This study examined European American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American parental involvement and their children’s high school completion. An examination of how different family structures have an influence on a student’s education was conducted. This study used the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) of 1988 and utilized a hierarchical linear model (HLM) for the statistical analysis. Social capital theory and a family ecological approach were used as the theoretical foundations. The findings demonstrated that different types of parental involvement were importantin a student’s highschool completion, dependingon ethnicity. Schoolinvolvement was not significant in influencingthe level of parental involvement and the relation to high school completion. Future research should focus on understandingthe ways in which a stronger relationshipbetween families and educational systems could be developed.
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