Abstract Immigrant parents face unique challenges in getting involved in their children's education. Research is limited about how immigrant parents cope with these challenges in supporting their children's education. The purpose of this qualitative study, as reflected in the central research question, was to describe the lived experiences of Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrant parents in relation to their involvement in their children's education. The conceptual framework was based on Epstein's theory of parental involvement concerning how the school, family, and community relate to each other. A phenomenological design was used, and participants included 11 Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrant parents living in an urban city in the eastern region of the United States whose children were enrolled in public schools. Data were collected from participant responses to individual interviews that included 10 open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method of analysis. Findings indicated that immigrant parents believed frequent communication with teachers was the most important component of Epstein's parental involvement model and that they should also support teachers in resolving disciplinary issues at school. This study contributes to positive social change by helping educators design and implement strategies that encourage immigrant parents to become actively involved in their children's education, which may lead to improved student achievement and socioeconomic mobility for students.

Researchers have associated parent involvement in primary schools with the improvement of grades, attendance, and the decrease of negative social behaviors. Consequently, parent involvement has improved in many primary schools. However, in secondary schools, parent participation continues to be deficient, particularly among Latino and African American communities due to language barriers, low incomes, and lack of social networks. Research is needed on how parent participation affects student achievement in secondary schools with underserved populations. Social capital theory provided the conceptual framework to help determine if parent involvement could create parent-school relationships that would lead to improved student academic and behavioral outcomes in a predominantly minority urban charter high school. The quasi-experimental observational study used program data and pre and post archived student records provided over a 2-year period from a convenience sample of 83 continuously enrolled students. Epstein's framework was used to categorize types of parent involvement, which constituted the independent variables. T tests and chi-squared analyses were used to test the association between the independent variables and dependent variables. The study found a limited association between GPA and ELA grades and certain types of parent participation activities for students overall, but not for English Language Learners. Attendance was not found to be affected significantly and data were lacking on suspensions and expulsions. The results of this study informs administrators who seek to increase parent involvement in order to improve student achievement and decrease the drop-out rate in high schools serving at risk students.

Parental involvement at Shady Lane Elementary School is lower than the district average, which might be contributing to low levels of student achievement. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explore attitudes of parents at the school and selected parental involvement behaviors. The framework for this study was the theory of planned behavior. The focus of research question 1 was the relationship between parents' attitudes toward the school and parental involvement in the form of communicating, volunteering, and learning at home. The focus of research question 2 was the relationship between parents' attitudes toward parental involvement and parental involvement in the form of communicating, volunteering, and learning at home. The covariates were parents' level of education, employment status, and income. Survey data were collected from 108 parents of students in Grades 1-5. Descriptive statistics showed parents had low levels of all 3 types of parental involvement and negative attitudes toward the school and that parents' attitudes toward parental involvement were almost equally positive and negative. Spearman correlations showed a positive correlation between both independent variables (parents' attitudes toward the school and parental involvement) and communicating, volunteering, and learning at home. Multiple regression analysis showed a positive predictive relationship between parents' attitudes toward the school and communicating and learning at home, and between parents' attitudes toward parental involvement and communicating, volunteering, and learning at home. Results may be used to improve students' achievement as a result of improved parental involvement.

A school district in rural Alabama has encountered a lack of parental involvement, which research shows could have a deleterious effect on student achievement. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore parents' perceptions about their involvement and the impact of that involvement on students' academic achievement. The conceptual framework that informed this study was Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism. The research questions addressed the parents' perceptions of their role in the education process as well as the effectiveness of the district's 2 parental involvement programs. A purposeful sample of 6 parents of students at an elementary school in Grades 3 through 5 participated in open-ended interviews. Data were transcribed, member checked, and then inductively coded for emergent themes. The findings suggested that parents believed their involvement was important, as was a strong home and school relationship. These themes were used to develop 3 days of parental involvement workshops, designed to help improve participation in the district's parental involvement programs and improve family and community relations. This study may help students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community agencies identify strategies to reduce the lack of parental involvement and increase student academic success.

A pattern of low parental involvement exists at in an inner-city school in the northeast region of the United States, where 90% of the students are students of color and fewer than 10% of parents attend school-based activities. Low parental involvement at the local school may lead to decreased student achievement and limited access to needed resources and information. A qualitative case study design was used to explore the problem. Epstein's typology, which includes the traditional definition of parental involvement and acknowledges the parents' role in the home, provided the conceptual framework for the study. Research questions focused on perceived challenges that prevent parent participation, specific types of parental involvement strategies that are most effective when working with inner-city families, and potential solutions to the problems. Data collection included reviewing reports and conducting individual interviews with 5 elementary school parents, 5 teachers, and the principal at the research site. Inductive data analysis included organizing and categorizing data to develop themes related to the problem and perceived solutions. Findings revealed ineffective home-school communication, language differences, and a lack of shared meaning regarding parental involvement between parents and teachers. Identification of these challenges led to development of a 3-day professional learning series for parents, teachers, and administrators that focused on benefits of parental involvement. Implementation of the program may help to facilitate building of school-family community partnerships to empower parents to support their children's learning at home and at school.

This study addressed a prevalence of low achievement in science courses in an urban school district in Georgia. National leaders and educators have identified the improvement of science proficiency as critical to the future of American industry. The purpose of this study was to examine parent involvement in this school district and its contribution to the academic achievement of successful science students. Social capital theory guided this study by suggesting that students achieve best when investments are made into their academic and social development. A collective case study qualitative research design was used to interview 9 parent participants at 2 elementary schools whose children scored in the exceeds category on the Science CRCT. The research questions focused on what these parents did at home to support their children's academic achievement. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview protocol and analyzed through the categorical aggregation of transcribed interviews. Key findings revealed that the parents invested time and resources in 3 practices: communicating high expectations, supporting and developing key skills, and communicating with teachers. These findings contribute to social change at both the local and community level by creating a starting point for teachers, principals, and district leaders to reexamine the value of parent input in the educational process, and by providing data to support the revision of current parent involvement policies. Possibilities for further study building upon the findings of this study may focus on student perceptions of their parents' parenting as it relates to their science achievement.

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study investigated the involvement of parents in school governance in Sibasa Circuit. Among others the study found that parents experience various challenges with their role in this regard. School Governing Bodies struggle to maintain a full complement of the parent’s component. However, there are various ways and means that can be used in order to improve the situation. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in both data collection and analysis. The result from the study indicates that lack of capacity is a challenge to parents in contributing positively towards the involvement of school governance. The findings of this study have shown that there is a major concern that parents need to be given the opportunity to make inputs in the school. The study shows that the level of capacity and lack of ownership by parents is still a challenge; however the interest to change the status is still available by the parents. The recommendations suggest the following: • Parents should first be made familiar with the South African Schools Act of 84 of 1996. If parents could be educated on this Act, they would know the duties of governing bodies and what is expected from them. • The training should be conducted among all chairpersons, secretaries and treasurers in order for them to be taught how to conduct their duties; Effective consultation should be introduced in schools in order to encourage parents to be involved in school governance. Establishment of parental association can improve the involvement of parents in school governance. Parental association must educate parent members about the importance of communication. They must know that they have to communicate with other parents who are not members of the school governing body, because their duty is to represent their interests. This will help to foster parent involvement in school. Lastly, the National Department of Education needs to review Section 27 of South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 to include remuneration of school governing body members. This section is the one that states that no remuneration must be given to people for governing body duties. Remuneration can help to motivate parents to participate fully in governing body duties.

Thesis (M.ED. (Educational management)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Refer to document

Latinos are now the largest public school minority population in the U.S. Because of a shift in the states, cities, and counties where Latinos are choosing to live, many schools that did not previously serve substantial numbers of Latinos are doing so now. Additionally, many of the Latinos in these new settlement areas are recent immigrants who speak little or no English. This qualitative study examined how immigrant Latino parents who speak little or no English supported their children in the English-speaking school system of the U.S. It specifically examined how 12 Spanish-speaking parents negotiated language and culture with their children's school in a new settlement area in the state of Utah. From the interviews I conducted with the Latino parents and school staff members, along with school observations and the collection of other data such as forms and notices, I examined how the parents negotiated language and culture with the school. I then analyzed the themes that emerged from this collection of data using a theoretical framework consisting of postcolonial theory, social and cultural capital, and the concept of social discourses. Major themes that emerged included the concern the parents had for their children's education, the parents' limited participation in the school discourse, children serving as language brokers, the maintenance and growth of their children's heritage language, the hegemony of the English language, and issues involving social and cultural capital, linking capital, and racism. Recommendations include assuring availability of interpreters, increasing bridging and linking capital, supporting children's heritage language, and being culturally sensitive and proactive to reduce racism. Hopefully, this research will add to the literature that will help educators better serve the growing Latino school population.

Vanadium compounds have been reported to cause numerous toxicological effects including NAD(P)H oxidation and lipid peroxidation. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the active form of vanadium in causing these effects, and to determine any possible free radical involvement in these processes. Vanadium-stimulated oxidation of NADH was studied spectrophotometrically and by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. In 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 7. 4, vanadyl , (V(IV)), is slightly more effective in stimulating NADH oxidation than was vanadate (V(V)). Addition of a superoxide generating system, xanthine/xanthine oxidase, results in a marked increase in NADH oxidation by vanadyl, and to a lesser extent, by vanadate. In contrast, addition of hydrogen peroxide did not change the NADH oxidation by vanadate, but greatly enhanced NADH oxidation by vanadyl. Use of the spin trap DMPO in reaction mixtures containing vanadyl and hydrogen peroxide or a superoxide generating system resulted in the detection by ESR of hydroxyl radical. Hydroxyl radical was also detected in the system containing vanadate plus superoxide. It was found that superoxide is capable of reducing vanadate to vanadyl, and that vanadyl is capable of reaction with hydrogen peroxide in a Fenton-like mechanism to produce hydroxyl radical. Hydroxyl radical is suggested to be the active species involved in NADH oxidation. Other reductants, such as thiols, are also capable of supporting vanadate-stimulated NADH oxidation . The above results indicat that ability of vanadium to act in a Fenton-like mechanism is an important process in the vanadium-stimulated oxidation of NADH. Vanadyl was found to be the active form of vanadium involved in initiating and stimulating lipid peroxidation in purified and partially purified fatty acid micelle preparations. Hydroxyl radicals were shown to be involved in initiating diene conjugation when vanadyl and hydrogen peroxide were added together in the reaction mixture. Furthermore, hydroxyl radicals were shown to be generated in the vanadyl-catalyzed decomposition of fatty acid lipoperoxides. The results of this study indicat that the ability of vanadium compounds to oxidize NADH and to stimulate lipid peroxidation are related by the common mechanism of hydroxyl radical production from the reaction of vanadyl with hydrogen peroxide.