1. Objectifs

Intentions :

«The social and academic experiences of children and adolescents in school are a major concern for parents and their characteristics as protection or risk factors for their children’s adaptation has been extensively studied. However, few studies have dealt with the behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of parents about the schools their children are enrolled in. The aim of this study was to address that issue.» (p. 145)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Three research questions were investigated:
1. Could the three cluster typology identified in the pilot study be replicated with a larger sample covering more regions and school boards?
2. What if any differences are there in terms of proportions of parents within each cluster from one region/school board to the other?
3. What is the relationship between selected regional/school board cluster profiles and success and dropout rates?» (p. 146)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«A random sample of 1297 parents drawn from 8 school boards in the province of Quebec (Canada) took part in the study.» (p. 147)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The importance of parental values, attitudes and involvement in their children’s school experience is undeniable. However, very little research has dealt with more macroscopic issues of cultural regional differences regarding education.» (p. 146) À la lumière de leur recherche, les auteurs concluent que «[t]hough exploratory in nature, this research indicates that parental influences on their children’s school experience may be very different from one environment to the other. This lends credence to a growing belief in localized approaches which take into account the differential needs and proportions of parents identified in the cluster analysis procedure used here, from one school board, territory or region to the other.» (p. 150)