Home-school partnership with migrant families: a way forward on the island of Ireland

This research examined home-school partnerships between staff and migrant parents in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Participants comprised 17 migrant parents and 12 teachers in two purposively selected primary schools, one in each jurisdiction. Parents engaged in activities, drawn from a newly created partnership framework, designed for use with migrant families (author 2022). These activities drew on the cultural and language backgrounds of parents. Focus groups were conducted before and after the activities to garner staff and parents’ perceptions of home-school partnership, their understanding of the crucial elements of such partnerships, and the impact of the activities on home-school relationships. Findings revealed that migrant parents’ Funds of Knowledge (FoK) (Gonzalez, Moll, and Amanti 2006), when recognised, can enhance their children’s education. However, parents and school staff face challenges in implementing partnerships. More specifically, findings showed being inside the classroom, rather than just inside the school, increased parents’ confidence to contribute to home-school partnerships, especially when they were recognised by teachers as ‘expert knowers’. This study gives voice to migrant parents, a group of people who are commonly on the periphery of school society.