Running head: Parent Involvement 1

Lulu Steele

Parent Involvement in a School Setting

Cal State Dominguez Hills

November 29, 2017

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Abstract

Research was conducted in order to determine the importance of parent involvement in and out

of a school setting. Data was collected with the use of interviews and questionaires by both

parents and school personnel in order to gather information based on the benefits of parent

involvement and the barriers that can keep parents from being more involved in their child’s

academics. Research concludes that in order for students to benefit from parent involvement in

and out of the school setting, there must be collaboration between both the parent and the child’s

teacher. This in return, will benefit children in their academics and prepare them for a future in

and out of the school setting.

Keywords: Parent Involvement, students, academics, benefits

Parent Involvement in a School Setting

Parent involvement in students academics has been a topic of research for many years.

Researchers was conducted in a series of interviews and questionares with the use of a variety of

methods to determine the importance of parent involvement and the benefits. Data collected

reassured that the gap between parents and teachers when it comes to communication and

collaboration can affect a child in reaching academic milestones. In order to close the gap there

must be constant interaction between parents and teachers and school administrators must be

willing to provide training and programs for both parents and staff. Theorist Vygotsky believed

that, children are shaped by “their families, communities, socioeconomic status, education, and

culture”, (Theories of Childhood, pg. 100). This research implies that in order for students to

succeed throughout their school years, more has to be done to include their families and all that
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makes them who they are, in the process. In order for a child to succeed in a school setting,

teachers must take into consideration the information that the child’s parents obtain and the

history behind the child. This can all be understood and learned only if the teacher takes the time

to learn it.

Parent Involvement

Building on previous studies that have concluded that parent and school personnel collaboration

contributes to students behaving and performing better in school (Epstein & Lee, 1995;

Henderson & Berla, 1994; Reynolds, 1991; Walberg, 1984), and with parent involvement

increasingly becoming an important educational issue, Jessica Dalgleish administered a survey to

determine what parent involvement meant. The results concluded that the majority of parents

surveyed believed that helping their child with homework was a way that they were getting

involved and felt that that was sufficient involvement. A few of the parents surveyed were not

aware of other ways to get involved. The findings also displayed that in order for a child to reach

educational milestones, a parent should be involved in their child’s school setting as well. School

settings could include volunteer work, attending weekend school functions, and most

importantly, attending back to school nights and parent conferences (Dalgleish, 2000). Most of

the research is focused on elementary school aged students as researchers have seen that there is

a reduction in parent involvement as students progressed to middle and high school (Izzo,

Weissberg, Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1996).

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Parent Involvement & Academic Achievement

Zellman and Waterman felt that it was important not only to concentrate on the benefits students

receive from parent involvement in a school setting but also involvement at home (). With the

usage of questionnaires completed by parents, they were able to gather data on the amount of

times the parents attended scheduled events and participated in a school council board or

committee with results ranging from 0 to over 100 in the last year. Parent involvement in a home

setting depended on a few factors including culture, and single parent households. Students in

households with only one parent had lower score in reading in comparison to students in a two

parent household. Culture also played a role on the lower grades that some students were

receiving.

Data was collected of the benefits a student has when their parents are more involved (Zellman

and Waterman, 1997). Parent Involvement affects students in different areas in their academics.

Students dropout rates lower when parents help them in staying positive through academic

struggles. Students attendance is more consistent and students are more motivated in maintaining

good grades as well as, enhancing positive attitudes amongst their peers and school staff (Mapp:

1997, Wherry, 1999). Dalgleish reports that research shows that when a parent and their child’s

school join forces, the student does not only succeed in their academics but, it also helps them in

achieving other goals throughout life (Dalgeish, 2000). Data collected in a 3 year study showed

that when parents took part in their child’s academics, such as, homework, projects, and

maintaining communication with their the child’s teacher, student scores were higher in math

and reading. Overall, information collected from the study showed the significant improvement
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that students had when parents are involved in and out of a school setting (Izzo, Weissberg,

Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1996).

The Different Gaps Between Parents and School

Many factors can contribute to creating a gap between parents and teachers. Factors such as,

racial,cultural and economic status can contribute to parents not becoming involved in their

child’s academics and this in return, can affect the child in their academic success (Dalgeish,

2000). Miscommunication can lead to a gap forming between parents and school personnel.

When parents were interviewed about the different ways they felt they were involved in their

child’s academics, they mentioned going to conferences, helping with homework, and teaching

their children good behaviour. On the contrary, teachers felt that they received low support from

their students parents and the different expectations they held from parents created a gap

between communication (Martin, 2009). Communities that students live in can also have a part

in why parents are at times unable to be more involved in their child’s academics, in and out of

school. Parents in these communities struggle at times to make ends meet which can result in

longer hours of work and can keep them from taking part in school events and volunteering as

much as they would want to (Chavkin & Williams, 1989). Interviews conducted with parents

showed that parents at times feel that they are stepping on teachers toes if they become to

involved in their child’s schooling. Intimidation was also a factor that kept some parents from

becoming more involved, since some did not think of schools as a friendly environment. These

type of views were personal views coming from parents that had negative experiences with either
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their child’s school or their own negative experiences during their school years (Dalgleish,

2000).

Closing the Gap

Moreover, in order for students to be given the chance to succeed academically, parents and

teachers have to work hard in closing the gap that is being created between them. There are many

measures that can be taken in order to close the gap. Training for parents and school staff is an

important method that can help bring positive results that in return, will benefit the students.

Parents engaging one on one with teachers and staff can help form a friendly bond and give

parents ease and comfort in becoming more involved ( Martin, 2009). It is important that school

administrators take the time to train their teachers in creating a more friendly and welcoming

climate. Teachers can at times become controlling of what goes on in their classroom and this

can become a negative experience for a parent. It is important for parents to feel like their

opinion matters and their voice is being heard, an ongoing of exchanging information between

both parents and teachers can lead to this. Teachers taking into consideration language barriers is

another important factor in closing the gap since, some parents might fear not being able to

communicate with the teacher and school staff due to their first language. For that reason, it is

important that teachers create a communication system that will help these particular parents feel

part of their child’s school community ( Dagleish, 2000).

Conclusion

The findings of the research makes it clear that more has to be done in order for parents and

teachers to collaborate and interact to provide the best outcome of the child. The responsibilities

of getting children to reach academic milestones is not only the parent or the teachers but both. It
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is important for parents and teachers to feel a sense comfort in interacting with one another,

understanding that both hold important information based on the child that can help in the

process. Further research is important in order to keep collecting data that will benefit the child.

Without partnership between parents and school personnel such as , teachers, administrators, and

staff, students are the only ones that become negatively affected by this. These findings are

significant for classroom teachers because it is a topic that is crucial to understand and work on

in order to watch our students succeed.

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Work Cited

Chavkin, N. F., & Williams, D. L. (1989, December). ​Community size and parent involvement in

education​. Retrieved from

https://toro.csudh.edu/courses/1/LBS303-02_2178_42886/db/_10818165_1/Community

%20Size%20and%20Parent%20Involvement%20In%20Education.pdf

Dalgleish, J., & Woolverton, S. (2000). ​Parent Involvement​. Retrieved from

https://csudh-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_proq

uest304680944&context=PC&vid=01CALS_UDH&search_scope=EVERYTHING&tab

=everything&lang=en_US

Izzo, C. V., Weissberg, R. P., Kasprow, W. J., & Fendrich, M. (1999, November 6).

Longitudinal Assessment of Teacher Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Children's

Education and School Performance​. Retrieved from

https://toro.csudh.edu/courses/1/LBS303-02_2178_42886/db/_10818216_1/A%20Longit

udial%20Assesment%20of%20Teacher%20Perceptions%20of%20Parent%20Involveme

nt%20In%20Children%27s%20Education%20and%20School%20Performance.pdf

Martin, J. D. (2009). ​Access Error - No Database Available (3006) - ProQuest​. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/305092157
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Zellman, G. L., & Waterman, J. M. (1997). ​Understanding the Impact of Parent School

Involvement on Children's Educational Outcomes​. Retrieved from

https://toro.csudh.edu/courses/1/LBS303-02_2178_42886/db/_10818139_1/Research%20

article%201.pdf