The Investigation And Problem Research On Parent Participation In School Administration In China's Urban Primary School

With the rising of'Great Education Concept" and the changing of educational administration system, parent participation in school administration has been the focus topic in the process of educational reform and development. In many western countries, especially American, England and Australia, influenced by some policies, such as education decentralization, school-based management and school choice, parent participation in school administration has been gained the approval and favor of majority of school administrators, teachers and parents. And in practice, it plays a positive role in promoting school development and improving the effectiveness of education. In comparison, because of the late start, the research and practice on parent participation in school administration in our country is still in exploring phase. So we should do further searching and extension on the theoretical research, policy support and practice improvement.On the basis of reviewing the relevant research results at home and abroad, the former part of this study used literature analysis mainly to illustrate the background, theoretical basis and the practical development of parent involvement. So we can get a whole understanding and grasp of the current research environment about parent participation in school administration. Accordingly, using the empirical approach, the research selected 10 primary schools in 8 districts in Shanghai randomly, and did the questionnaire survey on parents. And the paper described the results from practices and consciousness to parent participation in school administration, trying to reveal the basic situation and some reasons of the parent involvement in ordinary primary schools in Shanghai nowadays.The research shows that most of the primary school students'parents hold the supportive attitudes for parent participation in school administration, but they did not do an active involvement in practice. In other words, there isn't a consistency between how to think and how to do. And there are differences in the parents'background variables of practices and consciousness to parent participation in different level of school administration, such as parental status, educational level, occupation and so on. In addition, the main obstacles to parent involvement include two types. The first one is related to parents themselves, for example, being short of knowledge, abilities and time, with wrong or one-side opinion of the parent involvement. The second one is related to schools, for example, the scarcity of support and help from school and the relevant institution and channel in schools are not perfect and smooth.Therefore, it is necessary to improve the parent involvement mechanism in school administration on the basis of four principles, such as community of purpose, equal rights and responsibilities, exerting one's strength, and equal respect for each other. Also there are several specific implementing measures as follows. First, establish and improve relevant laws and regulations system, specify the responsibilities of both home and school, so the parents'participation rights in school administration can be implemented effectively. Second, update the the teachers and parents'conception, help them to form a correct understanding of parent participation, and lay a right thought foundation for the work. Third, organize relevant training to help teachers and parents to enhance the abilities about participation and cooperation. Finally, build a sound micro-operation mechanism as a bridge for parent involvement in school administration.