A preliminary thematic analysis of a sample of data from focus group conversations with 40 parents and 9 teachers across 22 schools surfaced the following:

1. High family-led engagement and limited school-family partnership, reflecting

2. Strong meritocratic logic, resulting in 

3. Emotional labor, especially affecting mothers.

Parents receive conflicting messages from the state about their responsibilities as parents. They are told that families are the first line of support for lifelong access to economic goods.  They are also told to de-emphasize exam preparation, even though exam results gatekeep access to opportunities that have economic implications. Defying meritocratic logic only makes sense if families won’t be penalized when they decrease emphasis on academic results. Until then, parents will employ the “strong family engagement” strategy to maximize benefits for their children. Asking parents to "change their mindset" is simplistic and ineffective.

We are in the early stages of examining comments where parents are:

• Questioning the status quo

• Rethinking priorities

• Adjusting engagement based on knowledge of each child's unique qualities and needs

• Accepting alternative assessments

• Being exposed to other educational philosophies and pedagogies

• Not wanting to pass on own childhood trauma with assessments

A parent lamented, "I don't know why I get anxious about something I don't even believe in." The "cracks" in the dominant narrative raise possibilities for re-imagining education and the good life to give parents something worth "believing in".