Barriers to School-Home Cooperation: The Experiences of Somali Parents in Norwegian Primary Schools

This study examines Somali parents' experiences with school-home cooperation in Norwegian primary schools, highlighting systemic barriers to meaningful participation. Through focus group interviews, the research reveals how language challenges, cultural misunderstandings, and exclusion from decision-making structures hinder effective collaboration. Despite demonstrating a strong commitment to their children's education through teacher engagement, parents report feeling marginalized in school governance and distrustful of unilateral actions like child welfare referrals. The findings underscore a critical gap between Norway's democratic ideals of school participation and the reality of tokenistic inclusion experienced by immigrant families. The study emphasizes the need for schools to move beyond superficial consultation toward genuine power- sharing, proposing concrete strategies including bilingual mediation, cultural competency training for staff, and formal roles for parents in governance. These measures would align educational practice with policy mandates while fostering equitable partnerships with diverse families.