Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common pediatric chronic illnesses. Adolescents are at risk for poorer glycemic control; however, youth whose parents remain involved in diabetes care are in better control. The current study examined parental involvement (PI) using a multi-method, multi-source approach in a sample of 255 youth (Age M = 12.83). The Diabetes Family Responsibility Questionnaire, Parental Monitoring of Diabetes Care Scale, and 24-Hour Diabetes Interview assessed two types of PI, parental responsibility and parental monitoring. Global and specific assessment served to cross-corroborate indicators of PI related to HbA1c. Higher levels of monitoring related to lower HbA1c for both parent- and youth-report; however, the effect decreased after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES). Additionally, monitoring mediated the relation between age and HbA1c. Controlling for SES, youth whose parents demonstrated higher levels of monitoring were in better glycemic control. Both research and clinical implications are discussed.

This paper examines the role of attachment beliefs and parenting behaviors on the association between maternal and child anxiety in a community sample of mothers and their children aged 6-17 (N = 89). Maternal anxiety was assessed through the SCL-90 & STAI-T. Child anxiety was assessed through the RCMAS-C, STAIC-T, RCMAS-P, & CBCL. Attachment beliefs were assessed through the Experiences in Close Relationships (maternal) and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (child). Parenting behaviors were assessed through the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire and the Children's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory. Significant associations were found between maternal and child anxiety, attachment beliefs, and parenting. Multiple regression analysis indicated that Anxious Attachment Beliefs and Parental Involvement appeared to mediate the association between maternal and child anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of elucidating the role of attachment beliefs and parenting behaviors on the association between maternal and child anxiety.

As sociedades mundiais passam por mudanças substanciais que repercutem nas áreas da educação, administração e políticas públicas. Apesar de avanços, o desempenho do sistema educacional brasileiro ainda é deficitário. Nesse sentido, merece destaque a iniciativa do governo em disponibilizar o banco de dados da educação para investigações científicas. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar pistas para políticas públicas educacionais a partir do posicionamento de pais/ responsáveis e estudantes de escolas com diferentes índices de Ideb, em Ribeirão Preto e Sorocaba, estado de São Paulo, tendo como pano de fundo a teoria do habitus, segundo a abordagem de Pierre Bourdieu. As dimensões de análise do estudo são: a Participação dos pais/ responsáveis na vida escolar dos estudantes; o Conhecimento dos pais/ responsáveis da realidade escolar; a Dedicação dos estudantes às atividades escolares; o Ambiente familiar; o Contato com estímulo ao estudo; a Admiração pela escola; o Encorajamento da escola à participação dos pais/ responsáveis na vida escolar; e a Crença na escola e na educação. Para tanto, realizou-se uma pesquisa aplicada, quantitativa, descritiva, através de procedimentos de levantamento, por meio de questionários, seguindo abordagem comparativa. Foram aplicados 208 questionários a estudantes e pais/ responsáveis, escolhidos por amostragem aleatória e provenientes de nove escolas, escolhidas conforme a média do Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (Ideb) dos anos de 2005 e 2007. A pesquisa dividiu-se em levantamento bibliográfico; elaboração de instrumentos de coleta; e trabalho empírico. Foram testadas hipóteses de pesquisa por meio da técnica estatística nãoparamétrica de Mann-Whitney. Utilizou-se o software SPSS, versão 17. Os resultados apontam para conclusões similares a de outros trabalhos quantitativos quanto à relação entre características demográficas e desempenho. Quanto às análises que buscaram extrapolar os fatores demográficos, encontraram-se diferenças de posicionamentos dos pais/ responsáveis de estudantes de escolas com Ideb alto e baixo no que diz respeito à crença na educação e na escola; à admiração da atuação de gestores e da equipe escolar; e ao contato com situações de estímulo ao gosto pelo estudo. Dessa forma, sugere-se que a criação ou (re) significação dos sentimentos parentais para com a escola, para com a educação e para com a atuação da equipe gestora como pistas de caminhos a serem buscados pelas políticas de atuação conjunta entre escola e famílias, superando o entendimento de participação parental como acompanhamento das tarefas de casa e presença em reuniões de pais e mestres. / World societies face several changes with implications for the areas of public education, administration and policies. Despite advances, the performance of the Brazilian educational system is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, it is important to mention the governments initiative to make available educational data so that scientific investigations can be lead ahead. The aim of this paper is to identify hints for educational public policies from students, and their parents / guardians from schools with different levels of Basic Education Development Index (Ideb) in the municipalities of Ribeirão Preto and Sorocaba, São Paulo state, taking the habitus theory as a base theory, according to Pierre Bourdieus approach. Analyzed dimensions are: Parents / guardians school life students participation, Parents / guardians school reality knowledge, Students dedication to school activities, Family atmosphere; Studying stimulus contact, Parents school admiration School encouragement to parents / guardians involvement\', and \'Belief in school and education\'. It has been developed an applied, quantitative, descriptive and survey research, following a comparative approach. It have been applied 208 questionnaires to students and parents/ guardians chosen by random sampling coming from nine schools chosen according to the Ideb average from the years of 2005 and 2007. The research was divided into three parts: theoretical reference, data collection instrument development, and empirical work. Research hypotheses were tested using the Mann-Whitney nonparametric statistical technique. It has been used the SPSS software, version 17. Results point on similar conclusions to other papers related to demographic characteristics and educational performance. But those analyses beyond demographics found out differences between high and low school Ideb related to belief in education and school; admiration to school managers and staff; and contact to studying stimulus situations. It is suggested a school, educational, managerial and staff parental feeling creation or (re)signification as a trace to be fallowed by school-family policies so that it is possible to overcome the comprehension of parental participation as homework help and parent-teacher conference.

Research suggests parental home and school involvement improves multiple outcomes for middle school students, including academic achievement, school engagement, motivation, self-efficacy, and prosocial behaviors. Little is known, however, about multilevel factors associated with Latino/a parental involvement in the middle school learning environment. In the current study, multilevel analysis was used to explore student, family, and school factors associated with Latino/a parental involvement. Results from the hierarchical linear modeling analyses found (a) Latino/a parental home and school involvement varied within schools and between schools, (b) student gender, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement were positively associated with parental home involvement, and (c) student gender, problem behavior, prosocial behavior, academic achievement, and family socioeconomic status were positively associated with parental school involvement. Percentages of Latino/a students and low-income students in schools did not significantly moderate the average parental home or school involvement across students and across schools. The results of this study have implications for educators and policy makers to promote Latino/a parent-teacher collaboration in the middle school learning environment.

This research examines the involvement of the parents of secondary school children in career education and guidance (CEG). It is based on a secondary analysis of existing data from a research project I was involved in. This initial research evaluated the impact of a parent-involved career intervention, 'Parents Turn', in which six career teachers delivered four successive sessions to parent(s) accompanied by their child in the third or fifth year of their secondary school (HAVO) in the Netherlands. The study is important both to the field and to practitioners. Examples of parentinvolved career intervention in CEG are limited, scantily researched, and most were not sustained, which may explain why knowledge on involving parents in CEG is underdeveloped. I discuss these gaps in the evidence by providing an overview on the literature on parental influences and roles in their child's career development, an international inventory of and taxonomy for parent-involved, school-based career interventions, and providing relevant knowledge on parental-involvement in education in general. I then present new analysis of data collected by an earlier evaluation of the 'Parents' Turn' intervention. My secondary analysis approaches this data with new research questions, in-depth analyses and a non-parametric methodology. I integrated the quantitative and qualitative results to understand who was involved in the intervention, why, and whether the impact differed for the learning of parents with and without higher education (HE) qualifications. I also sought to understand the role of the school in the intervention. The findings suggest that a school-initiated career intervention involving parents, in the form of family learning and community interaction, can build and enhance parents' capacity to be involved in and support the career development of their child: their knowledge and skills, parental self-efficacy and parental role-definition. However, the career intervention works differently for parents who have different levels of HE level attainment. Lower-educated parents seem less aware of the consequences of early educational decisions in their child's career and also have different needs for being involved in the career intervention compared to highereducated parents. Despite the impact of the career intervention on their parental capacity, lower-educated parents remain unsure as a parent of how to make use of gained information, guidance and support tools. Third-year (14-16-year-olds) parents' information and support needs are the greatest and they are open to changing their attitude to grant their child autonomy in managing their own career development. The study also finds that features of the present school system are major barriers to sustaining the intervention. Recommendations for policies and practice at school level are offered. A more focused public policy for parental involvement in career education and guidance in secondary schools could both improve the efficiency of the education system and combat social injustice.

The principal’s roles as manager and instructional leader are complementary terms for explaining what s/he does daily in the school to direct the mission towards its fulfilment. However, these roles are often in tension, especially in the context of school self-management. This scenario has led to an overemphasis on routine (administrative) tasks by school managers, leaving them over-worked and with little time to devote their efforts to the core technology of schooling, the most critical and essential responsibility of school management namely, instructional leadership. Employing a qualitative case study approach, this report explored the day-to-day instructional tasks of leaders in two primary schools in the Johannesburg East District in the Gauteng Province. It is argued, in the study, that it is necessary for school principals to distribute, collaborate and involve other SMT members in executing their instructional leadership responsibilities to enhance quality delivery of C2005. The deputy principal and school level HoDs, it is argued, should be the immediate arbiters of the tension between the principal’s functions as manager and instructional leader. They should be enabled and encouraged to create a balance between meeting the school’s educative goals and sharing in the instructional duties of principals. The lack of time and commitment to instructional improvement on the part of principals seriously hampers and compromises their effectiveness, teaching and learning, and student achievement. Consistent with the Department of Education’s policy framework on instructional leadership practices in schools (DoE, 2000), the findings in this study reveal that the effective implementation and reaping the benefits of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) requires collaborative practices among the SMT members (the principal, deputy principal and the heads of departments). This study also found that instructional improvement should be regarded as core to everybody’s job and not as a specialised function for an individual, the principal. This is consistent with Alvarado (in Elmore & Burney, 1997), who asserts that anyone with staff responsibility has the duty to support others directly involved in staff development. The deputy principal, the heads of department and subject heads in primary schools as formal leaders, all have an instructional responsibility to assist the principal in meeting the school’s instructional goals.

The cultivation of parent involvement in America's public schools is no longer an option. Under the provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: No Child Left Behind (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 2001), it is now a mandate. Moreover, in the current climate of emphasis upon student performance and school accountability, schools need not just the support of parents, but also their full involvement in meaningful partnerships. The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop a better understanding of the factors that significantly affect the level of parent involvement during the middle-school years. This was accomplished through the use of open-ended interviews with 24 participants in Northeast Tennessee comprised of 4 elementary and 4 middle-school principals along with 16 middle-school parents who were identified by their child's principal as having been highly involved when their child was in elementary school. The findings from this study suggested that the parent and principal perceptions regarding the factors that influence the decline in parent involvement during the middle-school years are often quite different. In general, perceptions of parents and principals that were held in common were those associated with the role of the parent, the positive effects of parent involvement upon student success, and the role of the principal in modeling the encouragement of parent involvement. The finding suggested, however, that there was significant disparity between parent and principal perceptions with regard to how well middle schools encourage parent involvement. Major recommendations included middle schools communicating with feeder elementary schools to identify highly involved parents of rising middle-school students, a system of personally contacting such parents as a means to encourage their continued involvement, and the establishment of a dialogue among parents and educators with regard to developing an action plan based upon best practices.

abstract: During the winter semester of 2018, I conducted a series of four workshops to teach parents (n = 6) strategies that could be used from home with their fourth-grade struggling readers. This study was situated in an elementary school located in North Las Vegas, NV. I invited students that scored two or more years below grade level, as indicated by the STAR Reading Assessment (a grade equivalency assessment). The purpose of this study focused on how family engagement resulting from the implementation of four small group workshops delivered by the teacher (and researcher) could affect reading performance of students who were below grade level. This mixed-methods action research study was informed by Bourdieu’s Theory of Cultural Capital (1977), Bandura’s Theory of Self-efficacy (1986), and school, family, and community partnership models. Quantitative data included pre- and post-intervention parent surveys, post-intervention student surveys, and pre- and post-intervention student reading assessments. Qualitative data included field notes and post-intervention parent interviews. A repeated-measure t-test found the difference between student pre- and post-assessment to be statistically significant, t(9) = -3.38, p = 0.008. Findings also indicated that parents utilized the skills learned, increased their self-efficacy in regards to family involvement, and overcame obstacles. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

The current literature lacks empirically-supported preventative approaches for kindergarten students who are socially withdrawn and behind in the development of social skills. Furthermore, parents are underutilized in interventions during this critical period of social development. In response to this need, a classroom-based intervention consisting of (a) social skills training, (b) self-evaluation and reinforcement, (c) home notes and parent involvement, and (d) adult mediation was implemented to increase the positive social engagement of three kindergarten students. The effects of this intervention were evaluated on the playground during recess using partial interval recording of target students’ positive or negative engagement with at least one peer. Improvements of social interactions on the playground were demonstrated by each target student during the implementation of the intervention, but only one student maintained these improvements in the follow-up phase. Future studies should investigate whether addressing the limitations of this study would yield stronger results with this under-identified population of students.

Since the 1960s homeschooling has increased in popularity across the United States. While homeschooling was deemed illegal in all 50 states, by 1993 homeschooling was legal in every state. As homeschooling was legalized, each state created its own ways of monitoring and supporting homeschooled students. In 1991 when the state of Iowa legalized homeschooling, the Iowa legislature created Home School Assistance Programs (HSAPs), which used public school funds to provide state-certified teachers to supervise homeschooled families. The purpose of this study was to apply the theoretical model of the parental involvement process created by Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995, 1997) to examine differences between parents who homeschooled within a HSAP and those who homeschooled in a different manner. Specifically, the study explored parental involvement, parents’ perceptions of their life context, parental self-efficacy, social-contextual motivators of involvement, and parents’ perceived invitations from their children. The study also investigated the extent to which HSAPs serve homeschooling parents and the viability of HSAPs as a means of serving homeschooling parents. Findings suggest that there were no significant differences between parents who homeschool using a HSAP and those who do not in regard to any of the aforementioned categories. However, there was a significant difference in parental role activity beliefs based on the size of the HSAP in which a participant was involved, such that participants who were involved with a larger HSAP reported being more involved in their children’s education than parents involved with a small HSAP. No additional significant differences were found regarding the size of the HSAP or the geographic setting of the HSAP. Overall, the results of the study demonstrated that parents who homeschool are similar in parents’ motivational beliefs, perceptions of specific invitations from their children, perceived life context, and home-based involvement behaviors, regardless of their involvement with a HSAP.