The aim of the study was to investigate teacher practices to involve parents in homework in Namibian schools, particularly in the Ombuumbuu cluster in the Onesi circuit. The problem was conducted by a literature study and empirical investigation. The literature review explored the views of teachers regarding the involvement of parents in their children's homework, the need for parent involvement in homework and an exploration of models of effective practices to ensure parent involvement in homework. The empirical study investigated the nature and effectiveness of teacher practices to involve parents in homework in schools in the Ombuumbuu cluster. The findings indicated that although most teachers in the study agreed that parent involvement in homework is important for learners' success, the literature review and the empirical investigation showed little parent involvement in homework in many schools. Based on the literature and the empirical investigation, recommendations were made for teachers with regard to the improvement of parent involvement in homework. / Educational studies / M. Ed.

In education today, Latino populations are growing, but Telles and Ortiz (2013) claim they account for the lowest academic levels and the highest levels of dropouts. Latino transfronterizo (literally border crossing) students and their parents in this study have high academic aspirations in spite of challenges of poverty, second language acquisition, and other difficulties which arise from U.S.-Mexico border contexts. Through dissecting the events of the 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of northern migration from Mexico and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 influenced anti-immigrant sentiment along the border and enactment of laws and policies to limit circumnavigating the international line. Misidentification as illegal immigrants creates borderland perceptions that Latinos are suspects and often results in discriminatory treatment from postcolonial dominant culture. This culture is reflected and perpetuated in schools where home language surveys identify native Spanish speakers to segregate them into Structured English Immersion programs for students with Limited English Proficiency. Ethnographic research from January of 2013 to August of 2015 included over 300 observations and 14 semi-structured interviews with seven transfronterizo students and nine parents revealed language disconnects between school and home. Relationships between teachers and students/parents did not exist and trust was lacking. Latino parents wanted to help students with school, but English only requirements limited their assistance. Through the use of Furman's ethic of community and Yosso's community cultural wealth, educational leaders could create communal process at schools to build the capacity of teachers and parents to create relationships and shared cultural competencies.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen Myers-Bowman / The reciprocal interaction between children and their environment can affect their development. Certain environmental interactions such as problematic parent-child relationships or peer rejection in school are associated with the development of emotional and behavioral disorders. Children with emotional and behavioral disorders experience difficulties in a variety of areas including academics, social relationships, behaviors, and life outcomes. These emotional and behavioral disorders can progress or regress depending on relationships occurring within the child’s environment. Positive, healthy, and caring parent and teacher involvement in the lives of these children is an important factor. When parents and teachers become involved, especially when they work together to set mutual goals to help with success, children with emotional and behavioral disorders may see improvements in their problem behaviors, experience more successful achievement in academics, and develop in a direction that is more normative rather than problematic. This information can be applied through an online educational module for parents of children with EBD that aims to educate these parents on the avenues to and importance of involvement.

The purpose of this study was to examine specific parenting practices in four East Tennessee counties to determine their relationships, if any, to student achievement among various demographic groups. The investigation included status variables, such as parents' educational level, annual income level, and family structure. Students' Normal Curve Equivalent scores on the Terra Nova Standardized Test were used to measure student achievement. The Epstein (1987) typologies were used to classify parent involvement modalities. The analysis consisted of four research questions and were tested at the .05 level of significance. Pearson's product-moment, Spearman's rho, and Kendall's Tau B correlation coefficients were used to analyze the degree of relationship between Epstein's six typologies and student achievement. A t-test was used to describe the relationship between student achievement and the number of parents in the home. One-way Analyses of Variance were used to describe the relationships between student achievement and parents' educational and income levels. Kruskal Wallis tests were used to analyze differences in parental involvement by the number of parents in the home, parental income, and education levels. A Hierarchical Regression Analysis was also used to determine the extent to which parents' income, educational levels, and family structure assist in predicting student achievement. The sample consisted of 413 students in grade 4 in four counties in East Tennessee. Two schools were selected from each county as a representative sample of the population. The results of this study indicate significant relationships between student achievement and the parental involvement typologies of volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community. The relationships between student achievement and parental involvement in conjunction with parents' educational and income levels were also significant. Both parental involvement typologies and family demographics emphasize goals which are achieved most effectively when families and schools work together.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the understandings and perceptions that West Indian parents and caregivers residing in the U.S. have about U.S. public schools. A second purpose of this study was to examine the consistency between these findings and the cultural-ecological theory advanced by Ogbu (1974) which posits that immigrant minorities to the U.S. hold different perceptions and expectations in relation to U.S. schools. Using interviews with 13 families in the Tampa Bay area, the study examined West Indian parents' and caregivers' understanding of the American public schooling process, expectations for education, role beliefs, and roles they played in their children's schooling. Several themes emerged from the interviews regarding these areas. These themes included: families viewed education in very instrumental ways (a finding that aligned with Ogbu's cultural-ecological theory), families had overwhelmingly positive perceptions of resources and opportunities offered by U.S. public schools, and most families were satisfied with the home-school relationship. A minority of families described negative relationships with schools. In addition, families reported that they believed school-based involvement was important. However, they reported very low levels of school-based involvement, but high levels of home-based involvement. Obstacles to parent involvement included logistical barriers, and lack of familiarity with the U.S. school system. Implications of the findings for school personnel are discussed and suggestions for further research are offered.

The present study aimed to investigate a locally-driven action research project to improve connections between Spanish-speaking Latinx parents and the high school that their children attend. Using Participatory Action Research (PAR), the study sought to create a collaborative research agenda that would empower the participants to study their own culture and practices at the school, and how the two combined to create a home-school partnership. Six parents and two members of the school’s bilingual staff comprised the PAR team, with a total of nine members including the principal investigator. The project began with the creation of a public sphere in which all members of the PAR team were encouraged to freely contribute to the design and implementation of the research project. Focus group recordings were reviewed and interpreted by two members of the PAR team in the original language of Spanish, and Spanish documents and resources were made to provide easy access to information requested by the team. In this study, I did not attempt to create generalizable knowledge about any culture. Results indicated that the parent participants’ priorities differed from those initially defined before recruitment, and that parents were comfortable enough to express differing views in the public sphere. The project was reported to be helpful to the parents, and the school administration agreed to incorporate the results of the project into a parent outreach project for the coming year. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Den här uppsatsen är en del av pilotprojektet ”Läsläxa i ämnet svenska för flerspråkiga elever”. Projektet tar avstamp i forskning om läsning på ett andraspråk, inkluderande och flerkulturell undervisning samt samverkan mellan hem och skola kring läsläxor. Syftet med studien är att erhålla ny kunskap om hur läsläxor i ämnet svenska fungerar för flerspråkiga elever i årskurs 3 i grundskolan. Ett av de viktiga intresseområdena är lärarnas, elevernas och föräldrarnas erfarenheter, uppfattningar och frågor kring läsläxor och deras utformning. Sammanlagt genomfördes sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet visar att lärarna är medvetna om flerspråkighet och att de arbetar med läsläxor på ett strukturerat sätt och ständigt utvärderar sitt arbete. De är engagerade i sitt arbete och försöker att ge rätt verktyg till de flerspråkiga eleverna så att de ska kunna utveckla lässtrategier och förbättra sin läsförståelse. Som det framgår från intervjuerna är eleverna medvetna om syftet med läsläxor och upplever att den största svårigheten är att förstå svåra ord i texten. När det gäller föräldrarna är de positivt inställda till skolan, lärarna och läsläxorna och trots sin korta skolbakgrund försöker att stötta sina barn enligt förmåga. Då läsläxorna enbart ges på svenska är det samtidigt tydligt att den enspråkiga normen dominerar. / This is a part of a project called ”Reading Homeworks for Multilingual Pupils” that aims at monitoring the practices, behaviour, notions and current discourses in elementary classes in Sweden where multilingual pupils from migrant families are included. Six different interviews have been conducted with Swedish teachers, multilingual pupils and their parents in order to map the factors that influence the activity of reading homeworks both at home and at school. Both the construction of interview questions and the discussion of data gathered in participants’ answers have been influenced by nexus analysis where reading homework constitutes the social interaction platform on which all three parts, teachers, pupils and parents, meet. The results have been discussed through the lens of theories by J. Cummins, P. Gibbons and O. García. There has been a significant change in schools in Sweden with larger number of multilingual pupils that have Swedish as their second language, in the classrooms. That is why new requirements are laid regarding teachers’ competencies and practices. Interaction between teachers and parents and positive opinions about homework can influence pupils’ reading comprehension. Homework design and individual support of pupils in need are some of the issues observed in the paper. / Läsläxa i ämnet svenska för flerspråkiga elever

<p>The social imbalance recruitment has been a current topic for years. Since much research has focused on the higher education's problems with this, this thesis aims to investigate if you are already at the high school choice were influenced by your social background. To get a further dimension to this topic, the French sociologist Bourdieus thoughts on people's possession of, what he calls cultural capital was used, and we made use of it in the sense of parental education. Through a survey conducted in four ninth grades in two municipalities with different characteristics in terms of socio-economic conditions, we asked questions about their choice to high school. What programs did they choose? What factors were important? And which person had influenced them? The results showed a pretty clear dividing line between the pupils who came from homes with strong cultural capital to those who did not in the same sense. Students from these homes selected by an overwhelming majority a study preparatory program, the school's reputation was important and they had parents who were very active along with the student. Students who chose vocational programs, prioritized to a higher degree to begin work after high school, had discussed a lot with their parents but they (the parents) had not otherwise been so active. Conclusions of the study is that it largely follows the previous literature found on the subject, i.e. that the social background largely affects how we choose in specific situations. The parents' influence is great, which is useful for counsellors to know about and make use of in meeting with students and their families in school.</p> / <p>Den sociala snedrekryteringen har varit en aktuell fråga i många år. Eftersom mycket av forskningen har fokuserat på den högre utbildnings problem med detta, syftar denna studie till att undersöka om du redan vid gymnasievalet påverkas av din sociala bakgrund. För att få en ytterligare dimension till detta ämne, använder vi oss av den franska sociologen Bourdieus tankar om människors innehav av, vad han kallar kulturellt kapital, i betydelsen av föräldrarnas utbildning. Genom en undersökning som genomfördes i fyra nionde klasser i två kommuner med olika förutsättningar i fråga om socioekonomiska förhållanden, ställde vi frågor om deras val till gymnasiet. Vilket program har de valt? Vilka faktorer var viktiga? Och vilken person hade påverkat dem? Resultaten visade en ganska tydlig skiljelinje mellan de elever som kom från hem med starka kulturella kapital till dem som inte hade det i samma utsträckning. Studenter från dessa "kulturstarka" hem valde en överväldigande majoritet ett studieförberedande program, skolans rykte var viktigt och de hade föräldrar som var mycket aktiva tillsammans med eleven. Elever som valde yrkesinriktade program, prioriterade i högre grad att börja arbeta efter gymnasiet, hade diskuterat mycket med sina föräldrar men de (föräldrarna) hade inte annars varit så aktiva. Slutsatsen av studien är att det i stort sett följer det tidigare litteratur på området kommit fram till, nämligen att den sociala bakgrunden till stor del påverkar hur vi väljer i specifika situationer. Föräldrarnas inflytande är stort, vilket är användbart för vägledare att känna till och använda sig av i mötet med elever och deras familjer i skolan.</p>

The social imbalance recruitment has been a current topic for years. Since much research has focused on the higher education's problems with this, this thesis aims to investigate if you are already at the high school choice were influenced by your social background. To get a further dimension to this topic, the French sociologist Bourdieus thoughts on people's possession of, what he calls cultural capital was used, and we made use of it in the sense of parental education. Through a survey conducted in four ninth grades in two municipalities with different characteristics in terms of socio-economic conditions, we asked questions about their choice to high school. What programs did they choose? What factors were important? And which person had influenced them? The results showed a pretty clear dividing line between the pupils who came from homes with strong cultural capital to those who did not in the same sense. Students from these homes selected by an overwhelming majority a study preparatory program, the school's reputation was important and they had parents who were very active along with the student. Students who chose vocational programs, prioritized to a higher degree to begin work after high school, had discussed a lot with their parents but they (the parents) had not otherwise been so active. Conclusions of the study is that it largely follows the previous literature found on the subject, i.e. that the social background largely affects how we choose in specific situations. The parents' influence is great, which is useful for counsellors to know about and make use of in meeting with students and their families in school. / Den sociala snedrekryteringen har varit en aktuell fråga i många år. Eftersom mycket av forskningen har fokuserat på den högre utbildnings problem med detta, syftar denna studie till att undersöka om du redan vid gymnasievalet påverkas av din sociala bakgrund. För att få en ytterligare dimension till detta ämne, använder vi oss av den franska sociologen Bourdieus tankar om människors innehav av, vad han kallar kulturellt kapital, i betydelsen av föräldrarnas utbildning. Genom en undersökning som genomfördes i fyra nionde klasser i två kommuner med olika förutsättningar i fråga om socioekonomiska förhållanden, ställde vi frågor om deras val till gymnasiet. Vilket program har de valt? Vilka faktorer var viktiga? Och vilken person hade påverkat dem? Resultaten visade en ganska tydlig skiljelinje mellan de elever som kom från hem med starka kulturella kapital till dem som inte hade det i samma utsträckning. Studenter från dessa "kulturstarka" hem valde en överväldigande majoritet ett studieförberedande program, skolans rykte var viktigt och de hade föräldrar som var mycket aktiva tillsammans med eleven. Elever som valde yrkesinriktade program, prioriterade i högre grad att börja arbeta efter gymnasiet, hade diskuterat mycket med sina föräldrar men de (föräldrarna) hade inte annars varit så aktiva. Slutsatsen av studien är att det i stort sett följer det tidigare litteratur på området kommit fram till, nämligen att den sociala bakgrunden till stor del påverkar hur vi väljer i specifika situationer. Föräldrarnas inflytande är stort, vilket är användbart för vägledare att känna till och använda sig av i mötet med elever och deras familjer i skolan.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 76 pages. / Thesis (Ed.S.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research study was to analyze school psychologists' perspectives on 27 parent involvement and empowerment activities focused upon improving students' school success. A sample of 36 school psychologists from high and low minority schools in a large urban school district rated the degree to which they believed the activities should be offered to parents and the extent to which they were feasible to implement over the next five years. The activities rated highest for offer and feasibility by psychologists at both high and low minority schools were related to information dissemination and one-to-one meetings. The activities rated lowest for offer and feasibility by psychologists at both high and low minority schools were related to systems change and time-intensive programming. Psychologists' mean ratings for offer were generally higher than their mean ratings for feasibility of implementation. / ABSTRACT: However, the mean ratings for offer and feasibility at high minority schools tended not to be different from those ratings at low minority schools. Time was rated as the biggest barrier to implementation at both high and low minority schools, with current work responsibilities a close second. It is suggested that moving away from the traditional role of assessment and placement and towards prevention and intervention might reduce, if not eliminate, the time and current work responsibilities barriers and allow more school psychologists to implement home-school collaboration. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.