Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Parental involvement in a child’s life forms a significant part of parenting, regardless of a parent and child’s background or context. The complexity of the concept is evident considering the diverse nature of existing definitions, models and theories. However, it appears that the approach to the term is greatly determined by the context in which it is used or referred to. Through a case study of a group of South African parents of Grade 9 children at a local high school, the study explores parents’ experiences of their parental involvement and adaption thereof following the transition from primary to high school. The study is qualitative and based on a social-constructivist theoretical framework which is concerned with how each person’s reality is shaped by social interaction with others, as well as historical and cultural influences. The Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (2005) model of parental involvement takes a central stance in the study. Research findings confirmed the complex nature of parental involvement. Each parent’s experience of his or her parental involvement was uniquely expressed, while the adolescent and school’s invitations for involvement, or rather the lack thereof, were the main determinants of parental involvement at the beginning of high school. A general tendency to decrease involvement following the transition to high school was noted, although it appeared that parents prefer to be more involved, or at least as involved as possible. In this study, parents’ expectations and experiences of their involvement and the transition from primary to high school, concurs with existing literature in the field. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ouerbetrokkenheid in ‘n kind se lewe is ‘n belangrike aspek van ouerskap, ongeag die agtergrond of konteks van die ouer en kind. Die kompleksiteit van die term is duidelik wanneer die uiteenlopende definisies, modelle en teorieë wat daaroor bestaan in ag geneem word. Dit wil egter voorkom asof die konteks waarin die term gebruik of na verwys word, veral grootliks die benadering daartoe bepaal. Deur gebruik te maak van ‘n gevallestudie van ‘n groep Suid-Afrikaanse ouers van Graad 9 kinders by ‘n plaaslike hoërskool, ondersoek die studie ouers se ervaringe oor hul ouerbetrokkenheid en aanpassing daarvan na die oorgang van laerskool na hoërskool. Die studie is kwalitatief en gebaseer op ’n sosiaal-konstruksionistiese teoretiese raamwerk, wat bemoeid is met hoe elke persoon se realiteit beïnvloed word deur sosiale interaksie met ander, asook die historiese en kulturele invloede in daardie persoon se lewe. Die Hoover-Dempsey en Sandler (2005) model van ouerbetrokkenheid staan sentraal tot die studie. Die navorsingsbevindings het die kompleksiteit van ouerbetrokkenheid bevestig. Elke ouer se ervaring van sy/haar betrokkenheid is uniek uitgedruk, met die adolessent en skool se aanvraag na betrokkenheid, of eerder die afwesigheid daarvan, as die hoofdeterminant van betrokkenheid tydens die begin van hoërskool. ‘n Algemene geneigdheid om ouerbetrokkenheid te verlaag na die oorgang van laerskool na hoërskool is bevind, alhoewel dit voorkom asof ouers tog ‘n voorkeur het om meer betrokke te wees, of ten minste so betrokke as wat hul kind dit toelaat. Ouers se ervaringe ten opsigte van hul verwagtinge en belewenis van betrokkenheid, asook die oorgang van laerskool na hoërskool, hou verband met bestaande literatuur in die veld.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education Faculty of Education University of Zululand, South Africa, 1996. / The aim of this investigation was to establish black parents' perceptions regarding their educational responsibility in a changing educational dispensation. From the literature study it became clear that rapid change represents one of the most dynamic features of modern society and the traditional black family is not left untouched by this. The influence of permissiveness, materialism and the mass-media forces parents to educate their children under circumstances quite different to those under which they themselves were reared. Industrialization, urbanization, politicization and the norm crisis are the most dominant characteristics of modern society which gave rise to numerous problems regarding the adequate functioning of the family. In the historical overview of black education in South Africa it was revealed that during the nineteenth century the education of black children in South Africa was funded and controlled by different churches. Between 1904 and 1953 the administration of Black Education was jointly performed by the churches and provinces and during these years the policy of segregation and inequalities in education are well-known and well-documented. After the National Party's accession in 1948 and the passing of the Bantu Education Act in 1953, separation in black education became formalised through legislation and was vigorously implemented. Since the early 1950s apartheid education was vociferously opposed by black students and teachers. The sporadic protests and boycotts of the 1950s and 1960s culminated in the student riots of 1976 which signalled an end to apartheid education. Changes in society had remarkable and adverse effects on the educational responsibility of black parents. The traditional practice, where children learned from their parents and eiders, changed to a Western system where professionals teach children with the aid of textbooks. Parents should, however, have no uncertainties as to their educational responsibility as parents. As the child's primary educators, parents are responsible for the child's adequate education at home, which serves as a basis for school education. They should be fully aware of their role, purpose and task, as well as the possibilities and limitations of their activities as regard the education of their children. The purpose of the child's education is not only adequate support and guidance towards adulthood, but also optima! realization of the child's unique potential. Responsible education can only be adequately realised if the educational relationship between parent and child is based on trust, understanding and authority. For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire was utilised. An analysis was done of 150 questionnaires completed by the parents of standard 8 pupils in Umlazi schools. The data thus obtained was processed and interpreted by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. The hypothesis, namely that the relationship of trust, understanding and authority between parent and child has no relation with the gender or age of the parents or the number of school-going children in the family, has to be accepted. In conclusion, a summary and certain finding emanating from the literature study and the empirical investigation were presented. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made: Cultural leaders must re-establish and meaningfully foster the efficient functioning of the nuclear family. Parent guidance and parent involvement programmes must be established at schools.

This thesis explores Parental involvement in children's education in selected / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Child-Friendly School has been adopted as a national policy for basic education in many developing countries and UNICEF has also adopted the policy as an international framework for basic education. In Cambodia, the practice has now gone up to lower-secondary schools. Dimension 5 of this policy encompasses school openness to community participations which include those of parents and other important members of the community such as elderly, clergymen, village chiefs, and NGO representatives. What is not often heard of in many schools is the extent to which and through what means the stakeholders communicate about their children‘s education. Recognizing this gap, this research was devised to explore current practices and channels of communication that the stakeholders have advocated in Cambodia. This research employed a mixed research design in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Five teachers, eight key informants and two student representatives were purposefully selected for semi-structured interview, while 33 parents and 33 students were also purposefully recruited for self-administered (face-to-face) questionnaires. In addition, field observation, document analysis, and focus group discussion were also employed in this study. The study found that the current practices of parent-school-community partnerships have not met the desired outcomes of CFS‘s dimension 5 yet. More attention should be placed on attracting parental and community involvements. For example, reconstructing the existing mechanisms such as SSC and SC for better involvement, more school‘s effort to reach out to parents and more attention from national level on policy and law on parent-teacher relation are needed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The thesis concludes that, overall, commonly used categories of family structure do little to inform understanding of the experience of family and schooling of these 32 young people; the boundaries around the categories of family structure are permeable.

The benefits and influences of parent involvement were examined among a group of children with learning disabilities (LD). One aim of this study was to determine whether different types of parent involvement are associated with educational benefits in special education. A second aim was to apply an existing model of parent involvement to assess its influences in this population. One hundred and twenty-three children with and without LD from grades 1 to 8 and their parents participated in the study. Children's grades and their attitudes to school were used as educational outcomes to evaluate the impact of their parents' involvement. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires regarding their school, cognitive-intellectual and personal involvement, as well as measures of stress, social support, and perception of their child's academic ability. Mothers were consistently more involved than fathers in all types of activities. Higher grades were significantly correlated with mothers' involvement in school-related activities and fathers' involvement in personal activities. Fathers who felt they received a greater amount of social support tended to be more involved in their children's cognitive and personal activities. Mothers who perceived a greater amount of social support were more personally involved with their children, and mothers who perceived their children as having more severe LDs were less personally involved. Overall results extend the literature on the benefits and the factors associated with parent involvement for children with LD and highlight the need for parents, educators and school psychologists to combine resources in order to increase awareness and levels of parent involvement.

M.Ed. (Education and Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of parental and community involvement in a primary school and the benefits thereof to the learners, teachers and community members. The aim of this study is to investigate how a positive school climate can improve the involvement of parents and community members in a school’s activities. The research attempted to determine what the role of a positive school climate is; the strategies schools could apply to enhance parental and community involvement, the possible benefits of involvement and reasons for non-involvement of parents and community members in school activities. The theoretical frameworks of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and Joyce Epstein’s overlapping spheres of influence were used in the study. A case study was used as the qualitative research methodology. The data for the research was gathered from a purposive sample of teachers, community volunteer workers, parents and the principal. Semi-structured interview schedules and pre-designed questionnaires including open and closed questions, were used to collect data. The data was analysed inductively by using a descriptive open coding method to identify emerging themes. The findings of the research suggest that a positive school climate to improve parent and community involvement can be created by applying the strategies of effective communication, good working relationships, creating opportunities for involvement, ensuring a healthy and safe environment, formulating a school policy for parent and community involvement, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere as well as upholding an ethos of good moral values. The study found that parent and community involvement in a school’s activities offers various benefits to all stakeholders.

This study was concerned with developing and exploring a reasonably comprehensive scheme of categories which describes, from the perspective of adolescents, what facilitates their career development during the process of participating in the Partners Program. The critical incidents Technique was used to elicit 302 Incidents from nine dyads. Each dyad consisted of a parent and their high school adolescent. This study took place over a four-month period, and after completion of the program, the participants were interviewed individually to determine the events that facilitated the career development of the adolescent. Sixteen categories emerged from the incidents reported. Reliability was suggested by two independent raters who showed 100% agreement in categorization. Participation rate varying from 44% - 61% indicated the soundness of these categories. From an examination of the findings, theories surfaced from the categories that reflected the threefold aim of the Partners Program. Firstly it fosters career development by increasing self-awareness, career awareness and decision and planning capabilities. Secondly, it strengthens the family support network. Thirdly, it enables the adolescent to make better use of career resources and programs. It is suggested that there is a potency in family relationships in career counselling which could be a powerful ally for the professional counsellor. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate