In focus groups, parents of both academically successful seventh-grade students and at-risk students (i.e., failing one or more classes, numerous behavioral referrals, and/or suspensions) in a rural middle school identified perceived barriers to student success as well as school and community resources for overcoming those barriers. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed six common barrier themes for the two groups and two additional themes for parents of academically at-risk students. The results are discussed with respect to the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of parental involvement and the school counselor's role in school-family-community collaboration.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AkosP., & GalassiJ. P. (2004). Middle and high school transition as viewed by students, parents, and teachers.Professional School Counseling, 7, 212–221.
2.
AmateaE., DanielsH. D., BringmanN., & VandiverF. (2004) Strengthening counselor teacher-family connections: The family-school collaborative consultation project.Professional School Counseling, 8, 47–55.
BarberB.K., & OlsenJ. A. (2004). Assessing the transition to middle and high school.Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 3–30.
6.
BryanJ. (2005). Fostering educational resilience and academic achievement in urban schools through school-family-community partnerships.Professional School Counseling, 8, 219–227.
7.
BryanJ., & Holcomb-McCoyC. (2004). School counselors’ perceptions of their involvement in school-family-community partnerships.Professional School Counseling, 7, 162–171.
8.
BryanJ., & Holcomb-McCoyC. (2007). An examination of school counselor involvement in school-family-community partnerships.Professional School Counseling, 10, 441–454.
9.
Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning. (1994). Parent involvement: The relationship between school-to-home communication and parents’ perceptions and beliefs.Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
10.
ClarkJ. M. (1983). Family life and school achievement.Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.
11.
ComerP. J., & HaynesN. M. (1991). Parent involvement in schools: An ecological approach.Elementary School Journal, 91, 271–277.
Day-VinesN., PattonJ., & BaytopsJ. (2003). Counseling African American adolescents: The impact of race, culture, and middle class status.Professional School Counseling, 7, 40–51.
14.
DeplantyJ., Coulter-KernR., & DuchaneK. A. (2007). Perceptions of parent involvement in academic achievement.Journal of Educational Research, 100, 362–368.
15.
DesimoneL. (1999). Linking parent involvement with student achievement: Do race and income matter?Journal of Educational Research, 93, 11–30.
16.
EcclesJ. S. (2004). Schools, academic motivation, and stage-environment fit. In LernerR. M. & SteinbergL. D. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 125–153). New York, NY: Wiley.
17.
EcclesJ. S., & HaroldR. D. (1993). Parent-school involvement during the early adolescent years.Teachers College Record, 94, 568–587.
18.
EcclesJ. S., & HaroldR. D. (1996). Family involvement in children's and adolescents’ schooling. In BoothA. & DunnJ. F. (Eds.), Family-school links: How do they affect educational outcomes? (pp. 3–34). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
19.
EpsteinJ. L. (1986). Parents’ reactions to teacher practices of parent involvement.Elementary School Journal, 86, 277–294.
20.
EpsteinJ. L. (1992). School and family partnerships. In AlkinM. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational research (6th ed., pp. 1139–1151). New York, NY: Macmillan.
21.
EpsteinJ. L. (2008). Improving family and community involvement in secondary schools.Education Digest, 73, 9–12.
22.
EpsteinJ. L., & SheldonS. B. (2002). Present and accounted for: Improving student attendance through family and community involvement.Journal of Educational Research, 95, 308–318.
23.
FergusonC. (2005). Reaching out to diverse populations: What can schools do to foster family-school connections?Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/connections/resources/rb/rb5-diverse.pdf
24.
FlookL., & FuligniA. J. (2008). Family and school spillover in adolescents’ daily lives.Child Development, 79, 776–787.
25.
GreenC. L., WalkerJ. M. T., Hoover-DempseyK. V., & SandlerH. M. (2007). Parents’ motivations for involvement in children's education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement.Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 532–544.
26.
GriffinD., & FarrisA. (in press). School counselors and collaboration: Finding resources through community asset mapping.Professional School Counseling.
27.
HillN. E., & ChaoR. K. (2009). Families, schools, and the adolescent: Connecting research, policy, and practice.New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
28.
HillN. E., & TaylorL. C. (2004). Parental school involvement and children's academic achievement.Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 161–164.
29.
HillN. E., & TysonD. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement.Developmental Psychology, 45, 740–763.
30.
HillN. E., TysonD. F., & BromellL. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: Developmentally appropriate strategies across SES and ethnicity. In HillN. E. & ChaoR. K. (Eds.), Families, schools, and the adolescent: Connecting research, policy, and practice (pp. 53–72). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
31.
Hoover-DempseyK.V., BasslerO.C., & BrissieJ. S. (1992). Explorations in parent-school relations.Journal of Educational Research, 85, 287–294.
32.
Hoover-DempseyK.V., & SandlerH.M. (1995). Parental involvement in children's education: Why does it make a difference?Teachers College Record, 97, 310–332.
33.
Hoover-DempseyK.V., & SandlerH.M. (1997). Why do parents become involved in children's education?Review of Educational Research, 67, 3–42.
34.
Hoover-DempseyK.V., & SandlerH. M. (2005). Final performance report for OERI grant # R305T010673: The social context of parental involvement: A path to enhanced achievement. Presented to Project Monitor, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, March 22, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Peabody/family-school/Reports.html
35.
Hoover-DempseyK. V., WalkerJ. M. T., SandlerH. M., WhetselD., GreenC. L., WilkinsA. S., & ClossonK. (2005). Why do parents become involved? Research findings and implications.Elementary School Journal, 106, 105–130.
36.
HoyW. K., TarterC.J., & HoyA.W. (2006). Academic optimism of schools: A force for student achievement.American Educational Research Journal, 43, 425–446.
37.
JohnsonL. J., PugachM. C., & HawkinsA. (2004). School-family collaboration: A partnership.Focus on Exceptional Children, 36(5), 1–12.
38.
KeatingD. P. (2004). Cognitive and brain development. In LernerR. M. & SteinbergL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 45–84). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
39.
KruegerR. A. (1994). Focus group interviews: A practical guide for applied research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
40.
LareauA. (1996). Assessing parent involvement in schooling: A critical analysis. In BoothA. & DunnJ. (Eds.), Family-school links: How do they affect educational outcomes? (pp. 57–67). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
41.
LareauA. (2000). Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Bowman & Littlefield.
42.
LudlowB. L., KeramidasC. G., & KossarK. (2008). The foundry: New (rural) perspectives on an old idea.Rural Special Education Quarterly, 27, 3–9.
43.
MitchellN. A., & BryanJ. A. (2007). School-family-community partnerships: Strategies for school counselors working with Caribbean immigrant families.Professional School Counselors, 10, 399–409.
44.
Moore-ThomasC., & Day-VinesN. (2008). Culturally competent counseling for religious and spiritual African American adolescents.Professional School Counseling, 11, 159–165.
45.
MorrisJ. E. (1999). A pillar of strength: An African American school's communal bonds with families and communities since Brown.Urban Education, 33, 584–605.
46.
MullerC., & KerbowD. (1993). Parent involvement in the home, school, and community. In SchneiderB. & ColemanJ. S. (Eds.), Parents, their children, and schools (pp. 13–42). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
49.
ProvasnikS., KewalRamaniA., ColemanM. M., GilbertsonL., HerringW., & XieQ. (2007). Status of education in rural America (NCES 2007-040). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007040.pdf
50.
RosethC.J., JohnsonD.W., & JohnsonR.T. (2008). Promoting early adolescents’ achievement and peer relationships: The effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures.Psychological Bulletin, 134, 223–246.
51.
RossmanG. B., & RallisS. F. (2003). Learning in the field.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
52.
SheldonS. B. (2002). Parents’ social networks and beliefs as predictors of parent involvement.Elementary School Journal, 102, 301–316.
53.
SheldonS. B., & EpsteinJ. L. (2002). Improving student behavior and school discipline with family and community involvement.Education and Urban Society, 35, 4–26.
54.
Sims-PetersonM., & WareM. L. (2002). From risk to promise: Changing the education contract for poor children and children of color.Widener Law Symposium Journal, 9, 121–127.
55.
SnowC. E., BarnesW. S., ChandlerJ., GoodmanI. F., & HemphillL. (1991). Unfulfilled expectations: Home and school influences on literacy.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.
56.
SpothR., GuyllM., TrudeauL., & Goldberg-LillehojC. (2002). Two studies of proximal outcomes and implementation quality of universal preventive interventions in a community-university collaboration context.Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 499–518.
57.
StevensonD. L., & BakerD. P. (1987). The family-school relation and the child's school performance.Child Development, 58, 1348–1357.
58.
SwadnerE. B. (1990). Children and families “at risk”: Etiology, critique, and alternative paradigms.Educational Foundations, 4, 17–39.
59.
SwansonM.C. (2000). Rigor with support: Lessons from AVID.Leadership, 30, 26. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
60.
TurneyK., & KaoG. (2009). Barriers to school involvement: Are immigrant parents disadvantaged?Journal of Educational Research, 102, 257–271.
61.
Van VoorhisF. L. (2003). Interactive homework in middle school: Effect on family involvement and students’ science achievement.Journal of Educational Research, 96, 323–339.
62.
WarrenL. L., & PeelH. A. (2005). Collaboration model for school reform through a rural school/university partnership.Education, 126, 346–352.
63.
WhyteW. F., GreenwoodD. J., & LazesP. (1989). Participatory action research: Through practice to science in social research.American Behavioral Scientist, 32, 539–577.
