EXPLANATORY STATEMENT Teachers/Parents Project Title: Developing partnerships in an international, private school system in Hong Kong: stories told by parents and teachers. Project Number: CF16/1434-2016000773 Chief Investigator’s name and contact details: Assoc. Prof. Sivanes Phillipson Faculty of Education Phone: +61 3 990 44450 email: [email protected]

Student’s name and contact details: Sandra Webster Phone : (852) 63537957

email: [email protected]

My name is Sandra Webster. I am conducting a research project towards a Doctor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia under the supervision of Associate Professor Sivanes Phillipson, Dr Thanh Pham of the same university and Prof. Susanne Garvis of Gothenburg University, Sweden. You are invited to take part in this study. Please read this Explanatory Statement in full before deciding whether or not to participate in this research. This Explanatory Statement contains detailed information about the research project. Its purpose is to explain to you as openly and clearly as possible all the procedures involved in this study so that you can make a fully informed decision about whether you are going to participate. If you would like further information regarding any aspect of this project, you are encouraged to contact the researchers via the phone numbers or email addresses listed above. This Explanatory Statement and Consent Form are four pages in total. Please make sure you have all the pages. What does the research involve? A partnership between home and school is an accepted element of successful learning outcomes for students. This research seeks to understand what is experienced by parents and teachers as they negotiate this partnership within an international school setting in Hong Kong, where there may be a variance between the home and school’s values, culture and customs. It will present a meaningful interpretation of your experiences, by listening to your stories and coming to an understanding of the factors at play in negotiating, developing and maintaining an effective home-school partnership. Participation in this project will involve two semi-structured interviews with myself as associate investigator for approximately 60 minutes each. During the first interview, I will ask a range of questions regarding your understandings of the home-school partnership and ask you to tell me two stories, one positive, one negative, of your experience in establishing a home school partnership. These stories need to be ones that you have personally experienced, but do not necessarily be about the school you are currently involved in. There is no right or wrong answer for this research, it is simply about what you have experienced. The second interview will take place after the first one has been transcribed, analysed and rewritten by me in a narrative format. I will ask you to read, comment or change as necessary, to ensure that you agree with my understandings of your stories. The interviews will be conducted privately in a negotiated venue. There will not be anyone else in attendance apart from you and I. To assist with transcribing the interview, I will use a digital voice recorder. Why were you chosen for this research? As a teacher/parent who has been associated with a private school in Hong Kong, you are invited to participate in this research study. Your name and contact details have been collected either by: • Personal contact

•

Responding to an email sent by a colleague inviting participation in this research

Consenting to participate in the project and withdrawing from the research If you would like to participate in this research project, please complete the attached consent form making sure you tick the box indicating you have read this statement and sign and date in the signature panel of the consent form. If you have collected the research information from me directly, a self-addressed pre-paid envelope has been provided for you to return it to the researcher. If you have been given the information by email, please print the form, sign it, scan and return to me. I will contact you shortly to arrange a suitable time and location to conduct the interviews. Participation in any research project is voluntary. You have the right to withdraw from this research project at any stage without penalty or consequence. If you decide to take part and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the project within two weeks after your first or second interview. Any unprocessed data you have supplied upon your withdrawal will also be withdrawn. Any information obtained from you to date will not be used and will be destroyed. Your decision whether to take part or not to take part, or to take part and then withdraw, will not affect your relationship with Monash University or the researcher. Before you make your decision, I am available to answer any questions you have about the research project. You can ask for any information you want. Sign the Consent Form only after you have had a chance to ask your questions (if you have any) and have received satisfactory answers. If you decide to withdraw from this project, please notify me or complete and return the Revocation of Consent Form attached. It is anticipated that there will not be any health risks linked to withdrawing from this study. However, should any unexpected stress or anxiety result, all data relating to your participation will be removed. Possible benefits and risks to participants The data collected from the interviews will aim to inform research that will result in a greater understanding of the real life complexities of establishing a meaningful home-school partnership. It is anticipated that there is minimal risk to the participant. Confidentiality & Storage of data I will endeavour to protect your anonymity and maintain the confidentiality of your responses within the limits of the law. Your name and contact details will be kept in a password-protected computer file for any data that you supply. Any hard copies detailing your name and contact numbers will be maintained in a locked file. In the final publication, you will be referred to by an assumed name (pseudonym). References to personal information that might allow someone to guess your identity will be removed. The data will be kept securely on the premises of the associate investigator for five years from the date of publication, before being destroyed. Use of data for other purposes It is not anticipated that the data collected will be used for any other purpose. However, should this be the case, only aggregate de-identified data may be used for other projects where ethics approval has been granted. Results A summary of findings will be made available to you once the final publication is completed. You may contact me on the above details to request the findings.

Complaints Should you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of the project, you are welcome to contact the Executive Officer, Monash University Human Research Ethics (MUHREC): Executive Officer Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC) Room 111, Building 3e Research Office Monash University VIC 3800



Tel: +61 3 9905 2052

Email: [email protected] Fax: +61 3 9905 3831

Thank you, Assoc. Prof Sivanes Phillipson

Sandra Webster