How Built Space Impacts Parental Engagement: Contextual Dimensions of Policy Enactment

Current education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa is the country's indigenous Maori name) requires schools and teachers to engage with parents and the school community to enhance student educational experience and achievement. The broad wording in these policy statements allows schools and teachers to tailor their parental engagement practice to specific community contexts. There is, however, little attention given to the built space of the school itself as an aspect of the material context within which parental engagement occurs. This article draws on a case study analysis of a single, bounded primary school in Aotearoa New Zealand, to examine how the school's built environment influences parental engagement. It involves the analysis of plans and other school artifacts, semi-structured interview transcripts of staff and parents, and the mental maps of parents. The findings reveal that multiple meanings are read from built space, with staff at risk of underestimating those readings and their agency to author new stories that better support parental engagement.