Whose Job Is It? Parents’ Perspectives on Volunteering to Help in New Zealand Kindergartens

Abstract

Volunteering to help is a traditional type of parental involvement in early childhood education. There have been concerns over the justification of teachers’ practice of leaving their work with parents, particularly for routine tasks such as washing and cleaning, however, little research has been conducted to scrutinize the practice and examine parents’ experiences with volunteering to help. Based on a sample of 25 parents from New Zealand public kindergartens, this study investigates parents ‘experiences with three types of volunteering to help at the kindergarten. Analysis of the semi-structured interview data has revealed enhancers (e.g., benefits for the child, justification of fundraising) and impediments (e.g., limited time, school commitment) to parent volunteering to help as well as the tensions in practice(e.g., relying on core parents, limited resource). The findings support the legitimacy of routine tasks and fundraising and highlight the importance of parent volunteering to help.