Parent-teacher interaction: Are parents and teachers in Hong Kong ready for cooperation?

Encouraging parent involvement is one of the prime focuses of promoting home-school cooperation in current education reform in Hong Kong. This paper contains research data collected through qualitative methods aiming at capturing the thoughts and perceptions of twelve parents and twelve teachers in three primary schools in Hong Kong so as to explore whether both parties are ready for parent-school cooperation. Findings indicated that both parents and teachers demonstrated cognitive and affective awareness of parent involvement outside school while teachers were strongly unwilling to see parents being involved in decision making. To promote parent-school collaboration, it is important to consider teacher-parent relationships and the influence of Chinese culture on parent involvement. The paper also serves to provide scholars with academic insights for further investigation and policy makers with practical knowledge in developing appropriate strategies to promote home-school cooperation. Copyright © 2002 Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization.