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Evaluation of the Home-School Partnership: Literacy Programme

Author(s): 
Keren Brooking and Josie Roberts

This report presents the findings from an evaluation carried out in 2006–7 on the Home-school Partnerships: Literacy programme (HSP:L).

This programme was designed to meet a key Ministry of Education’s priority—to strengthen children’s learning and achievement by involving parents in their learning. It began as a Pasifika initiative by engaging parents in their children’s literacy learning by offering sessions in their first language, but has since been broadened to involve all parents in a school’s community.

The evaluation focussed on four key aspects of the HSP:L programme:

  • How schools went about implementing the programme;
  • The nature of the partnerships between parents/whānau and schools that have evolved as a result of the HSP:L programme;
  • The literacy impacts of the programme on students, on parents' understandings, and on teacher’s literacy programmes; and
  •  Issues concerning the sustainability of home-school partnerships in schools that have completed the programme.


The process of evaluation included interviewing focus groups of teachers, parents and students at six case study schools, as well as lead parents, lead teachers and principals, to obtain qualitative, in-depth information. As well, quantitative data was obtained from a national survey which was sent to all the schools that had been involved in the HSP:L programme since 2001.

This combined approach has enabled an evaluation of the big picture of the HSP:L field, as well as a closer examination of the issues that have emerged.

Year published: 
2007
Publication type: 
Research report
Publisher: 
NZCER, for the Ministry of Education
Full text download: 
not full-text
Josie Roberts
Keren Brooking