IJAEDU- International E-Journal of Advances in Education

Abstract

Introduction

Active
reformation of school education is a tendency of recent decades in
Russia.  However, carried out by administrative-bureaucratic methods, it
sometimes does not reduce the number of problems, but increases them.  In
many respects, therefore, the parent community of large Russian cities is
beginning to show more activity and interest towards the situation in school
education.  According to recent studies, parents become more organized and
focused on solving real problems of the school where their children
study.  In this regard, in the framework of our study, the task was to
identify the attitude of parents to the educational conditions of their
children, as well as their ideas about the most pressing problems that require
special attention from the educational authorities.

Materials
and methods

The
article is based on the materials of the research project of the scientific
team of the Ural Federal University called  "Parents and the School:
Interaction in the City's Education System" (2019), implemented with the
support of the Department of Education of Yekaterinburg.  Using an online
questionnaire, parents of children studying in Yekaterinburg were
interviewed.  The sample size is 7281 people, quota sampling, quotas are
set by city districts and types of schools. The quantitative data obtained over
a large sample made it possible to use statistical methods such as cluster and
correlation analysis to solve the scientific problem, which allowed us to
identify the typology of the parent community and describe its basic
characteristics.

Results
of the research

Using a
two-stage cluster analysis based on a wide range of indicators, an empirical typology
of parents was formed according to the criterion of satisfaction with the
conditions of the educational activity of their children.  Two clusters of
parents were identified: those who rated the conditions for teaching children
at school higher (61.9%) and less highly (38.1%).  The use of correlation
analysis made it possible to see that there are no fundamental differences in
the socio-demographic characteristics of these groups of parents, however,
significant differences between the clusters of parents exist in assessing the
most pressing problems of the Russian school.  The group of “dissatisfied”
parents is characterized by increased requirements for the level of
organization of the educational process, the professionalism of teachers and
the level of training of students in general. They consider it necessary to
reduce the level of bureaucratization and corruption in the school system;
creating conditions for dialogue between teachers, students and parents.

Conclusion

The results of the study provide an opportunity not
only to see the differences in the needs, goals and interests of different
segments of the parent community, but also to draw a conclusion about the
formation of a social order for the public participation of parents in solving
problems of school education, as well as about determining ways of its
development.