Abstract:
Despite the role that parent-led boards of trustees play in New Zealand schools, little research has been done on the factors that encourage or constrain parents’ participation on these boards, particularly in low-decile schools.The findings identified three key factors that encourage parents’participation on the boards of trustees of low-decile primary schools: active encouragement from school staff, their own confidence, and prior work and community experience. The three key factors found to constrain participation were parents’ lack of confidence, lack of understanding of the role of the board, and lack of time. The board chairpersons all noted that their schools’ parents were actively engaged in school-related activities and believed that many were capable of being trustees. A question raised by this study is how can schools and boards facilitate a carry-over of parental involvement in schools into governance roles?