Family and community participation in education

The study of family and community participation in children’s school education is complex, given the different actors and institutions involved, the different levels of operation, the range of activities, the cultural dimensions and the differing perspectives and ideologies. Research studies on family and community participation in the Asia-Pacific region are very few as compared to those in the United States. The National Institute for Educational Research (NIER) Report (1996) documented the family and community involvement in some of the regions, including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and the Republic of Korea; yet, no comparison has been made between them. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Report (OECD) (1997) and Kelley-Laine (1998) examined the parent as partners in schooling of nine countries; yet, only Japan came from the region. A thematic study of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (Bray, 2000) highlighted the practices of community participation in a few Asian and African countries, including Papua New Guinea (PNG). Copyright © 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.