It’s time to recognise that parents are powerful actors in education

The new minister of basic education, Siviwe Gwarube, is looking to make her mark in a department that has been run by Angie Motshekga since 2009. So, it’s not surprising that she used a television interview to assure parents that her department will focus on its core mandate rather than politics.

This is good news, but we hope the department prioritises involvement with a broad base of parents in the implementation of its mandate. To date, survey results tell us that not enough is being done to empower parents to be a part of their children’s education and hold schools accountable. If parents feel disempowered or don’t know their rights, we are unlikely to see shifts in education outcomes, because parental involvement is critical to their children’s success.

Parental involvement is not a nice-to-have; it’s legislated. Before 1994, most parents in South Africa were largely not encouraged to be involved in their children’s schooling. In 1996, through the introduction of the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996), parents were purposefully included as key stakeholders in schools. 

Although legislation has included parents  in school governing bodies, their participation is often limited to a select few who serve as representatives of the broader parent community and are actively involved in school governance. But it is vital that all parents feel that they can interact with teachers and the principal in ensuring their child’s best interests. 

For this reason, it is important to understand how parents experience schooling. This is why Parent Power commissioned the first nationally representative household survey to understand education through the eyes of parents and to develop a baseline for how parents experience and perceive quality education. In the survey, we asked parents to reflect on five questions, including their child’s happiness and safety at school, how much they know about what is happening at school, their confidence in staff and whether they feel confident enough to stand up for their child.

A total of 1 705 parents participated in the survey, drawn from all nine provinces and different economic backgrounds, including those with children in no-fee, urban and private schools. These findings reflect the concerns of parents to an estimated 12.8 million children.

We found that the perceptions of parents are largely positive; 82% of the parents in the survey felt that their children were happy at school. This is encouraging, although that means about 2.3 million children are, in the view of their parents, unhappy. 

Most are confident that their children are safe at school, but nearly one in five parents reported concerns about safety, including instances of misbehaviour, bullying and alcohol-related issues at school. And about 16% lacked confidence in school staff, citing low levels of trust and communication problems as some of their reasons. 

We also found that four in 10 parents expressed a lack of knowledge about school operations, including grade performance, the school’s financial status and absenteeism rates (both among learners and teachers). This suggests a need for improved transparency and communication between schools and parents. 

Additionally, 18% of parents felt unable to advocate effectively for their children, indicating difficulties related to teacher respect, responsiveness to parental concerns and acknowledgment of learner problems. 

To truly tap into the value that parents can add as partners in education, we need to start looking at them through an asset-based lens by broadening the understanding of the multiple ways in which parents can contribute, and by ensuring that parents have constructive ways to work with schools. Parental participation is, ultimately, parents and school staff collaborating and communicating to support and improve the learning, development and well-being of learners. 

For parents to feel invested and able to collaborate with their children’s schools, there is a need to understand the multiple drivers that contribute to quality education. This will help parents better understand their rights and responsibilities, recognising their power to partner with schools and hold them accountable.

Andisiwe Hlungwane is the project lead of Parent Power, which aims to elevate parents as powerful actors in their children’s education. Parent Power supports schools, departments of education and nonprofit organisations to meaningfully work with parents.