Do teachers have the knowledge and skills to facilitate effective parental engagement? Findings from a national survey in England

Abstract

Parental engagement is known to positively influence children’s educational outcomes. However, it remains unclear whether teachers in England are sufficiently equipped to facilitate effective parental engagement. We therefore conducted a national online survey of 1782 qualified teachers in England, to explore their parental engagement training, knowledge, skills and factors influencing those skills. We identified concerning training gaps, with most teachers receiving no training in which types of parental engagement are most effective or how to identify and remove barriers to parental engagement. Only a minority of teachers recognised the importance of parent–child interactions in their conceptualisation of parental engagement, with many seemingly preoccupied with less effective school involvement activities. Teachers’ parental engagement skills were associated with their self-efficacy, experience, workload, training route and other factors. The findings suggest that teachers require better training to prepare them to facilitate effective parental engagement with learning. This study makes an important contribution to the development of future training by pinpointing specific gaps in teachers’ parental engagement knowledge and skills, and identifying predictors of those skills. As such, it has implications for teachers, teacher educators, school leaders and policymakers, aiming to optimise parental engagement practices to enhance children's educational outcomes.