This study investigates the critical elements of parent involvement as related to children's improved academic achievement. Survey data were collected from 220 parents whose children attend three Chicago public elementary schools. The schools serve largely minority, low-income populations and score in the top third of the Illinois State Achievement Tests. Using Epstein's framework of parent involvement, we found that participants indicated a stronger tendency to participate in two of Epstein's typologies: Type I (Parenting) and Type IV (Learning at Home). Results suggest that schools struggling with unsatisfactory student achievement may benefit from focusing parent involvement efforts on building parenting capacity and encouraging learning-at-home activities.
Aronson, J.Z. (1996). How schools can recruit hard-to-reach parents . Educational Leadership, 53(7), 58-60.
2.
Association for More Effective Schools. (2002 ). Correlates of Effective Schools. Retrieved June 17, 2004, from http://www.mes.org
3.
Baker, A., & Soden, L.M. (1998). The challenges of parent involvement research (Report No. EDO-UD-98-4). New York: ERIC Clearinghouse for Urban Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED419030)
4.
Becher, R. (1986). Parents and schools. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED269137)
5.
Chrispeels, J. (1996). Effective schools and home-school partnership roles: A framework for parent involvement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 7(4), 297-323.
6.
Christenson, S.L., Rounds, T., & Gorney, D. (1992). Family factors and student achievement: An avenue to increase students' success. School Psychology Quarterly , 7(3), 178-206.
7.
Columbo, G. (1995). Parental involvement: A key to successful schools . NASSP Bulletin, 79(567), 71-75.
8.
Derrick-Lewis, S.M. (2001). Parent involvement typologies as related to student achievement. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62(06), 2030A. (UMI No. 3011184)
9.
Downey, D.B. (2002). Parental and family involvement in education. In A. Molnar (Ed.), School reform proposals: The research evidence. Tempe, AZ: Education Policy Unit (EPRU), College of Education. Arizona State University. Retrieved October 20, 2003, from http:// www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/EPRU/documents/EPRU2002-101/Chapter06-Downey-Final.pdf
10.
Epstein, J.L. (1984, April). Effects of teacher practices on parent involvement change in student achievement in reading and math. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED256863)
11.
Epstein, J.L. (1987). Parent involvement: What research says to administrators . Education and Urban Society, 19(2), 119-136.
12.
Epstein, J.L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan,76(9), 701-712.
13.
Epstein, J.L., & Salinas, K.C. (1993). School and family partnerships: Surveys and summaries . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University .
14.
Fan, X., & Chen, M. (1999). Parent involvement and students' academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED430048)
15.
Fantuzzo, J., Tighe, E., & Childs, S. (2000). Family involvement questionnaire: A multivariate assessment of family participation in early childhood education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 367-376.
16.
Grolnick, W.S., & Slowiaczek, M.L. (1994). Parents' involvement in children's schooling: A multidimensional conceptualization and motivational model. Child Development, 65(1), 237-252.
17.
Hara, S.R., & Burke, D.J. (1998). Parent involvement: The key to improved student achievement. School Community Journal, 8(2), 9-19.
18.
Henderson, A., & Berla, N. (1994). A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to student achievement (Report No. ISBN-0-934460-41-8). Washington, DC: National Committee for Citizens in Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 375968)
19.
Henderson, A., & Mapp, K. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement. Annual Synthesis, 2002. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Lab. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED474521)
20.
Hoover-Dempsey, K., and Sandler, H. (1997). Why do parents get involved in their children's education? Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 3-42.
21.
Iowa State Department of Education. (1994). Parent involvement in education: A resource for parents, educators, and communities . Iowa City, IA: Author. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 387245)
22.
Johnston, J.H. (1994). Home-school partnerships: Shall we dance? Schools in the Middle, 4(3), 5-8.
23.
Jones, R. (2001). How parents can support leaning. American School Board Journal, 188(9), 18-22.
24.
Lamb-Parker, F., Piotrkowski, C.S., Baker, A., Kessler-Sklar, S., Clark, B., & Peay, L. (2001). Understanding barriers to parent involvement in Head Start: A research-community partnership. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16(1), 35-51.
25.
Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education72(1), 37-53.
26.
Lazar, A., & Slostad, F. (1999). How to overcome obstacles to parent-teacher partnerships . Clearing House, 72(4), 206-210.
27.
Moles, O.C. (1993). Collaboration between schools and disadvantaged parents: Obstacles and openings. In N. F. Chavkin (Ed.), Families and schools in a pluralistic society (pp. 21-49). Albany: State University of New York.
28.
National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 28, 2004, from http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98032.html
29.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory ( 2003). Preliminary characteristics of productive schools. Retrieved July 3, 2003, from http://www.ncrel.org/cusd/pubs/lead31/31prdlst.htm
30.
Quigley, D.D. (2000). Parents and teachers working together to improve third-grade achievement: Parents as learning partners (PLP) findings. Los Angeles Compact on Evaluation, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing/University of California, Los Angeles.
31.
Rosenzweig, C. (2000). A meta-analysis of parenting and school success: The role of parents in promoting students' academic performance. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(04), 1730B. (UMI No. 9968470)
32.
Shumow, L. & Miller, J. (2001). Parents' at-home and at-school involvement with young adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 21(1), 68-91.
33.
Smith, H. (2003). Illinois Interactive Report Card. Retrieved September 28, 2004, from http://iirc.niu.eduon.
34.
Smrekar, C., & Cohen-Vogel, L. (2001). The voices of parents: Rethinking the intersection of family and school. Peabody Journal of Education76(2), 75-100.
35.
Tracy, J.R. (1995). Family: Involving families in student achievement . Schools in the Middle, 5(2), 31-37.
36.
Turner, J. (2000). Parent involvement: What can we learn from research? Spotlight: Working with parents. Montessori Life, 12(2), 37-39.
