Teachers' opinions on school collaboration and family participation in school management

The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' opinions on school collaboration and family participation in school management. Designed as a mixed methods study, the study employed a convergent parallel design. The study group for the qualitative study consisted of 22 teachers working in public schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Kırklareli province. The study group was selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected through face- to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview form. The quantitative study sample consisted of 419 teachers working in public schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Kırklareli province. The scales of school collaboration and family participation in school management were administered to the participants selected through a random sampling method. Descriptive and content analysis techniques were used in the analysis of the qualitative data. Analysis of qualitative data concluded that collaboration in schools is limited and family participation in school management is insufficient. This limited school collaboration stems from unfair task distribution, teachers' desire to collaborate only with close friends, poor communication with the administration, the administration's lack of collaboration, and parents' indifference and indifference. Parent profile and education level, as well as the limited activities of school family associations, are among the factors contributing to insufficient family participation. Non-parametric analyses were used in the analysis of quantitative data because the data did not exhibit a normal distribution. The analysis of quantitative data revealed that the level of school collaboration and family participation was high. It was concluded that increased school collaboration would also increase family participation in school management. A significant difference was found between primary and high school and middle school and high school in terms of school collaboration, and between middle school and high school in terms of family participation in school management. It is recommended that school administrators make the necessary arrangements in schools to foster school collaboration, and that teachers and parents be included in decision-making processes. Keywords: School, Collaboration, Family, Family Participation, Participation in School Management