Constructing home-school relationships in a ‘most deprived’ area: a Foucauldian discourse analysis of primary school communications and policies

Thesis

This case study, set within a ‘most deprived’ area, explores the construction of home-school relationships (HSR) within the communications and policies of seven primary schools. It sits within a poststructuralist paradigm, focusing on the way language constructs social realities, and aims to disrupt the hegemony of institutional discourses and give voice to nondominant parents within HSR. Employing a Foucauldian discourse analysis, it is argued that schools position parents in complex and contradictory ways, and use techniques of government to coerce parents into behaviours which align with schools’ goals and correct them as individual subjects. Suggestions are made for how this shapes what is possible and impossible for HSR in this context. A commitment to reflexivity is maintained throughout the dissertation, acknowledging the role of the researcher at every stage of the research process.

Authors: Cooper, H

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-r50qpn5da
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: school policy; Foucault; parents; RDM; home-school relationships; RDM2024; primary education; documentary data analysis; school communications; Foucauldian discourse analysis
• Subjects: Home-school; School management and organization; Communications; Education, Primary; Parents; Education; Data mining; Discourse analysis