The Scope of Parental Involvement as a Social Capital of Emirati Children: A Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to investigate how Emirati parents were involved in their children's education. The data of this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with parents equally distributed from both genders (n=12) and whose children were registered at public and private schools in one of the UAE's major cities. Parents were interviewed concerning the importance of education as social capital, parents’ and children’s gender. Results demonstrated that parents viewed education as part of social mobility, and it is vital as social capital. Furthermore, Parents believed that their involvement in their children's education was influenced by their gender, as well as by the age and gender of their children. Mothers believed that they are more involved in their children’s education than fathers. Parents viewed themselves as falling short on focusing on parent-initiated involvement activities instigated by schools due to a variety of barriers that affect their participation in school-initiated parental involvement activities. Recommendations for future research include school initiatives focusing on parental involvement and raising parents’ awareness about school-initiated parental involvement activities to enable parents’ participation.