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The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between the reading level of parents of students in special education and the readability level of special education documents/forms. A related purpose was to determine whether a difference between reading level and the readability of documents/forms was related to parental involvement. The sample consisted of 30 parents of students in special education who were enrolled at Mosheim Elementary School in 2002. Parents were tested using the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery: Part Two-Tests of Achievement, developed by Richard W. Woodcock and M. Bonner Johnson. Subtest 13, 14, and 15 were administered to parents. Subtest 13 is a Letter-Word Identification subtest, Subtest 14 is a Word Attack subtest, and Subtest 15 is a comprehension subtest. Parents were asked to complete a short survey that elicited information on education level, actual years of school completed, annual household income, work schedule, and household members. Parents were also asked five questions concerning their knowledge of their childÆs IEP. At the conclusion of the session, parents were interviewed concerning their feelings about attending IEP Team Meetings at the school. The findings from this study showed the average reading level of parents was at the 9.0 grade level. Special education documents/forms had readability levels that ranged from 9.9 to 12.0 grade levels. These scores showed parents were generally reading three grade levels lower than the reading level required to read the special education documents/forms. Parents also demonstrated a limited understanding of their childrenÆs IEP. Only 13.3% answered all five questions correctly and 26.7% answered four questions correctly. Sixty percent of the parents could only answer one, two, or three questions correctly. The study also showed that 93.3% of the parents surveyed attended their childÆs IEP Team Meeting at the school during the year. Only two of the 30 parents in the sample did not attend their childÆs IEP Team Meeting. The results highlight the difficulty that many parents have in reading the various forms used in special education, including the Individual Education Program for their child/children.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of parents and teachers regarding effective parental involvement with elementary students based on Epstein et al.'s (2009) 6 typologies of parental involvement. The population consisted of 77 teachers in a particular east Tennessee school district and the parents of 889 students enrolled in kindergarten through 6th grade. Parents and teachers were asked to indicate the effectiveness of 4 activities within each of the 6 parental involvement categories: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community. Parents and teachers were asked to rank each activity numerically with 1 indicating not effective and 5 indicating highly effective. A ranking of 2, 3, or 4 indicated an activity between not effective and highly effective. In a separate section, parents and teachers were asked to rank the 5 most important activities from a list of specific parental involvement activities. Findings indicated that parents and teachers in this study have some similar views and some differing views regarding effective parental involvement. Parents and teachers in this study shared similar perspectives by ranking the top 5 specific parental involvement activities from a list of 10 specific activities. Parents and teachers used a Likert scale to indicate the effectiveness of activities from Epstein et al.'s (2009) 6 typologies: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community. The t-test indicated significant differences in the perceptions of parents and teachers regarding effective parental involvement in 5 of the 6 typologies. ANOVA and post hoc analysis revealed significant differences among the parent population based on age, education level, gender, and race. No significant differences were identified among the teacher population based on the 4 demographic areas examined: age, education level, teaching experience, and gender. This study revealed that parents and teachers surveyed had some similar perceptions and some differing perceptions regarding effective parental involvement, but both groups identified communicating as the most important typology from Epstein et al.'s (2009) 6 major types of involvement.

This study examined the effects of the communication aspect of using an online grading program. This study explored teachers' perceptions of the implications of allowing the grading process to become transparent to parents. The purpose of this study was to assist teachers in searching for ways to create a positive parent-teacher relationship. A positive and constructive parent-teacher relationship is helpful to the student. If grades are made available to parents on a daily basis, they will have access to specifics about the academic performance of their child. Parents and teachers will be able to communicate with each other on a regular basis with the use of an online grading program. In-depth interviews of 10 middle school teachers were conducted using an interview guide. The interviews were then transcribed and coded by the researcher. The researcher found that teachers spoke positively regarding many of the features of Engrade, an online grade book. The teachers benefited from the convenience of communication with parents and students. The perceived primary result of Engrade is viewed as a positive by teachers because parents can communicate with the teachers about their children, and that, hopefully, allows them to be more involved in their child's academics. Further research opportunities are available in that the perceived implications of implementing an online grade book need to be evaluated from the perspective of parents and students.

Using Bourdieu's model of social and cultural reproduction, I examine student achievement and parental involvement levels across seven immigrant nationalities: Cambodian, Cuban, Filipino, Laotian, Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Vietnamese. I then analyze the relationships between five parental involvement types and GPA, while controlling for student, family, and school characteristics. Finally, I test for interaction effects to examine variations across groups. Results point to parent expectations as a strong predictor of student success, especially among Cubans, Filipinos, and Vietnamese, while other dimensions of parental involvement have little or no effect. Bourdieu's model may not be adequate among immigrant parents and their children who follow a pattern of dissonant acculturation.

A qualitative study was conducted investigating the perceptions of seven parents of high functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) regarding incidents of bullying in which the child was involved. Results of the study indicated that all of the children had been bullied at one time or another, and that the majority had difficulty in demonstrating appropriate social skills. The parents viewed supportive peers to be a positive factor, fostering the children's satisfactory social adjustment. Parent interventions for their child included social skills instruction and empathy training. Research implications for educators included the need to establish systemic organized school-wide support to benefit all students. Findings substantiated previous literature in regard to the importance of positive social skills, social support, and parent support for promoting children's resiliency and social growth when faced with bullying. In the current study results were reflective of proactive parents' involvement as advocates for their child. A high level of parental involvement paired with supportive school personnel created an ideal partnership between home and school in developing and implementing both proactive strategies and interventions that supported adolescents with ASD.

A review of research on family economic distress and its association with teen well-being shows a clear need to expand our knowledge about the connections between economic distress and key teen outcomes. Economic distress can act as an unexpected negative shock to the family system and can influence parent relationship quality, functioning, and involvement in children's lives. In turn, changes in systemic quality, functioning, and involvement can impact adolescents positively or negatively. Using observational coding and questionnaire self-report, this study examined the relationship between economic distress and negative marital interaction and the impact this has on parental involvement as a predictor of child school engagement while controlling for gender of the child. A structural equation model analysis was fit to data from 323 two-parent families. The average age of children for the study was 14.31 years of age. Results showed that economic distress is associated with marital relationship interactions, as well as parental involvement, which also impacts school engagement. Therapists should be mindful of and address current economic distress which their clients are experiencing and be aware of the possible associations with all parts of the family system. Possible interventions in the parent-couple system and increasing both mother and father involvement are suggested.

Using both observational and questionnaire self-report data, this study examined preadolescent self-regulation as a potential mediator of the relationship between parental involvement, parent-child warmth and school engagement in a two wave panel design. Data was taken from two parent families in waves two and three of the Flourishing Families project which included 335 families with children between the ages of 12 and 14. Findings showed that parental, especially paternal involvement, was directly correlated to child's school engagement. Parental involvement and parent-child warmth were also shown to have an indirect effect on school engagement via child's self-regulation. Educators and therapists should be mindful of the parent-child relationship when dealing with students struggling in the academic setting.

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