Revisiting the Challenges Linked to Parenting and Home–School Relationships at the High School Level - Abstract and Findings

Oct 15, 2026

The article revisits 2005 data on the parental involvement process, examining how parental understanding and written statements relate to two activity systems: parenting and home–school relationships at the high school level. It analyzes parents’ perceptions of invitations from adolescents and teachers, clarifies parents’ views of their role in adolescent education, and identifies tensions and contradictions in these relationships. Using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), 409 parents’ qualitative statements reveal divergences about responsibilities and rules, and the study proposes applying the Change Laboratory (CL) to give adolescents greater agency as mediators.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Family processes and school success

Parenting and home–school relationships

Methodological framework (CHAT)

Findings: tensions and contradictions

Implications for intervention (Change Laboratory)

Revisiting the Challenges Linked to Parenting and Home–School Relationships at the High School Level Rollande Deslandes Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Sylvie Barma Université Laval Abstract The article revisits data from a 2005 study on the parental involvement process. The purpose of this study was to analyze parents’written statements regarding two processes: parenting and home–school relationships associated with school success at the high school level. The objectives are mainly to describe parents’understanding of their role in adolescent education and schooling, to document their perception of adolescents’and teachers’ invitations to become involved, and to identify contradictions within their relationships with adolescents and teachers. Using the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), we analyzed qualitative data obtained from 409 parents’ statements. Main findings indicate contradictions in the rules and division of labour poles ofthe activity systems. Divergent points of view were noted between parents and adolescents and between parents and school/teachers in regard to their responsibilities. The same observations were made with respect to home–school relationships. Other contradictions were also identified Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 39:4 (2016)©2016 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) when the parents addressed the recurrent tensions to improve either their relationships with their adolescents or with the teachers. As a promising avenue for intervention and developmental research, the authors suggest to apply the Change Laboratory (CL) methodology to give adolescents a better voice and the ability to act as mediators in both activity systems. Keywords: family processes, parental involvement, parent–adolescent relations, home– school relationships, school success, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Change Laboratory Method, tensions and contradictions Résumé Le présent article revisite les données d’une étude précédente menée en 2005 sur le processus de participation parentale. Le but de cette étude est d’analyser les commentaires écrits des parents relativement à deux processus, l’exercice du rôle de parent éducateur et les relations famille-école associés à la réussite scolaire au secondaire. Les objectifs visent à décrire la compréhension des parents de leur rôle dans l’éducation et la scolarisation des adolescents; documenter leur perception des invitations à participer de la part des adolescents et des enseignants à participer et identifier les contradictions au sein deleurs relations avec les adolescents et les enseignants. Prenant appui sur la théorie historico-culturelle de l’activité (CHAT), nous avons analysé les données qualitatives obtenues à partir des commentaires écrits de 409 parents. Les résultats indiquent des contradictions dans les pôles règles et division du travail des systèmes d’activité susceptibles de contribuer à l’émergence de conflits. Des points de vue divergents ont été notés entre les parents et les adolescents et entre les parents et les enseignants/école en regard de leurs responsabilités. Les mêmes observations ont été faites en ce qui concerne les relations famille-école. D’autres contradictions ont également été identifiées lorsque les parentsont abordé les tensions récurrentes dans le but d’améliorer leurs relations soit avec leurs adolescents ou avec les enseignants. Comme voie prometteuse pour l’intervention et la recherche de développement, les auteurs suggèrent d’appliquer la méthode du Laboratoire du Changement (CL) basée sur CHAT afin de donner aux adolescents une voix au chapitre et d’agir comme médiateurs dans les deux systèmes d’activité . Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 39:4 (2016) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Mots-clés : processus familiaux, participation parentale, relati

FAQs

What does the study analyze about parental involvement at the high school level?

It analyzes parents’ written statements about two processes: parenting and home–school relationships, and how they relate to school success at the high school level.

Which theory guides the data analysis in this article?

The study uses Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to analyze qualitative data from 409 parents’ statements.

What key findings are reported regarding parent–adolescent and parent–school relationships?

The article reports contradictions and divergent views between parents and adolescents, and between parents and teachers/schools, particularly concerning responsibilities and the division of labour within activity systems.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Well Done