Parental involvement is a combination of commitment and active participation from parents to the school and to the student. Parental involvement defines the family’s role as educator and the crucial importance of family involvement to students’ success in schools. Some researchers and practitioners consider positive parental involvement the most prominent predictor of student success. Parents can increase children’s academic success through involvement with schools and communities. Parental involvement improves student morale, attitudes, and academic achievement across all subject areas.
The purpose of this study was to examine the views of parents, students, teachers, and administrators concerning parental involvement in four high schools in a rural East Tennessee county. The study also attempted to determine if the views of these parents, students, teachers, and administrators are consistent with published reports on parent involvement. Data were collected from administrators, students, parents, and teachers through an open-ended interview format designed by the researcher.
The findings from this study offer a number of recommendations regarding how high schools can develop partnership programs that involve families in ways that go beyond their participating as audience or witness to their children’s schooling to their participating as partners with the school in promoting teen’s learning. Participants desired effective home/school communications as well as a home environment that encouraged learning activities and suggested effective ways volunteers could be used at the high school level. Major recommendations include high schools forging connections with all families and providing options to increase their involvement at school as well as at home; establishing formal parent support organizations; developing partnerships that strengthen school-family relationships through authentic dialogue, collaboration, and mutual respect between families and educators; increasing opportunities for home/school communication; and creating a learning community where school personnel, students, parents, and community members view themselves as stakeholders.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-1136 |
| Date | 01 December 2001 |
| Creators | Smith, William A., Jr. |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright by the authors. |
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