IMPACT OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT by Susan Campbell and Sharon Glasgow Seminar in Applied Theory and Research I

702.22

Brooklyn College

Professor Sharon OConnor-Petruso Department of Childhood Education

2009-2010

BROOKLYN COLLEGE ABSTRACT IMPACT OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT By: Susan Campbell and Sharon Glasgow Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract Introduction Statement of the Problem Review of Related Literature Statement of the Hypotheses Method Participants Instruments Experimental Design Procedure Results Discussion Implications References Appendices Parent Release Form (A) Parent Questionnaire (B) Student Questionnaire (C) 17 19 1 2 3 8 9

Introduction

IMPACT OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Parent involvement is absolutely essential to student achievement in school and in life.

The

overwhelming studies and research indicate that there are positive academic outcomes stemming from parental involvement with benefits beginning in early childhood throughout adolescence and beyond (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding, & Walberg, 2005). The impact that parents can have on their childs learning and achievement transcends income levels and social status. According to a study done by Anne T. Henderson and Nancy Berla, In fact, the most accurate predictor of a students achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that students family is able to: 1. Create a home environment that encourages learning; 2. Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their childrens achievement and future careers; 3. Become involved in their childrens education at school and in the community. If two of these three criteria are accomplished, children of low income families will achieve at or above the levels expected of middle class children. A childs learning is enhanced when schools encourage parents to stimulate their childrens intellectual development. Numerous studies have shown that the home environment has a powerful effect on what children and youth learn, not only in school but outside of school as well. This environment is considerably more powerful than the parents income and education in influencing what children learn in the first six years of life and during the twelve years of primary and secondary education. One major reason that parental influence is so strong, is because the children spend more than ninety percent of their time from infancy throughout their childhood outside school under the influence of their parents. Therefore, ultimately the parents are their first and most important teacher. (Weinstein & Walberg, 1983, Peng & Wright, 1994, Walberg & Paik, 1997) When children achieve, everyone benefit. As children excel, the school is recognized, the teachers are recognized and the parents and other family members of those children are encouraged to extend their knowledge by going back to school.

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Statement of the Problem

Parents are their childrens first and most important teachers. If children are to be successful in school, parents must participate actively in their childrens academic lives. A Lack of parental involvement impacts negatively on childrens academic performance. Therefore, by increasing parental involvement their childs academic life, we will attempt to prove that their childs grades and overall academic achievement will be improved.

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Review of Literature

Parent involvement is a valuable component of any students education. It is a well-established fact that parental involvement is linked to childrens success at school. When parents are involved in their childrens education at home, they do better in school. (Henderson and Berla, 1994). The level of parent school involvement is a better predictor of grades than are standardized test scores. (Desimone, 1999). The 12 years of 180 six-hour days spent in school add up to only 13 % of a students waking, learning time during the first 18 years of life. The rest, 87% is spent out of school, primarily at home. (Walberg). What is important is not the type of school, or who goes there, but the quality of its relationship with the families. (Henderson, Anne T.and Berla, Nancy, 1994). Research indicates that there are positive academic outcomes stemming from parental involvement with benefits beginning in early childhood, throughout adolescence and beyond. (Henderson and Mapp, 2002; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding, and Walberg, 2005). Henderson and Berla (1994) in an article A New generation of Evidence, state that the family is critical to student achievement. When parents are involved in school, children go farther in school and the schools they go to are better. There is a strong correlation between parental involvement and increased academic achievement. According to Adams and Christenson in 1999, the alliance between home and school has dramatically changed throughout the history of formal education, as have the roles and functions that parents and teachers are expected to fulfill (p. 477). Throughout time, parents have been portrayed as both friend and foe in the course of educational reform (Peressini, 1998, p.571). Historically, parental involvement wasnt always a welcomed addition to the school community, and even today some view parent-school relations as a power struggle (Peressini, 1998). Shaver and Walls, (1998) reported that some research found little to no effect of parental involvement on school achievement for middle age students. For the most part however, teachers and administrators welcome a helping hand in the overcrowded classrooms of the public schools and agree that parental involvement is one way to bridge reading comprehension gaps. Today, it is widely recognized that parents play an essential role in their childrens school life. Numerous types of parental involvement have been shown to develop cognitive growth and success in school (Shaver

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and Walls, 1998). Schools are working hand in hand with parents, Alldred and Edwards (2000), describe parents and schools as policy makers with similar functions when it comes to children. Research indicates that there are positive academic outcomes stemming from parental involvement with benefits beginning in early childhood, throughout adolescence and beyond (Henderson and Mapp, 2002; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding, and Walberg, 2005). Shaver and Walls, (1998), are also in support, they point out that the connection between parents and school achievement is real. The Epstein case studies is another research that supports parent involvement. Epstein (2002), used the Comprehensive School Reform Model (CSR) demonstrates how collaborative work produces positive outcomes. These studies were conducted in certain states, in selected school within the school districts. Educators, parents and community partners worked collaboratively on action teams to plan the curriculum. The programs are evaluated before being implemented in order to assess how well the plans connected family and school-community involvement. Henderson and Berla (1994) in an article A New generation of Evidence, state that the family is critical to student achievement. When parents are involved in school, children go farther in school and the schools they go to are better. Regardless of socioeconomic status or race, studies show a direct correlation between parental involvement and a childs academic achievement (Baumrind, 1991; Walberg, 1984; Wentzel 1994; Williams 1994). Parent involvement in learning activity is a strategy that was found by Becker and Epstein (1982) to increase the educational effectiveness of the time that parents and children spend together at home. Teachers and parents agree on the involvement of parents, seventy one percent of principals and fifty nine percent of teachers called it a priority based on research conducted by. Those schools whose parental involvement is strong provide a lot of benefit to the students. How Strong Communication Contributes to Student and School Success: Parent and Family Involvement shows that improved parental involvement not only leads to higher academic achievement, but to better attendance and improved behavior at home and school as well. When school and home work together collaboratively, and using a competent approach to education, it can make a huge difference in student

achievement (Padgett 2006). The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) suggests that a formal policy be created. Lack of planning was seen as one of the most challenging aspects to more involvement. Walberg on Families in Educational Productivity states that there is no question that parent involvement represents an exceptionally powerful way of making schools more effective, and of dramatically enriching childrens experiences. Some research indicates that achievement among students in elementary and secondary schools have identified theories and policies which play significant roles in parent involvement in education (Fan and Chen, 2001; Hill and Chao; Seginer, 2006). These theories and policies not only closed the education gap in terms of demographics they also maximize student potential. Parent involvement is so important that The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2002) is a Federal Policy that puts a mandate on parental involvement in education and family-school relations across elementary and secondary school levels. However, despite the consensus about how important it is for family and school to work together across developmental stages, theories of parent involvement in education have been based on the elementary school students in their context and do not focus on the changes that occur with middle school and early adolescent development (Hill and Taylor, 2004; Hill, Tyson, and Bromell, 2009). The Title 1 program (aka Chapter 1) is also a government mandated program developed to increase parent involvement and educational services for disadvantaged children. This program placed the emphasis on parental involvement as the primary means of improving the quality of education of low income children (Kim O. Yap and Donald Y. Enoki 1995). One may ask the question why should parents become involved in their childrens literacy activities? The evidence about the benefits of parents being involved in their childrens education in general and literacy activities in particular is overwhelming. (Fan and Chen 2001) in their meta-analysis found that parental involvement positively affects academic performance. Feinstein & Symons, 1999 point out in their research that parental involvement leads to higher academic achievement. Epsteins framework of six types of involvement are as follows: parenting which help all families establish home environments to support children as students; Communicating from home to school and school to home about school programs and student progress; Volunteering by organizing parent help and support. Learning at home by providing information and ideas from families about how to help students at

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home with homework and other curriculum-related activities; decisions and planning; Parents should be included in decision making; involve parent leaders and representatives; Collaborating with the community by identifying and integrating resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development. Students value their education when they see the interest shown by their parents. Domina, and Knipprath, (2005), highlight the fact that government supports parental involvement.

Epstein (1987) found that schools also affect parent involvement levels and evidence shows that parents want to become involved but are not allowed to have open communication with the school. Conventional avenues for involving parents in school can be closed to parents due to specific cultural knowledge. Parents have a lot of difficulty adapting to the school culture especially in non English speaking communities, but cultural knowledge is power and it can prevent parents from participating fully. Sheldon (2002) highlighted minimal resources parents acquire through social networks as one reason parents are less involved in their childrens education. Another is the educational level of the parents can present a barrier to the school involvement, Stevenson and Baker (1987). The parents with more education are actively involved in Parent Teacher Association meetings and conferences. The involvement decreases as the students move from elementary to middle school because parents are less knowledgeable in some of the academic subjects. Eccles and Harold (1993) found that less educated parents shift their attention away from school because they feel inadequate to help their children with homework.

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The quality of parental involvement makes all the difference according to Gail A. Zellman, 1998. We need to understand the underlying relationship A parents enthusiasm about education is, in between parent and child that supports childrens achievement and positive educational outcomes overall. most instances the underlying factor that contributes the childs academic success. Parent involvement programs might be more effective if they focus on such underlying constructs.

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Statement of the Hypotheses

HR-1

Parent / caregivers reading a minimum of 30 minutes, 5 days a week over a 6 week period will increase the reading scores of 69 six grade students I P.S. X in Brooklyn.

HR-2

Parent / caregivers helping with homework 30 minutes, 5 days a week over a 6 week period will improve report card grades in Math and Reading.

METHOD

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PARTICIPANTS

Two six grade classes of 69 students total Parents of students Principal Teachers

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INSTRUMENTS

Parent surveys will be used to collect the data Student survey Parent / Student contract Reading Log Report Cards

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EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

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PROCEDURE

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RESULTS

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DISCUSSION

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IMPLICATIONS

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REFERENCES

Battle-Bailey, L., (2004) Interactive Homework for Increasing Parent Involvement and Student Reading Achievement. Retrieved October 28, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.com Carey, N., Lewis, L., Farris, E., & Westat, I. (1998). Parent Involvement in Children's Education: Efforts by Public Elementary Schools. National Center for Education Statistics Statistical Analysis Report. http://search.ebscohost.com

Cheung, C., (2009). Evaluating the benefit from the Help of the Parent-Teacher Association to Child Performance. Retrieved October 1, 2009 from http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu.2048/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2008.12.004 Delgado-Gaitan, C.(1991, November) Involving parents in the schools: A Process of Empowerment. Retrieved September 30, 2009 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1085651
DePlanty, J., Coulter-Kern, R., Duchane, K., (2007), Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Academic Achievement. Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://heldref.metapress.com/openurl.asp? genre=article&id=doi:10.3200/JOER.100.6.361-368 Desimone, L. (1999). Linking Parent Involvement with Student Achievement: Do Race and Income Matter? Eldridge, D. (2001). Parent Involvement: It's Worth the Effort. Young Children, 56(4), 65-69. http://search.ebscohost.com Epstein, J., (2005) A Case Study of the Partnership Schools Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Model. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from Elementary School Journal, Vol. 106 Issue 2, p 151-170. Fang,W., & Sen Q. (2006). Longitudinal Effects of Parenting on Children's Academic Achievement in African American Families Giles, C., (2006).Transformational Leadership in Challenging Urban Elementary Schools: A Role for Parent Involvement? Retrieved September 25, 2009, from http://informaworld.co,/openurl? genre=article&id=doi:10.1080/15700760600805865

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Griffith, J., (1996). Relation of Parental Involvement, Empowerment, and School Traits to Student Academic Performance. The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 90, No. 1 pp. 33-41. Retrieved October 8, 2009, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27542066 Hawes, Carmen A., (March 2005) Parental Involvement and its Influence on Reading Achievement of 6th Grade students. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/journals Henderson, A. T. & Berla, N. (1994). A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to student achievement. St Louis, MO: Danforth Foundation and Flint. Henderson, A. T. & Mapp, K. L. (2002). A new wave of evidence. Austin, TX: National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools.

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REFERENCES contd:

Hill, N., and Tyson, D., (2009) Parental Involvement in Middle School: A Meta-Analytic Assessment of the Strategies That Promote Achievement Hoover-Dempsey, K. & Walker, J. (2005). Why Do Parents Become Involved? Research Findings and Implications. Houtenville, A. and Conway, K., (2008). Parental Effort, School Resources and Student Achievement. Journal of human resources Spring 2008, Vol. 43 Issue 2 p 347-453, 17p. Retrieved October 13, 2009, from http://searchebsco.com.login.aspx? direct=true&db=ehh&AN=31727769 Jung-Sook, Lee, and Bowen, Natasha, (2006) Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital and Achievement Gap Among Elementary School Children, American Education Research Journal, Vol. 43. NO. 2, 193-218 Padgett, R., Best Ways to Involve Parents. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, Vol. 72 n3 p44-45. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from http://www.eddigest.com/html/contentsnov.html Patrikakou, E. N., Weissberg, R. P., Redding, S., & Walberg, H. J. (Eds.). (2005). Schoolfamily partnerships: Fostering childrens school success. New York: Teachers College Press. Patrikakou, E., The Power of Parent Involvement: Evidence, Ideas and Tools for Student Success Pena, D., (2000) Parent Involvement: Influencing Factors and Implications. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 94, No. pp. 42-54 http://ww.jstor.org/stable/27542302 Tali Tal, Revital (2004, November). Community-Based Environmental EducationA Case Study of Teacher-Parent Collaboration. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp? target=contribution&id=JRVJ0EX48E8HDKW6 Wearmouth, J. (2004). Issues in Addressing Childrens Difficulties in Literacy Development through Family-School Partnerships. Yap, 0. K. & Enoki, D. (1995). In Search of the Elusive Magic Bullet: Parental Involvement and Student Outcomes, Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Academic Achievement.

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Zellman, G., & Waterman, J. (1998). Understanding the Impact of Parent School Involvement on Children's Educational Outcomes. Journal of Educational Research, 91(6), 370-80.

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APPENDICES

Appendix A Parent Release Appendix B Parent Questionnaire Appendix C Student Questionnaire

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