Frequently Asked Questions

I will be involved with school life, events and activities throughout 2023, seeing where people are and what they are doing to help UHC or wherever UHC parents are volunteering. I'll be taking lots of notes and talking to lots of people! In particular I will be interviewing parents about their experiences of being involved, or not, as volunteers with UHC. I want to hear your story, told by you.

I’m being up front about my current and earlier roles at UHC to acknowledge that I know some of you already or we have communicated before. Conflicts of interest are possible because of these interactions, but I hope we can discuss and resolve any issues. I hope that being an active member of the school community already will be a strength, shows that I care about the school and its families, and that I will treat your information with respect. I am undertaking the research as a student, none of the UHC leaders, teachers or Board will have access to the study data.

I am interviewing parents and caregivers of students enrolled at UHC during 2023. I’d like to talk about how you have experienced becoming involved with the school, and the ways that you have chosen to participate, or not, in school activities, as well as any barriers you’ve experienced. Everyone’s experience is valuable in this research.

The interview will last about one hour, and we can meet at school, at a local café, the public library or at another convenient location (e.g., your home or workplace, or online. With your permission, the interview will be audio recorded and notes will also be made.

This project will investigate the ways that parents, caregivers and whānau are involved, and get involved, as volunteers or helpers with UHC. I am using UHC as the only focus school for my research so I can understand what parent involvement as volunteers means in our school community. You may or may not have considered volunteering, or helping out at school before, or you may not have been able to, and I am keen to explore all those experiences. You might use different words than me when you think about helping or giving service or being involved in community etc. I’m keen to learn about that too.

I believe the findings from this study will contribute to our understanding of parental involvement as volunteers in secondary schools and how this can be further developed and encouraged. Your participation will support this research by telling your story of involvement, helping or volunteering in your school and community.

The research findings will be used for my PhD thesis and may be published in academic and industry publications and presented to conferences. I’ll share a summary of the work with the school community too.

Only myself and my supervisors will read the interview transcript and notes. All recordings and data will be stored securely and destroyed by 01 December 2029. Data will be stored securely in a locked filing cabinet if hard copy materials, or securely as password protected files on the University servers.

The identity of you and the school will be kept confidential. Pseudonyms (made up name) for you and the school will be used in publications from the research for participants and the school. Specific details of school programmes and projects will be kept confidential. Be aware that readers of the final report may recognise comments or ideas as coming from you if you have shared them publicly or have a particular role within the school e.g., YES companies, or volunteer rugby coach.

You do not have to accept this invitation if you don’t want to. If you do decide to participate, you have the right to:
‍
- Choose not to answer any question;
- Ask for the recorder to be turned off at any time during the interview;
- Withdraw from the study before 10 December 2023;
- Ask any questions about the study at any time;
- Receive a copy of your interview recording and/or a copy of your interview transcript and comment on it;
- Be able to attend a feedback session about the research findings;
- Receive a copy of a summary report.

This project will investigate the ways that parents, caregivers and whānau get involved as volunteers or helpers. I am using UHC as a single case study school for my research so I can understand what parent involvement as volunteers means in our school community.

I will be talking with parents too, but the staff are a key source of information about what the systems are and how parents become involved as volunteers. You may or may not have considered or worked with parents as volunteers before, but I am keen to explore all experiences. You might use different words than me when you think about volunteering, like helping or service or being involved in community etc. I’m keen to learn about that too.

I believe the findings from this study will contribute to our understanding of parental involvement as volunteers in secondary schools, the contributing factors and relationship intersection between the school and the parent volunteer, and how this can be further developed and encouraged.

I will be interviewing a range of staff working at UHC in 2023. I’d like to ask you about your experiences of being involved with parent volunteers, ways that parents are involved, and how UHC prepares for parent involvement. Your participation will support this research by telling your story of involvement, from the school’s perspective. Everyone’s experience is valuable in this research.

The interview will last about one hour, and we can meet at school, or an off-site location if you prefer. With your permission, the interview will be audio recorded and notes will also be made.

The research findings will be used for my PhD thesis and may be published in academic and industry publications and presented to conferences. I’ll share a summary of the work with the school community too.

The identity of you and the school will be kept confidential. Pseudonyms will be used in publications from the research for participants and the school. Specific details of your work and school programmes and projects will be kept confidential. Note that readers of the final report may recognise comments or ideas as coming from you if you have shared them publicly or have a particular role within the school e.g., HOD, senior leader, Principal.

Only myself and my supervisors will read the interview transcript and notes. All recordings and data will be stored securely and destroyed by 01 December 2029. Data will be stored securely in a locked filing cabinet if hard copy materials, or securely as password protected files on the University servers.

You do not have to accept this invitation if you don’t want to. If you do decide to participate, you have the right to:
‍
- Choose not to answer any question;
- Ask for the recorder to be turned off at any time during the interview;
- Withdraw from the study before 10 December 2023;
- Ask any questions about the study at any time;
- Receive a copy of your interview recording and/or a copy of your interview transcript and comment on it;
- Be able to attend a feedback session about the research findings;
- Receive a copy of a summary report.

I trained as a Geography/History secondary school teacher with B.Soc.Sci and B.Ed from Waikato University and went on to gain my M.Ed. My employment background is in learning technologies in tertiary education, project management and economic development. I have run my own coaching and consulting company for over 10 years, and I have a particular interest in youth entrepreneurship, not-for-profit governance and volunteering. I am a committed volunteer myself including being a past Chairperson of Volunteering New Zealand, and the founding Chairperson of Youth Arts Zealand.