SHARING CURRICULUM DECISIONS WITH PARENTS - AN OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS OF PROJECT CRRISP

The Curriculum Review Research in Schools Project was designed to moni tor changes in schools as they moved towards increased parental partic ipation in curriculum decision making. The project involved observing four school developers working in clusters of six through eight school s in different New Zealand locations. Overall 10,000 hours of observat ion were recorded, which taken together with questionnaires and interv iews composed a huge data bank. A range of change strategies and a rep ertoire of developmental techniques were recorded. Key findings includ ed the need for a great number of staff and parent development program mes; that parents not only desired, but demanded involvement, that par ents were supportive, generally speaking of teachers and schools; and that 'traditional' ways of involving parents (e.g. parent teacher even ings) were not the most suitable vehicles. Pivotal roles played by sch ool principals and developers were identified and described. Women wer e found to be more open to change than men. Inclusive strategies were found to be more successful than elite top down models. Schools which adapted, or better still, created their own conditions were faster mov ing than those who merely adopted ideas. Finally, quality reflection t ime was found to be a very necessary commodity before people came to o wn the changes.