Parents’ Motivation for Home-School Collaboration: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

The aim of this study, conducted in Israel, was to examine whether attitudes toward home-school collaboration are culture bound. Attitudes toward four aspects of home-school collaboration were compared between a relatively traditional, conservative yet changing society (Arab) and a Western-oriented, individualistic, modern society (Jewish). The main findings showed that Arab parents, more than Jewish ones, emphasized that home-school collaboration is important to support the child’s learning and for promoting ideas and values in school. The Jewish parents, more than the Arab parents, claimed that their willingness to collaborate with school was influenced more by the way they perceived teachers’ invitation to collaborate and by their own personal life context. The article concludes that in addition to cultural differences, differences in parents’ attitudes can be understood also in light of the parents’ motivation to improve their children’s odds in the general society.