The Buddies Study - BUilding BriDges, DimInishing Educational DiSadvantage: Examining the Role of the Home-School Community Liaison (HSCL) across the island of Ireland

Although family engagement in children’s learning is a well-established predictor of educational success (see e.g. Higgins & Katsipataki, 2015 and Axford et al., 2019), many children do not enjoy such involvement and several schemes have been put in place across different countries to encourage parents/guardians to take a more active role in their children’s education (Axford et al., 2019). One such initiative which has been gaining ground in the Republic of Ireland is the Home-School Community Liaison scheme, funded by the Department of Education through the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School) programme and regulated by Tusla/TESS. It aims to support families in areas of high deprivation whose children are at risk of educational disadvantage, by means of a Home School Community Liaison Coordinator (HSCL). Although existing research shows that such a scheme can be advantageous in bridging what can sometimes be a large home-school gap (Mulkerrins, 2007); improving parents’ confidence and competence in supporting their child’s education (Weir et al., 2018); and in nurturing the well-being of children and their families (Ross et al., 2021) little is known about the ‘lived reality’ of the HSCL in practice, particularly with regard to tackling educational disadvantage. Likewise, although anecdotal evidence would suggest that a similar type role, known as a Parent Officer for the purposes of this study, can be found in some schools in Northern Ireland on an ad hoc basis, little, if anything, is known about how it works in practice. In light of the above, the study in question set out, principally by means of a qualitative research design, to learn more about the ‘lived reality’ of the HSCL/Parent Officer in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and across the differ school phases i.e., pre-school, primary and post-primary.