The Primary School in the Community. A Survey of Teacher, Student and Parent Attitudes. ACER Occasional Paper No. 8.

Three separate but related questionnaires were administered to the primary teachers, students in grade 6, and their parents in a predominantly rural Australian school district, to learn how each of the groups saw the role of the primary school. The study revealed serious differences in attitude between teachers and parents, as well as between teachers and children, about the main purposes of schooling. Most parents and students adhere to the traditional goal of the child acquiring that body of knowledge and skills which will qualify him for later success. However, many teachers see their role in wider and less definite terms. Almost half (46 percent) of the students agree that "much of what schools do is a waste of time," and 60 percent of the students agree that "music, art, and craft should receive more time in the school day." (Author/MLF)