Room to manoeuvre: mobilising the 'active partner' in home-school relations

Recent shifts within the popular conception of education as an aspect of th e market economy positioning parent as consumer teacher as producer and edu cated child as product have reformulated the various stakeholders as 'partn ers' in the business of educating children. This article, based upon data c ollected in an action research and development project, attempts to open up an interpretation of the dynamics of home-school relations in terms of a m atrix of 'mobilisations' and 'demobilisations' between parents, teachers an d children. In interpreting the agency/structure dualism in terms of such a n interactive matrix, the article aims to establish some additional bases f or practical and theoretical manoeuvres.