Abstract:
While the value of strong school-home partnerships is considered beneficial to children's outcomes, teacher strategies required to build and maintain the desired partnerships can remain elusive. E-portfolios in this New Zealand primary school setting were being utilised to strengthen partnerships and provide access to classroom learning from beyond the school walls. Parent/whānau engagement with their child's e-portfolio work was identified as an area for improvement to maximise the potential of this digital tool in building the school-home partnerships as uptake had been limited. This small scale study of 15 parents/whānau, and their children, asked: How might teachers increase parent/whānau engagement with children's learning, through e-portfolios? The study analysed the effect of different engagement strategies to encourage interaction with e-portfolio entries. Following a review of the literature on school-home partnerships and the field of digital tools, an action research methodology approach to data collection was utilised to inform cycles of intervention aimed at enhancing e-portfolio partnerships. Mixed methods were employed to collect e-portfolio data, children's visual samples, and responses to a parent/whānau questionnaire to assess the impact of the strategies. The study's findings identified that a multifaceted approach is required to address the diverse barriers to engagement that parents/whānau may face. Additionally, findings revealed links between increased engagement levels and implementing social media and marketing strategies in an educational context. This study contributes knowledge to the field of school-home partnerships, the implementation of e-portfolios, and offers engagement strategies that can be utilised by teachers and school leadership teams. The findings have implications for practice in primary school settings and recommendations for schools with flexible space classrooms are also made.
