Overview

This paper gives a brief overview of the changing relationship between school and family in Australia, including a section on major changes which have occurred in Australian families, particularly in the period since World War II. The paper also examines the many forms of school and family relationships ranging from informal get- togethers to the formal requirement that parents, as well as professionals, should have a part in the decision making process of schools. In the third section of the paper attention is given to the situation in Victoria - a state in the process of legislating for a closer working relationship between parents and schools through local school councils. Objections to parent participation in the decision- making process are also discussed.

Paper presented in Japan, 25-30 October 1983, at the international seminar on The Educational Role of the Family, jointly sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) and Japan.