Strength in partnership: a systematic review of key characteristics underpinning home-school collaboration

The benefits of home-school collaboration are well understood and documented, especially for children with special educational needs (SEN). This systematic review explored existing research into home-school collaboration in order to synthesise the key characteristics needed to facilitate these relationships. Three databases were used to identify nine relevant papers published between 2012 and 2022. The papers were evaluated using trialled methodological quality checklists, and synthesised using PRISMA guidelines. The papers reflected varying cultural contexts, and analysis highlighted key characteristics of current approaches to home-school collaboration including ‘building foundational relationships’, ‘providing structures and systems to facilitate communication’ and ‘developing individual and systemic knowledge’. Other important considerations included the collaborative context and power dynamics between parents and school professionals. Findings informed a proposed ‘thinking tool’, to support work with individual families and education settings, developing their home-school systems for families of children with SEN. Further practical and research implications are also discussed.