Recent research reviewing historical trends in parent involvement and student achievement point out the inconsistency of those findings by documenting apparent improvements in achievement while other studies do not support a relationship. Previous studies have shown that parent involvement patterns vary according to parents’ social, racial/ethnic, and economic characteristics; but the findings have been mixed. More recent parent involvement studies have pointed out important concerns with research methodology and interpretation of results. Less is understood about the effects of parent involvement on student learning at the middle level because elementary studies have dominated the research.
Developmentally responsive education
A review of the parent involvement literature would suggest that the effects of parental involvement may vary with the age of the students. As a result, more recent studies have begun to focus on middle level students and their parents. A review of the parent involvement programs literature provides more promising results. What we have learned from our review is that making a broad generalization that parent involvement results in increased student achievement clearly understates the complexity of the issue. Student achievement outcomes differ based on:
– the particular component of parent involvement and whether this data was parent- or student-reported;
– the achievement measure(s) used (e.g. achievement test scores, grades, G.P.A.);
– the cultural or racial/ethnic groups involved;
– the subject matter (e.g. mathematics, reading, science) being tested;
– income levels of the parents; and
– gender of the parents.
For a better understanding of research, we have adapted Epstein’s typology of parent involvement as a framework to organize the findings on this complex issue of parent involvement and student achievement. Epstein’s typology and terminology are predominant throughout the middle level research. Epstein’s typology includes 6 categorizations: (1) Parenting; (2) Communicating; (3) Volunteering; (4) Learning at Home; (5) Decision Making; and (6) Collaborating with Community. The sixth type is not discussed in this summary because it is more directly associated with community involvement.
Type 1: Parenting practices at home
While TV viewing (e.g. rules) has no direct effect on student achievement, it is impacted indirectly and positively through some complex mechanism of parenting practices. Although studies have questioned whether parenting practices are within the appropriate sphere of influence of the schools, existing successful programs that promote effective parenting practices that address this issue may be considered.
Findings seem to suggest that there is a relationship between student-reported rules and increases in reading achievement. Parent-reported rules predicted a decrease in student achievement among nonminority students, which some researchers believe reflects parent attempts to help the child when the child is having difficulty. If this is the case, perhaps more proactive parent involvement would avoid a decrease in achievement scores. However, this approach may be tempered by the differences in parental ability (e.g. parent education level) and available resources, such as time, to help their children. This would account for the differences in achievement results when parent education is considered. In order to address this, perhaps identifying alternative middle level educational support systems perceived as positive by adolescents might be considered. Parent involvement programs that use parent and student self-reports as a way to determine the level of parent involvement and its effects should be aware that student reports (i.e. student perceptions) are better predictors of student outcomes than parent reports. Families of middle grades students could be involved in learning activities at home. The program included parents who would not otherwise have become involved.
Type 2: Communicating between school and home
Research suggests that the association between school-home communication and student achievement was relatively small and outcomes varied to some degree by race and whether the desired outcomes were standardized scores or student grades. Grades are slightly more impacted than achievement test scores, which may be the result of parent(s) communicating with the school and/or teacher at the time grades were impacted. Because school-home communication and levels of parent involvement vary by race and income level, this suggests that some groups may feel more comfortable communicating with the school than others.
Type 3: Volunteering or being an audience at school
The association between volunteering and fundraising and student achievement appears to vary by race and family income. Volunteering was almost twice as predictive of grades as achievement test scores. While the reasons are not clear, the findings suggest that there is a small overall relationship between this component of parent involvement and student scores. However, volunteering or fundraising on the part of white and middle-income parents was associated with increases in mathematics and reading scores but was not significant for African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and low-income students.
Type 4: Learning activities to involve parents with students at home
School-level involvement had less effect on achievement than parent-child involvement. The findings show that parent-child discussion is significantly related to increased achievement for whites and African-Americans; however, the link was not significant for Hispanics or Asians. Home discussion of school activities was one of the stronger predictors of student achievement. Although the dynamics of parent-child discussion about school are not clearly understood, studies suggest parent-child discussion, focusing on middle level age students, is another area where parent involvement programs might make a difference.
Parent(s) helping students with homework or checking homework had a negative relationship with achievement. Some researchers believe this is an intervention strategy or a negative outcome of parental monitoring of an adolescent seeking his or her own independence. The findings suggest that perhaps a more proactive parent stance might prevent problems before they occur. Based upon initial findings from parent involvement programs, students’ academic work and attitudes improve when students conduct interactive homework with family members.
Type 5: Decision making, governance, and advocacy roles
Parent involvement research studies distinguish between P.T.O.(Parent Teacher Organization) attendance and P.T.O. involvement, which suggests some degree of responsibility and participation in decision making. P.T.O. attendance or parent volunteering was associated with very small effects on reading and mathematics achievement. P.T.O. involvement findings vary to some degree by subject matter tested, income level, and race. Although the effect of parent P.T.O. attendance and involvement is not clearly understood, it has been suggested that P.T.O. involvement may mitigate some of the negative effects related to racial/ethnic barriers and differences by providing opportunities for governance and advocacy roles. Parent involvement programs that encourage and support involvement of low-income parents in parent/school organizations may provide better insight about the value of such involvement.
Type 6: Collaborating with Community
Although the dynamics of parent involvement and student achievement at the middle level are not clearly understood, current efforts of purposeful parent involvement programs provide promising strategies for making a difference. These recently evolving programs have the potential to make a difference and are expected to provide substantive data over the new few years to effectively document their worth. The leadership of every middle level school, regardless of school enrollment size or community socio-economic composition, has an obligation to engage in discussions about purposeful parent involvement programs. There is no evident research documenting a negative effect as a result of the implementation of a well-designed parent involvement program and there is an initial body of literature and research supporting the value of such programs.
Megan Wilson is a teacher, life strategist, successful entrepreneur, inspirational keynote speaker and founder of https://Ebookscheaper.com. Megan champions a radical rethink of our school systems; she calls on educators to teach both intuition and logic to cultivate creativity and create bold thinkers.