Strengthening Indigenous parents’ co-leadership through culturally responsive home-school partnerships: a practical implementation framework

The momentum of the decolonising education movement has led many scholars to rethink the ongoing impacts of colonialism on Indigenous peoples and generate catalysts for change. Using the decolonisation lens, the aim of this phenomenological study was to investigate the barriers, outcomes, and enablers of effective collaboration between West Papuan parents and teachers. Results suggested that although they encountered many obstacles, both groups of participants still believed in the possibility of establishing sustainable, culturally responsive home-school partnerships. In addition, when teachers embraced West Papuan culture in home-school partnerships, it increased their professional skills, parents’ agency, and self-efficacy, which in turn, enhanced children’s learning outcomes and strengthened children’s Indigenous identity. We offer a culturally responsive home-school partnership framework, developed from the bottom-up narratives of teachers and parents. The framework centres on three key strategies: culturally responsive communication, decolonising pedagogical practices, and emancipatory support.