Engaging Rural School parents in School Governance: The Experiences of South African School Principals

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the experiences of principals on rural school parent engagement in governance of schools. Apart from a literature review on parent engagement in school governance, this article reports on a study in which empirical investigation based on quantitative research paradigm was used to collect data from rural school principals. The literature findings revealed that engaging parents in school governance is a critical component of education in South Africa. The study further on revealed that empirical findings elicited that rural school principals would like parents to have a significant role to play in school governance. The study is concluded by the submission that it is essential for parents in school governance to be given necessary training so that they can have a working knowledge of school governance activities. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p460