Phase 1 – qualitative

Two focus groups were conducted with parents who were members of a school governing board (n = 12) from across Quebec (rural and urban areas). They were recruited through announcements distributed by parent committees of various school service centres.

The discussion aimed to gain a better understanding of: (1) their motivations for initially becoming involved with the school governing board

(2) factors contributing to the maintenance of their involvement with the school governing board

(3) the identification of factors associated with the quality of the school gorverning board functioning.

A preliminary version of a scale assessing the quality of school governing board functioning was developed by our team based on the themes that emerged from the focus groups. The questionnaire was then submitted to an expert committee (n = 6), composed of parents who are members of school governing boards and a representative of the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec (FCPQ), to assess the clarity and relevance of the items.