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Parenting practices have great influence over a child’s behavior. Specifically, parental involvement may protect children from developing problem behaviors during their development. A strong parent-child relationship may act as a preventative measure towards development of disruptive behavior into emerging adulthood (i.e., 18 to 25 years). The current study aimed to examine the effects of parenting practices and parental involvement on emerging adult outcomes. Results indicated that parental involvement and parenting styles were negatively correlated with disruptive behavior, parenting styles and parental involvement were positively correlated with one another, and females tended to perceive higher levels of involvement from mothers. In addition, it was found that parenting styles and disruptive behavior were accounted for through parental involvement. Child disclosure also was associated with lower levels of disruptive behavior, whereas parental solicitation was found to be associated with higher levels disruptive behavior.

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The Preparatory Academy was established in September, 1999 to improve academic achievement and reduce the dropout rate of at-risk high school students in a mid-Atlantic state. The study looks at the Preparatory Academy as a dropout prevention program for high school students. Students attending the Preparatory Academy are one or more years behind grade level and have not been successful in a general education setting. In addition, the students are identified by the school division as being at-risk of not graduating from high school. The Preparatory Academy was designed to address the increasing drop out rate and to advance students one or two grade levels in one school year, whereby giving them an opportunity to reach their age appropriate grade. A qualitative design methodology was chosen to evaluate the Preparatory Academy effectiveness from the eyes of the students who were successful in the program. Eight participants who successfully completed the Academy during the 2004-2005 academic year were selected from each participating high school. Students participated in focus groups and answered questions about their experiences, their beliefs, and their perceptions while in the Preparatory Academy. Seven staff members, three administrators, two teachers, and two guidance counselors, were interviewed to clarify Academy procedures and policies. The results of this study show that the Preparatory Academy is perceived by students to be an effective dropout prevention program. Students reported an increased commitment to graduation from high school and reported an increase in grade point average. In addition, data revealed students having a positive change in their attitude toward themselves and their education. When asked about the reason, the students gave credit to the Preparatory Academy. / Ed. D.

This study was designed to examine whether there is an association between the activities suggested by a federally mandated Title 1 learning compact and the reading achievement of at-risk fourth grade students. In addition, the researcher investigated the relationship between specific home and school parent involvement activities and student reading scores. Specifically, connections between reading comprehension achievement and the following parent involvement variables were examined: (1) homework involvement, (2) reading together, (3) monitoring of television viewing, (4) volunteering in the school, and (5) supporting school activities. The subjects used for this study were fourth grade students who were enrolled in a Title 1 reading program. Data for the study was obtained from surveys given to teachers, the Title 1 students, and their parents. Reading achievement scores were obtained from fall and spring administrations of the reading comprehension subtest from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the gains between the two measures. Chi square analyses were used to examine whether the levels of involvement by specific parties on the independent variables were associated with different levels of reading comprehension achievement. A second analysis was done with analysis of variance procedures. The study did not find any significant relationships between reading comprehension achievement and the total degree of involvement by all or either parents, teacher, and students on the learning compact. When specific parental involvement variables were examined, however, some differences among the groups emerged. A significant positive association was found between the degree of homework involvement and achievement while a significant negative relationship was found between the level of parental support and reading achievement. Parents' answers to the open-ended questions indicated that almost forty percent (38.8) of them would like less demands on parents or changes made in the school climate. The usefulness of an unidimensional index of parental involvement is called into question and the results are discussed within the context of instructional implications. / Ed. D.

Lack of parental involvement is an issue in the educational system because parents and teachers do not understand each other's views. Research has shown that when parents and teachers provide students with support, student achievement increases. The problem of teachers' and parents' lack of common understanding of parental involvement was addressed in this study. Epstein's model of parental involvement and the theory of planned behavior served as the theoretical framework of this qualitative, exploratory, phenomenological study to explore the perceptions of 5 teachers and 10 parents who were purposefully sampled. The research questions were focused on parents' and teachers' perceptions on parental involvement in supporting students' achievement. Data were analyzed using of Moustakas's steps for phenomenological model. Trustworthiness was ensured through peer review, member checking, and descriptive research notes. Findings from the data collected from face-to-face interviews identified 3 themes: parenting and learning at home, volunteering and decision making, and communicating and collaborating with the community. The 3 themes overlapped with components of Epstein's model of parental involvement and were evident in the participants' answers to the interview questions. The resulting project was a white paper designed to educate the community about problems with parental involvement, provide solutions to the issue, and help parents and teachers to work collaboratively to improve student achievement. The project contributes to social change through formative feedback for the major stakeholders regarding ways to promote efficient and effective practices for both parents and teachers to promote student learning.

Effective leadership is a critical component to student learning and engaging parents of English Language Learners (ELL). The primary purpose of this instrumental multiple comparison case study was to determine the degree in which the Georgia Vision Project's recommendation, to be responsive to the cultural make-up of the communities they serve, has impacted two different high implementation school districts. The secondary focus of the research examined the influence of leadership practices on parental involvement in schools with high ELL populations. Awareness of viable cultural approaches for engaging ELL students and parents can be acquired by teachers during the pre-service or in-service training. However, this may be impossible if administrators lack cultural understanding themselves. Family members of English Language Learners often struggle to remain involved in their children’s academic activities due to their limited English proficiency and fear communicating with the staff. Consequently, administrators play a key role in creating effective professional development for teachers and welcoming school environments for ELL families. Interviews of district and school leaders, parent instructional coordinators, and parents were conducted. Supporting documents were also gathered. Dedoose was used to assist with the analysis and coding of the data collected using a general inductive approach. The data collected revealed the impact of the Vision Project implementation within each district. Also, several themes emerged from the findings 1) stable school district leadership, 2) consistent mission and vision implementation, 3) clearly outlined strategic goals and priorities, 4) frequent communication with internal and external stakeholders, 5) leadership development academies for succession planning, 6) specific organizational structure for central office and schools, 7) alignment of Vision Project educational components to the district initiatives, and 8) a commitment to restoring confidence in public education. The study contributes to the development of educational leaders in schools with diverse student populations. The findings reveal the necessity for school leaders to assess parents’ perceptions of their child’s school, given the impact parents can have on children’s attitudes about school, and the importance of supporting parental engagement. The success of students will require leaders to acknowledge the power of parents and community as important resources.

This research suggests that positive parent involvement and partnership with schools is a prerequisite of effective schooling and that co-operation between home and school can raise educational achievement The purpose of this study was to determine by means of review of literature and empirical investigation, the nature of parent involvement in education, methods available to involve parents in the education of children, and the reasons for non-involvement of parents in education of children, The empirical study was aimed at determining the degree of parent involvement and reasons of non-involvement of parents in the education of children in the North West Province in the district of Potchefstroom, as well as the attitudes of educators towards parent involvement in the education system. Chapter 1 deals with the statement of the problem, aims of the research and the methods employed in achieving the purpose of the study, This includes a discussion of the population and sample used for the empirical research and an outline of the chapters, Chapter 2 highlights the nature and scope of parent involvement In education, fundamental and educational grounds for parent involvement were discussed; models of parent involvement were identified and discussed, advantages and disadvantages of parent involvement were mentioned, ways in which parents become involved in education of their children and reasons for non-involvement of parents in education were discussed. In Chapter 3, the focus was on the context of parent involvement in South Africa. Parent involvement in the pre-democratic era and democratic era was discussed. The empirical research design, administrative procedures, population and the random sampling as well as statistical techniques were discussed in Chapter 4. The duly completed questionnaires returned by educators and parents of the children of the selected schools as respondents were empirically analysed in Chapter 5. The last chapter, Chapter 6, throws light on the summary of all the chapters; research findings and recommendations based on the research findings derived from the previous chapters, as well as final remarks. This implies that all relevant issues raised in all chapters are summarised and recommendations are also made. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

This study examined parenting style variables in predicting college students’ depression symptoms. Participants were 989 college students who participated in the first wave of the Spit for Science project (Dick et al., 2011). This study described the prevalence of depression symptoms, including the percentage of the sample endorsing various depression symptoms, and the frequency depression scores were elevated at multiple time points. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to examine whether two dimensions of parenting style, Autonomy Granting and Parental Involvement, would interact in predicting depression symptoms in the Junior year. The present study demonstrates that parenting style predicts a small but significant amount of variance in depression symptoms, after controlling for demographic characteristics, and these variables interact in producing their effect. Overall, findings suggest that depression symptoms are common and parenting style is relevant in understanding such symptoms.