Uddin, Joshim;
(2025)
Understanding home-school partnerships following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The COVID pandemic of 2020–2021 marked the most significant disruption to education in history, reshaping the dynamics of the home-school partnership. Amid these unprecedented challenges, this research seizes the opportunity to examine how these partnerships evolved during the crisis and to propose actionable recommendations for their improvement. A mixed methods approach was used, beginning with an initial online survey that informed the development of questions for follow-up semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with a sample comprising students, parents, and staff from a diverse secondary school, framed within a case study methodology to guide the research. The transcripts from the 30 interviews were coded using thematic analysis which revealed four major themes. These themes were based around communication, learning experiences, wellbeing and socioeconomic influences and inequalities. This study highlights a potential shift in the traditional power dynamic between teachers and parents, with greater influence moving toward parents. This change is attributed to the increased interaction between families and schools during closures, which has fostered a new understanding of the relationship between home and school. However, the findings also highlight a potential over-reliance on digital communication methods. Furthermore, there is growing apprehension that families with lower socioeconomic status may be disproportionately affected by the increasing dependence on digital education delivery, risking further exclusion. Recommendations for the future of the home-school partnership on the basis of this research are to more effectively combine digital communication with face-to-face communication, for schools to reflect on the trend towards moving resources online, and for schools to continue the work on understanding the home situation of families so that digital divides can be minimised. Finally, it is recommended that all stakeholders in education prioritise the rebuilding of crucial social connections, particularly for younger students, in order to maintain and improve the home-school partnership moving forwards.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ed.D |
| Title: | Understanding home-school partnerships following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Learning and Leadership |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10215193 |
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