Parental Involvement Policies in Ontario: A Critical Analysis

In the current climate of ever-increasing pressure on parents to become more responsible for the achievement of their children, which forms an element of neo-liberal governance with its shift from public to private, it is necessary to understand the discourses generated by parental involvement policies. This analysis showed that existing policies in Ontario (Canada) are permeated with discourses of barriers and parental deficiency. They employ a narrow definition of parental involvement, privilege parenting strategies of White middle classes, and represent diverse and immigrant parents as lacking. Although the difference among parents is acknowledged, parents receive no recognition for funds of knowledge they have. Policy documents remain silent on issues of inequality and present parental involvement as a neutral tool rather than a socially constructed and historically specific practice with its set of winners and losers. Implications for policymakers include adding parental involvement content in preservice and in-service teacher education to make parent–school partnerships truly democratic and effective for all.