Evaluating a board game intervention for parental involvement in teacher education

Kocsis, Zsófia (2026) Evaluating a board game intervention for parental involvement in teacher education. In: Education and New Developments 2026. Science Press, pp. 611-615. ISBN 978-989-36839-4-1

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Abstract

Parental involvement (PI) is widely recognized as a key factor in students’ academic achievement, motivation, and social development. Teachers frequently interpret parental involvement primarily as a mechanism for control or problem-solving, rather than as a form of partnership based on shared responsibility and mutual trust. Traditional teacher education programs often struggle to influence these deeply embedded professional beliefs, highlighting the need for innovative, experience-based learning approaches. This study investigates the impact of a purposefully designed analogue board game as a pedagogical innovation for developing partnership-oriented attitudes toward PI among teacher trainees and teachers in Hungary. The intervention was implemented in teacher education courses and in-service programs using a quasi-experimental pre–post design. Based on anonymous identifiers, 31 matched pre–post responses were included in the analysis (17 teacher trainees and 14 practicing teachers). The instrument consisted of 70 items measured on a 10-point Likert scale. As normality assumptions were violated for most difference variables, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess pre–post changes. The board game intervention resulted in positive attitudinal changes regarding parental involvement, particularly among practicing teachers. Participants increasingly perceived supporting parents and fostering school–family cooperation as part of teachers’ professional responsibilities. A significant improvement was observed in the overall responsibility scale, with stronger effects among practicing teachers. Findings indicate that the board game-based intervention contributed to meaningful positive shifts in attitudes toward parental involvement, particularly among teachers. Participants increasingly perceived PI as a shared professional responsibility and showed greater appreciation for parents’ roles in school-level activities and decision-making processes. Changes were more pronounced in relation to primary education, while involvement in secondary schooling remained less valued. Teacher trainees demonstrated more limited attitudinal change, suggesting that professional experience plays an important role in reflective learning within game-based environments. The results highlight the potential of board games as an innovative pedagogical tool for addressing relational and value-laden dimensions of teaching that are often neglected in formal training programs. The study contributes empirical evidence on how board games can support partnership-oriented approaches in teacher education.

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