Not many parents, not much involvement: a study of parent-centred school partnership councils in three rural Manitoba schools

Abstract

Manitoba, like all provinces since the 1990s, has put forth efforts to increase parental input into local school decision making. Despite efforts, parents struggle to gain the recognition and support required to be true stakeholders in school governance. Six members of parent-centred school partnership councils (PSPCs) were interviewed in this qualitative study to determine the role and potential of such councils in three rural Manitoba public schools. This study suggests that the strong efforts since the 1990s for Manitoba schools to have parents as true partners in shared governance has not fully been realized.