What+should+the+role+of+parent+councils+be?

=What should the role of parent councils be? ~Ruth Tkachyk, Alberta=

In my experience, I would agree with the majority of the research that finds no causal links between the existence of parent councils and school improvement – when you measure improvement in terms of student achievement. The reason for this is that none of the parent councils I have been involved with as a teacher have had anything to do with decisions that directly affect the classroom, ergo no effect on student achievement. The research also supports this.

The research says that fund-raising is where the impact of establishing parent councils has primarily been felt. Parent council involvement, in both the schools I have taught at, has indeed been primarily as a fund-raising organization and to rubber stamp the three-year plans and accountability pillar results. Even the decisions as to what to purchase with money raised have been merely approving the school’s wish list. This even occurred in a school where the principal placed a high value on parent input.

As a teacher, I do not readily agree with the concept of parent councils having a say in what happens in my classroom on a day-to-day basis. We are the professionals and should be making decisions regarding pedagogy and behavior consequences. As a parent, I do not readily agree with it either. When I, naturally, have only the interests of my child/children in mind – how can I possibly make decisions that are for the greater good? Let’s leave it to the professionals. The fact that the research shows that parent councils have not had a profound effect on school improvement neither surprises me nor alarms me.

Reference: Leithwood, K., Jantzi, D., & Steinbach, R. (1998). Do School Councils Matter? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 1998). Retrieved from: []