The purpose of this study is threefold. First, it is to clarify the construct, parental
involvement, by examining its different dimensions both theoretically and empirically. The
second purpose is to identify important family factors and institutional factors that affect
parental involvement. Finally, this study examines how students' learning outcomes are related
to different dimensions of parental involvement. A conceptual framework is proposed that
indicates the relationships between school factors, family factors, parental involvement and
students' learning outcomes. The construct of "capital" is used as an explanatory tool within
this framework.
The research was conducted in two phases. Data were collected as part of a larger
project which studied the effectiveness of elementary schools in British Columbia (Willms,
1992). Phase I of the study was conducted in 1994. Questionnaires were sent to a population
of fifteen hundred B.C. elementary school principals. A total of 831 school administrators
returned the questionnaires. Phase II of the study was conducted in 1995. Forty-nine schools
were sampled strategically according to the variability of parents' socioeconomic backgrounds.
A total of 404 teachers and 1042 fifth-grade students completed questionnaires. Hierarchical
Linear Modelling was then used to explore the nature and impact of parental involvement.
The extent of parental involvement in grade 5 was generally low in B.C. elementary
schools. Levels of parental involvement did not vary substantially among schools; therefore, it
was difficult to identify schools which could induce particularly high or low levels of
involvement. In exploring the barriers and facilitators of parental involvement, evidence from
this study suggests that substantial decentralization of instructional activities, and positive
teacher attitudes and practices enhance parental involvement. Another important school factor
is the nurturing of social capital within the school. The findings indicate that a positive social
climate is a major determinant of parental involvement. An important home factor is cultural
capital provided by parents. The results suggest that cultural capital rather than economic
capital determines the levels of parental involvement in education.
The effects of different types of parental involvement on students' learning outcomes
were relatively weak in this study. Home-based involvement was not generally effective for
improving children's learning, and school-based involvement had a small positive effect on
student's self-esteem but was negatively related to student academic achievement. It appears
that parental involvement tended to be reactive rather than proactive. Parents with children at
risk academically and socially were more likely to be involved. Yet the study has
demonstrated that investment of educational time and monitoring of peer activities were
possible intervening variables through which parents could indirectly affect students' learning
outcomes. In the conceptual framework of this study, learning outcomes was viewed as a
function of the availability of: economic capital, cultural capital and social capital. Among
these major forms of resources, social capital nurtured by the school was the most powerful
determinant of students' self-esteem. Cultural capital and economic capital had a moderate
effect on both students' self-esteem and academic achievement, but their contribution varied
from one cognitive characteristic to another. These results provide substantial evidence to
support the integration of Coleman's social capital thesis and Bourdieu's cultural capital
thesis. An inclusive model, which emphasizes the inclusion of resources from family, school,
and community, appears to be the most promising avenue for improving children's learning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/6703 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Sui-Chu, Esther Ho |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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