User, Client, and Partner: Various Facets of Citizenship in the Relationship Between Parents and the School
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article aims to reflect on the factors influencing the relationship between family and school, fostering parental involvement in education.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The text raises inquiries into non‑individualistic and psychosocial factors shaping the relationship between family and school. These explorations take the form of theoretical heuristics derived from critical readings of texts.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Three types of rationality governing the state‑user client are presented, alongside three parental roles in the school relationship: stakeholder, customer, and partner.
RESEARCH RESULTS: Each role corresponds to a particular type of rationality and implies different levels of civic engagement, from passivity to active participation.
CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: In researching the family‑school relationship, it’s important to consider the broader political‑legal con‑ text that frames citizens’ daily and political activities. Particularly promising are Mouffe’s concepts of radical citizenship and Biesta’s notion of public space for understanding deep parental engagement. Referring to these findings directly in relation to empirical and theoretical research on parental involvement conducted in Poland is recommended.
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