their parents’ involvement in their education. Students may respond negatively to perceived parental over-involvement in their schooling, particularly if parent-teacher conversations predominantly occur in instances of student misbehaviour or underachievement (Kraft & Dougherty, 2013).

Even in the secondary school context, parent attendance at school events can be important. For example, in a large (~15,000 students and ~13,000 parents) study in the United States, it was found that after controlling for background variables such as socioeconomic status (SES), parent participation in school functions was strongly related to the likelihood of a Year 10 student going on to complete high school (Ross, 2016). In another study of Year 10 students in the US, it was found that parent attendance at school predicted lower depressive symptoms and stronger feelings of interest, enjoyment, and value of learning in students (Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). Thus, as in the primary school years, it may be that parent attendance at school events conveys the message that they place importance on schooling, as well as value their child’s progress and overall wellbeing. This in turn leads students to feel more supported and connected, and themselves place more value on their education.

For secondary school students, discussions with parents about complex topics is an effective type of engagement. The OECD reports that, even after controlling for SES, 15-year-old students who discuss social and political issues with their parents perform better on tests of reading proficiency than those who do not have such conversations (OECD, 2012). Conversations that link schoolwork to current events, and that discuss the value of schooling, future plans and expectations also relate to academic achievement across the secondary school period (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). In one study it was shown that these conversations influence academic achievement both directly, as well as indirectly through increased student interest and compliance with school and homework rules (Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). While teachers might encourage discussions between parents and students, their influence over these conversations taking place is, of course, limited. However, schools can engage with parents to ensure they have the information to confidently discuss topics such as future plans.

Connecting with parents

Families engage with schools in different ways, and so it may be useful to work with parents to develop a mutually beneficial connection strategy. Research on parental engagement has increasingly focused on the bi-directional nature of the parent-teacher relationship, and the equal contributions both parties make in service of communicating about the child’s education (M. Smith, 2022; T. E. Smith et al., 2020). A reciprocal relationship can foster a unified front in support of the student’s holistic development. This bi-directional exchange of information encourages deeper understanding of the child’s needs, strengths and challenges, which may lead to the development of more effective strategies for learning and growth both at home and in the classroom. Supporting children through their transition from the early childhood education setting into primary school, and then into secondary school, helps them to feel secure, confident and connected (Department of Education ACT, 2022). It is important that parents, early childhood education and care settings, schools, and the wider community work cohesively together to make the transition as easy as possible. Connecting with parents can involve reporting on student progress and achievement, parent-teacher conferencing, and developing agile and adaptable communication methods.

Communicating with parents

The cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity of Australia’s population is reflected in its education and care services, and teachers may need to exercise proactive and flexible approaches to finding different communication strategies to suit the needs of their students’ families. In all cases, genuine, two-way, respectful communication is required to build a trusting and beneficial relationship. Actively listening to parents, and nurturing a collaborative relationship through language that includes parents (e.g., “What are we going to do about this?”, “What do you think?”) can smooth interactions (Mann et al., 2023). Such a collaborative relationship may be especially important for parents of children with disability, given that parents often have deep knowledge of their child’s learning and social needs, and can help a teacher’s understanding of the student (Wurf, 2023). While structured school-wide programs can improve parent engagement (Jeynes, 2012), teachers can make smaller efforts to build rapport with parents and establish positive relationships.

Creating a school culture that welcomes parents, and makes expectations of parents clear, is an important first step to successful parent engagement. In addition to competing work, caring, and other commitments making school attendance difficult, for some parents, attendance at school can be unappealing. For example, parents may feel judged for their home situation or parenting skills, or self-conscious about their English skills or poor knowledge of the Australian school system, or may have had negative experiences during their own time at school (Rogers et al., 2022; Sianturi et al., 2022; Woodrow et al., 2016). Thus, ensuring the front office is inviting and inclusive can be the first point to improve engagement for some families (Woodrow et al., 2016). Invitations to school events may need to be personalised or repeated for those who do not often attend. Parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds may feel further welcomed if cultural or religious events are included in classroom calendars, and if a short welcome message is sent to them in their dominant language (Woodrow et al., 2016). Providing parents with information about relevant community services may be particularly appreciated in low-SES areas, and supporting school-wide programs that encourage parents to attend the school for informal events such as morning teas and student presentations can also help to create a welcoming and positive school culture and foster teacher-parent relationships (Woodrow et al., 2016).

For some families, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, it may be important to offer informal, non-Westernised meeting opportunities (Muller, 2012). Meeting outside of school grounds, for example, or in such a way that parents can access a school room without needing to enter through the front gates, can alleviate parental anxieties about engaging with unfamiliar school staff (Muller, 2012). Furthermore, in some schools a specific staff member may be allocated to parent outreach. For example, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, a dedicated community liaison, such as an Aboriginal Education Officer, can be valuable for building and strengthening ties between families and schools. Being a first point of contact for parents, such educators can help to build trust, advocate for families and the school, and facilitate further relationships with teachers (Woodrow et al., 2016). However, direct contact from teachers is also necessary. Teachers “have a responsibility to create culturally safe places, working in intercultural ways through pedagogy and practice” (ACECQA, 2022a, p. 16). Teachers can work on building their cultural responsiveness and understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families may engage with students’ learning not only through activities such as homework-checking and shared reading, but also through teaching their children to understand and respect their culture, land, and history (Rogers et al., 2022; Woodrow et al., 2016).

The type and frequency of communication should also be considered when promoting engagement with parents. Generally, using multiple methods of communication is preferable, to ensure equity (e.g., in terms of internet access, or paper-based information reaching parents), and to make it easier for parents to know where to go for which type of information (e.g., a Learning Management System for information about student grades, or a social media site for reminders about school community events. Some schools have found that surveying parents about communication preferences assists in choosing which methods to focus on (Saltmarsh & McPherson, 2022).

Ensuring that information is clear and concise, and personalised where possible, can help parents to focus on the most relevant information. While information may cover school-wide or classroom-based events and requirements, short and regular communication specifically about students is also beneficial. For parents who attend the school, this might be as simple as a brief conversation during drop-off (Leenders et al., 2019; Mann et al., 2023). For other parents, phone calls, emails, or text messages may be appropriate. Some research suggests that short, daily phone calls or text messages can be effective in increasing parent engagement, which in turn improves student attendance, engagement, and homework completion (Heppen et al., 2020; Kraft & Dougherty, 2013). While daily communication may be impractical, some degree of short, regular updates may benefit the teacher-parent relationship. It is also important for teachers to provide positive updates about their students, as parents’ perception that they only hear from the school when there is a problem can lead to avoidance or abrasive parent-teacher relationships (Woodrow et al., 2016).

It is important to recognise that parents may not attend school for a variety of reasons. While this may sometimes lead teachers to consider these parents as uninterested or unengaged with their child’s learning, often this is not truly the case (Woodrow et al., 2016). It can be helpful for teachers to acknowledge that at-home engagement can take many forms, with activities such as attending community events, meal preparation and grocery shopping, and family games or conversations all providing opportunities for students to apply learning, particularly during the early years. When this type of contribution is validated and highlighted by teachers, it has been found that parents can be “quite transformed by feelings of being valued and being a good parent which then seem to be motivating greater engagement” (Woodrow et al., 2016, p. 50).

Teachers may also benefit from thoughtful consideration of different types of engagement. For example, in a small, intensive study in an Australian primary school, teachers were encouraged to deeply reflect on what constitutes engagement (Baxter & Kilderry, 2022). Through the year-long study, teachers shifted from perceiving missing parents as disengaged, or parents who were illiterate in English as unable to support their child’s learning, to appreciating and facilitating learning at home (Baxter & Kilderry, 2022). For example, to encourage learning conversations at home, teachers began to assign experiential tasks as homework (such as cooking as a family, telling stories, gardening, etc.) that required students to interact with their families. These experiences could then be shared by students in the classroom to impact broader cultural learning.

Reporting student progress and achievement

Traditionally, schools provide student progress reports at the end of each semester – a practice which largely remains today. More recently, however, the rise in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) reporting systems has allowed schools the ability to establish a continual reporting cycle, providing parents with more frequent communication about their child’s progress and achievements. Continuous reporting may include the uploading of teacher comments on student assignments, feedback on in-class behaviour, and task rubrics (Hollingsworth et al., 2019). Offering parents the opportunity to view their child’s progress continually throughout the school year may also contribute to improved parent-teacher communication.

While continuous reporting is valuable for students and parents, it may contribute to increased workload for teachers. In the long term, however, providing ‘real time’ student progress updates to parents throughout the semester may decrease the time spent on compiling end-of-semester reports. In secondary schools where continuous reporting was widely practised, Hollingsworth et. al. found that end-of-semester reports were ‘leaner’ and often referred the parent to the school’s Learning Management System (LMS) portal for more rigorous student feedback compiled throughout the semester (Hollingsworth et al., 2019). Revising end-of-semester reporting practices to track a student’s progress rather than simply their performance during assessments may give teachers a more holistic overview of a student’s progress, and parents a clearer understanding of how their child learns (Hollingsworth et al., 2019). Ensuring that communication about student learning not only conveys what the student has achieved, but also what they have not achieved, or with which tasks they have experienced difficulties, is also important for parents to have a clear understanding of student progress (Hollingsworth et al., 2019).

Parent-teacher conferencing

For effective parent-teacher conferences, preparation is necessary, as is consultation and consistency (e.g., Department of Education VIC, 2020). It is standard practice to ensure that parent-teacher conferences are held at least once per semester, and that the processes and protocols of the conferences are developed in consultation with the school community. Teachers and school leaders can encourage parental engagement in this reporting and consultation process by ensuring that clear communication is consistent, so that parents are aware of the dates and times of the conferences, and providing opportunities for families to schedule their conferences remotely. School leaders can support teachers in their facilitation of parent-teacher conferences by developing and adhering to guidance and follow-up processes.

Student-led conferences offer an alternative to the traditional parent-teacher conference, and these encourage students to take charge of their own progress reporting by leading their parents through a portfolio of their work over the course of the study period. Unfortunately, there is a lack of recent research into student-led conferences, particularly in Australia. However, the available research does indicate promising parental engagement opportunities. For example, single-school case studies in the US and Australia have found that parents responded very favourably to their child explaining coursework, academic and social achievements, and behaviour (Goodman, 2008; McCarthy, 2015). Attendance at student-led conferences was also found to be higher than for traditional parent-teacher conferences (Goodman, 2008; McCarthy, 2015). Student-led conferences are valuable for parents to gain an understanding of their child’s effort, study skills, goals, and behaviour. They are also valuable and rewarding for teachers to see students take charge of their learning, and hear what the students believe they need to work on (McCarthy, 2015).

The case studies also identified some disadvantages or challenges in student-led conferences. For example, the format can be difficult for parents and teachers to discuss sensitive or confidential information, and some parents expect parent-teacher discussions to occur in addition to the student-led conference (Goodman, 2008; McCarthy, 2015). While this expectation may be mitigated by clear communication of the format, parent-teacher discussions are likely to be required in some situations. Student-led conferences also require substantial teacher-guided preparation to collect pieces for the portfolio, reflect on achievement, goals, and difficulties, and develop the presentations (McCarthy, 2015). The time commitment may decline, though, as school procedures for student-led conferences are developed and parents and students become more familiar with the expectations of this format. In introducing student-led conferencing, schools may be able to shape the format of the conferences to better suit institutional and parental needs. A single teacher may be able to support the conferencing of several students allocated to them, which could mitigate the need for separate conferences with all of the student’s teachers individually. For parents who live in remote areas, or who are unable to physically attend the conferencing sessions, the student may be able to present their work in an online format with the teacher.

Parental complaints and concerns

While there is limited research on the effects of complaint handling by schools on parental engagement levels, evidence shows that inconsistent or poor communication between parents and their child’s school is a frequent barrier to engagement (Baker et al., 2016). Depending on school and education system policies, Australian schools are able to develop internal guidance and frameworks for handling parental complaints and concerns about the school or their child’s education. Typically, complaints and concerns are handled at the school level, before further escalation, if the parent is not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint (Department of Education Qld, 2024; Department of Education VIC, 2024). Education departments may provide further information on handling parental complaints within their respective school systems. For example, the Victorian Department of Education has developed a guideline on Addressing parents’ concerns and complaints effectively: Policy and guides to support Victorian schools in creating their own policies and procedures on how to effectively handle parental complaints. Most often, however, individual schools will have developed their own processes and procedures for handling complaints internally. Nationally, the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) has developed Policy and Procedure Guidelines for Dealing with Complaints in Australian children’s education and care settings. The guidelines provide information and a range of resources to assist Australian education and care settings in developing their own policies and procedures with regards to complaint handling.

Supporting parental engagement at home

Some parents may not be seen often at the school for a wide range of reasons. However, this does not mean that they cannot effectively engage with student learning at home. In terms of student achievement, parent engagement in learning at home typically has a larger direct impact than attending school functions (Boonk et al., 2018; Cosso et al., 2022; Jeynes, 2007, 2012; X. Ma et al., 2016). Teachers can help facilitate at-home engagement, and many of the at-school strategies discussed in this Spotlight will have flow on effects to at-home engagement. For instance, if parents discuss and observe what their child is learning at school, what their strengths and learning needs are, and possible strategies for improving progress or demonstrating links between curriculum content and family life or world events, conversations that reinforce learning are more likely to occur at home.

Indeed, parental engagement can be represented on a continuum, where parents move from primarily having in-school involvement to also include actions and attitudes that progressively become more centred on learning (Goodall, 2017) (Figure 4). The continuum recognises that ‘traditional involvement’, such as volunteering at their child’s school, or attending assemblies and other events, may represent the first steps towards parental engagement with learning. Making families feel welcome by inviting their input into their child’s learning can be a good first step in deepening their engagement.

There are three continuum levels, where the first level serves to strengthen family-school partnerships through traditional in-school activities (Goodall, 2017). The second level progresses to family-led schooling, where activities such as instruction and assessment are still overseen by teachers and school leaders (Goodall, 2017). Finally, the third level represents parental actions and attitudes that focus on children's learning in the home and community, shifting the emphasis from being school-centric to being centred on sustained family-led learning (Goodall, 2017).

Recent research suggests that high levels of parenting self-efficacy have been associated with positive child development and parent-child relationships (Matthews et al., 2022), and may positively influence parent-teacher and student-teacher relationships (T. Ma et al., 2024). Higher levels of parenting self-efficacy have been associated with lower levels of externalising problems at school or at home and increased social skills, from preschool age through to adolescence (Glatz et al., 2024; Glatz & Buchanan, 2015; Seabra-Santos et al., 2016). Higher parenting self-efficacy also relates to more positive, confident, and satisfying parent-teacher relationships (Matthews et al., 2022; Minke et al., 2014).

Schools are able to support parents in building their parenting self-efficacy in a number of ways, however research recommends that these interventions be low-intensity, be run by school psychologists, and are carefully framed so that parents feel empowered by them (T. Ma et al., 2024). Opportunities for parents to build their parenting self-efficacy can include take-home resource packages, and low-intensity programs with low demand for attendance (T. Ma et al., 2024). In addition, ensuring these resources and programs are positioned as being universally beneficial to parents with all levels of parenting self-efficacy may encourage the creation of a neutral, destigmatised learning environment for parents (T. Ma et al., 2024). Schools can assist in this destigmatisation work by carefully considering the way this support is framed in parent communications (T. Ma et al., 2024).