Leadership of School-Family Partnerships with Low-SES Families: Case Studies from Two Primary Schools in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Grounded in Auerbach’s framework on leadership for school family partnerships, this study examines how leadership for partnerships is enacted with low socio-economic status (SES) families in Vietnam. It employs a qualitative case study design involving longitudinal fieldwork over two academic years at two primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City. Data collected from semi-structured interviews with 17 administrators and homeroom teachers, along with school and community observations, were analysed using deductive thematic analysis guided by Auerbach’s five dimensions of leadership. The findings reveal contrasting leadership practices. At Primary School X, informal leadership was exercised by veteran teachers, including grade-level leaders, whose professional authority and community ties positioned them as pivotal in guiding parent engagement. At Primary School Y, the formal school administration principal and vice-principals-actively mentored novice teachers in working with parents. Despite these differences, both schools reflected deficit views of low-SES parents’ capacities and selective structures of parent representation, which constrained opportunities for shared decision making. This study enriches Auerbach’s framework by demonstrating how formal and informal leadership roles are shaped by specific socio institutional conditions, while foregrounding the persistent tension between support and control in engaging low-SES families.