The paper will present findings of a desk based study of the roles of parents of primary school children set out within Curriculum for Excellence, the new national curriculum for Scotland.  The study analyses the extent to which this curriculum and the guidance to schools present a coherent view of the role of parents in their children’s education and the extent to which they reflect what is known about the didactic practices of parents.

The European Council (2009) agreed that cooperation in education should be established to cover learning in all contexts, formal or non-formal, from early childhood settings and schools, through to higher education and adult learning.  These strategic objectives have set a challenging agenda for all.  Within this policy the role of parents in children’s education remains an integral aspect of life-long learning. In 2000 the EU (EU, 2000) identified the importance of parental participation to both school improvement and the quality of children’s education. In 2007 parental education was identified as a key influence on the educational attainment of their children (Commission of the EU, 2007). The Commission concluded that a supportive family environment depended for its success on the educational level of the parents and the existence of two parent households.   The Commission however concluded that on the basis of information available they could not provide any exhaustive explanation for the difference in the significance of family structure on achievement.   

In Scotland the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive Education Department, 2004) similarly identified the importance of parental participation in children’s education.  The new curriculum and the supporting guidance make many references to the role of parents and include a ‘Parentzone’ on the website maintained by the national agency responsible for the curriculum (LTS, 2011).  A preliminary analysis of the curriculum and its national guidance reveals a variety of expectations in relation to the role and participation of parents.  

This study offers insight into the supporting role of parents from the perspectives of the didactic practices of parents.  It explores what is known about these practices and how these are directly or indirectly referred to within the Curriculum for Excellence.  Although the primary focus is Scotland the implications for educational policy generally are discussed.

The paper uses a social constructivist approach to the analysis of the interaction between parents and their children as they provide direct didactic support.  This approach builds on the work of Vygotsky (1986), the development of this work by Bruner (1976) and the European tradition of didactics (Hopmann, 2007; Hudson, 2007).  The concepts of ‘more capable other’, ‘scaffolding’, ‘restrained teaching’ are central to this analysis.   This approach is complemented by ‘community of practice’ literature (Wenger, 1998; Lave and Wenger, 1991, 1998) and its development by Roth (2008) and Roth and Lee (2006) to underpin our exploration of the parent within the wider network of support for children’s learning.  Finally to analyse the home–school relationship we draw on Alexander’s typology of ‘communication, co-operation, confrontation and compensation’ (Alexander, 2000, p.227).

Alexander, R. (2000) Culture and Pedagogy Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Bruner, J. S. (1976) ‘Early social interaction and language acquisition’ in H. R. Schaffer (ed.) Studies in Mother-Infant Interaction London: Academic Press. Commission of the European Union (2007) Progress towards the Lisbon objectives in Education and Training www.ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/progress06/report_en.pdf Accessed 6/1/11 Dochy, F., Segers, M., Van den Bossche, P. and Gijbels, D. (2003) “Effects of problem-based learning: a meta-analysis” Learning and Instruction Vol.13pp.533-68 European Council (2000) Report on the Quality of School Education: Sixteen Quality Indicators www.europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/life_longlearning/c11063_en.ht. Accessed 3/1/11 European Council (2009) “Council Conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (‘ET 2020’)” Official Journal of the European Union 2009/C 119/02 Hopmann, S. (2007) “Restrained Teaching: the common core of Didaktik” European Educational Research Journal Vol.6(2)pp.109-124 Hudson, B. (2007) Comparing Different Traditions of Teaching and Learning: what can we learn about teaching and learning? European Educational Research Journal Vol.6(2)pp.135-146 Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1998) ‘Legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice’ in McCormick, R. & Paechter (eds.) Learning and Knowledge London: Paul Chapman Learning and Teaching Scotland (2011) Parentzone www.ltscotland.org.uk/parentzone Accessed January 6th 2011 Roth, W-M. (2008) “The Nature of Scientific Conceptions: A discursive psychological perspective” Educational Research Review Vol. 3(1)pp.30-50 Roth, W-M. and Lee, Y-J. (2006) ‘Contradictions in theorising and implementing communities in education’ Educational Research Review Vol.1pp.27-40) Scottish Executive Education Department (2004) A Curriculum for Excellence, Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Vygotsky, L. (1986) Thought and Language Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of practice: learning, meaning and identity Cambridge: Cambridge University Press