Increasing Parental Involvement: A Key to Student Achievement
by Dan Jesse

Parental involvement has been touted for years as a very important predictor of student achievement in schools. In recent surveys, also, teachers focus on the need to increase parental involvement. Strengthening parents' roles in the learning of their children has been identified by teachers as an issue that should receive the highest public education policy priority (Louis Harris and Associates, 1993; in U.S. Department of Education [ED], 1994). Moreover, a 1993 Metropolitan Life survey of teachers found that a large majority believed that the nation's schools could be improved by the federal government if they encouraged parents to be more involved in their children's education (Richardson, 1993).

Yet the quest for effective parental involvement is not easily accomplished without understanding obstacles and how to overcome them. It is important to define parental involvement, to identify types of effective involvement and to identify barriers to parental involvement. Only then can we succeed in overcoming those barriers and increasing the quality of parental involvement.

Definition of Parental Involvement

The common wisdom is that parental involvement and strong schools are inseparable--that you cannot have one without the other. Indeed, research indicates a strong link between parental involvement and student achievement (Hester, 1989). However, a definition of effective parental involvement is not the same for everyone.

Coulombe (1995) reports that parental involvement is often wanted by schools "only when it is needed" (p. 71). Staff of some schools want parents to be involved only in specific ways and at times determined by the staff. This total control of parental involvement by the school represents one extreme. Another extreme is represented by parents who want to run the school, including control over all expenditures, hiring and firing of staff, and curriculum selection.

Happily, reality is somewhere in between in most schools; but it is not exactly clear where this reality is from the multiple perspectives of teachers, administrators and parents. The bottom line is that parents really do want their children to be in good schools, and educators want to provide those schools. Unfortunately, varying perspectives often get in the way of this happening. What is needed is a framework for understanding these varying perspectives.

Davies (1991) has defined parental involvement from a shifting perspective. As society restructures itself, as communities restructure themselves and as schools restructure, parental involvement also is being transformed. The following table illustrates this paradigm shift.

New beliefs are emerging about parents and families (Liontos, 1992). These new beliefs include the following (pp. 30-31):

• all families have strengths,
• parents can learn new techniques,
• parents have important perspectives about their children,
• most parents really care about their children,
• cultural differences are both valid and valuable, and
• many family forms exist and are legitimate.

Whether in a supportive and/or an active role, parental involvement can mean very different things, depending on one's perspective. Teachers may want parental involvement in the form of helping children with homework. Parents may see parental involvement as making major decisions in the school. The truth is that parental involvement can and should take many forms. Parental involvement is reading to preschool children. It is getting children ready for school every morning. It is volunteering at the school. It is serving on collaborative decision making committees, and it is lobbying legislatures to advocate for children. The list of examples could be very long.

One important thing to keep in mind when addressing parent involvement is to avoid confining efforts to restructure parental involvement programs to either personal interactions or policy changes. Done in isolation, neither will be successful (Cochran and Dean, 1991). The following issues, when addressed, can help focus parent involvement efforts:

• define what is meant by parent involvement,
• define what the school means by parental involvement,
• provide examples of parents' decision making roles,
• remove structural barriers, and
• identify who else has an interest in increasing the parent's role in the school.

Types of Parental Involvement

In the past, parent involvement in schools meant baking cookies and organizing fundraising activities. Now, parent involvement takes on many forms. Fundraising for schools is just one way in which parents may be involved in the education of their children. Several researchers have identified components of parental involvement. For example, Flaxman and Inger (1992, p. 3) have identified three ways in which parents can become involved in schooling: through direct involvement in school management and choice and by being present in the schools; through participation in special parenting training programs; and through family resource and support programs.

Along the same line of thought, Hester (1989) discusses parental involvement from the following perspectives: parents as teachers, parents as supporters of activities, parents as learners and parents as advocates. Hester also emphasizes the importance of communication with parents as an important part of involvement.

Further, Moore (1991) has identified three approaches to parental involvement in the schools: parents as policy makers, parents as volunteers, and parents as facilitators of children's development. More specifically, when addressing the use of parents as volunteers, Weisz (1990) has developed some suggestions for volunteer activities, which include the following:

• operating a telephone network with other parents,
• serving as a resource pool,
• helping with tutorial and remedial work,
• working with small groups or individuals in classes,
• explaining school programs and needs to the community,
• helping with field trips,
• assisting with extracurricular activities,
• raising money for school projects, and
• helping arrange open house activities and meetings.

Three common themes for parental involvement have been identified by Davies (1991): providing success for all children, serving the whole child and sharing responsibility. The National PTA also has dealt with defining and strengthening parental involvement. National symposia and regional meetings have been conducted to clearly define parental involvement (PTA, 1992).

The National PTA Board of Directors (1993) has endorsed three types of parental involvement:

• parents as the first educators in the home,
• parents as partners with the schools, and
• parents as advocates for all children and youth in society.

The effectiveness of these types of parental involvement has been substantiated by recent research. Parents are truly the first teachers of their children. This notion is so powerful that there are growing numbers of programs called Parents as First Teachers around the country. Recent advances in brain research inform us that the first years of life are critical in terms of determining the learning abilities of our children (Sylwester, 1994). Much can be done to help parents make the most out of the first years of life. Helping parents understand that their job is to "turn on" receptors in their young childrens' brains goes a long way toward achieving this goal.

Parents have been thought of as partners in the educational process. Examples of this role are parents helping children with homework, supporting school activities by volunteering in classrooms, providing language-rich environments and working in partnership with teachers to enhance the learning experiences of children.

When parents are decision makers, they are actually involved in the running of the school through site-based decision making committees. While the evidence regarding the effectiveness of this arrangement is not clear, it is becoming an increasingly popular method of enhancing parent and community involvement in the schools.

When parents are advocates, they are working at the local, state and national levels to impact legislation and policies that directly impact children. For example, the National PTA has advocated for children since the turn of the century; it has worked for implementation of child labor laws, juvenile justice, public health, hot lunches and field tests of the polio vaccine (Cutright, 1989).

Barriers to Parental Involvement

Any number of barriers to effective parental involvement can be identified easily by educators as well as parents. Such general barriers may include distance between teachers and parents, lack of teacher training, race and class barriers, limited views of parental involvement and the public's perception of the school (Moore, 1991).

Barriers can originate from beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of teachers and administrators. Lack of commitment to parental involvement, confusion about the role of teachers, concerns about territory and turf, doubts about being able to work with at-risk parents and mistaken beliefs about at-risk parents have all been found to be barriers for schools and teachers. Other barriers include low teacher expectations for at-risk children, schools assuming a passive role, schools not helping parents feel welcome and communications between parents and the school that focus on the negative (Liontos, 1992).

Barriers that have been artificially constructed by parents can exist also. Feelings of inadequacy, failure, poor self-worth, suspicion or anger at the school can create such barriers. Some parents have a "leave it to the school" attitude; others have logistical problems; and some have economic, emotional or time constraints to handle (Liontos, 1992).

There are also cultural and language barriers to parental involvement (Liontos, 1992). Some Asian parents may feel that it is disrespectful, for example, to talk to teachers because it looks like they are checking up on them (Yao, 1988). Minority parents also may feel intimidated and awkward when approaching school staff. Many times, minority parents are not invited to participate in involvement activities (Chavkin, 1989).

Parental preferences are not necessarily what school people think they are. Parents do not like to deal with school staff who are overly businesslike, who appear patronizing or who talk down to them (Lindle, 1989). Problems at school also can become a barrier. For example, it has been found that parents who become aware of problems or opportunities when it is too late to act upon them tend to blame the school (Coulombe, 1995).

Disagreements or problems between teachers and students are unavoidable. Lindle (1989) has found that when parents find out about these skirmishes between students and teachers with no information from the teacher, they become angry and are slow to forget. Specific behaviors on the part of school staff may annoy or unnecessarily irritate parents. Teacher-parent disagreements have been found to increase with the seniority, training and formality of the teacher (Wagenaar, 1986 in Lindle, 1989).

It is important to remember when making efforts to increase the level of parent involvement that parents should not be thought of as deficient. Parents should be pulled into the process of attaining goals related to school success. A philosophy of parent involvement should be developed and an array of activities should be designed to bring parents and teachers together. Finally, it is important to have activities designed specifically for involving hard-to-reach parents (Swap, 1990).

Increasing the Level of Parent Involvement

Ample information exists about how to increase levels of parental involvement. Successful parent involvement programs have been investigated systematically by a number of researchers. Jackson and Cooper (1992) have identified 10 factors that seem central to successful urban programs when examining New York City high school projects:

1. leadership,
2. accessibility,
3. time,
4. cultural awareness,
5. active teacher roles,
6. continuity,
7. public recognition,
8. broad-based support,
9. adolescent focus, and
10. recognition of parents as people.

1. written policies,
2. administrative support,
3. training,
4. a partnership approach,
5. two-way communication,
6. networking, and
7. evaluation.

1. flood them with information,
2. make it a school-wide effort,
3. recognize students and parents,
4. involve students in recruiting parents,
5. conduct participatory projects that include the entire family,
6. recruit community members,
7. make the classrooms and the school a comfortable place,
8. use the telephone as an instrument of good news,
9. find out why parents are not involved,
10. have a variety of event scheduling plans,
11. operate a parent hotline,
12. use community members to endorse the program,
13. videotape programs for parents, and
14. provide support services like babysitting.

• develop a policy for parental involvement,
• make sure that at least one person in the building knows every child well,
• maintain a friendly school office,
• encourage parent-to-parent communication,
• hire a full-time parent contact person,
• have a parent room in the school building,
• determine and meet family needs for services, and
• provide translation services when appropriate.

Schurr has offered additional advice in the form of "sixteen proven parent involvement strategies" (1992, pp. 4-9). She suggests that schools:

1. involve parents in mutual goal setting, contracting and evaluating;
2. involve parents in assessment of school policies, practices and rituals;
3. open a parent lounge, center or resource room;
4. develop public information displays, public service messages and work site seminars;
5. develop a parent handbook of guidelines and tips;
6. hold a weekend or evening public information fair;
7. have a parent and student exchange day;
8. award extra academic credit for parent involvement;
9. have an old-fashioned family night at school;
10. develop a schoolwide communications plan;
11. keep parent/teacher dialog journals for communication;
12. engage in official parent proclamation efforts;
13. assemble monthly home achievement packets;
14. conduct home visits for a special bond;
15. enact a schoolwide homework policy; and
16. have a meet and greet program for involvement.

Parents want to be equal partners in the education process (Lindle, 1989). Also, parents do like schools providing activities for them. They also like it when the needs of working parents are acknowledged. Parents like it when parent-teacher conferences are arranged around work schedules, but they truly do not care for the conferences themselves due to the formality and limited time typically allotted (Lindle, 1989). Parents who perceive that they are receiving frequent and positive messages from teachers demonstrate a tendency to get more involved in their children's education than do parents who do not perceive that they are receiving such communication (Ames, Khoju and Watkins, 1993).

A strong element of effective parental involvement is communication between parents and teachers. For the most part, parents seem to prefer informal relationships with their children's teachers (Lindle, 1989). They prefer informal, regular contacts through notes and phone calls. They appreciate teachers who take the time to find out about their perspectives. In fact, parents report that a "personal touch" is the most enhancing factor in school relations (Lindle, 1989, p. 13). Clark (1988; in Chavkin, 1989) further suggests that schools should give parents information that is factual and empowering, along with strategies for supporting the learning of their children.

Training in parental involvement has been found to be important for teachers, but many do not receive this benefit (Dornbusch and Gray, 1988). In fact, only about half of the states in the nation have parent involvement requirements for teacher certification (Radcliffe et al., 1994; in ED, 1994). Training academies that address effective parental involvement would benefit school board members as well as teachers and school administrators (Haddock, 1994).

A number of researchers have identified ways to strengthen parental involvement. Comer (1986; in Flaxman and Inger, 1992) suggested that: parents be involved in school management teams, schools develop workshops and tutoring programs, school-parent teams plan a social calendar, and parents serve as classroom assistants. Other suggestions for strengthening parent involvement programs include having convenient meeting times and providing competent volunteers to help children with school work during meetings (Bartell, 1992).

An important fact to keep in mind when attempting to strengthen a parent involvement program is that it may take considerable effort to get low income parents involved (Johnson, 1991). Here are some suggestions that have been made to overcome such barriers (p. 6):

• have regular meetings to discuss homework, behavior and curriculum;
• conduct special parenting skills seminars;
• help parents reinforce reading and math skills in children;
• teach parents how to help kids with home study;
• encourage parent volunteerism;
• encourage parents to become educated themselves;
• make opportunities for students and parents to learn together; and
• offer community education classes to get parents to come to the school.

Even though involvement programs have unique qualities, commonalities do exist in effective programs. Fruchter, Galletta and White (1992) examined 18 parental involvement programs for common characteristics. These 18 programs shared the following characteristics:

• strong commitment to involve low-income and disadvantaged parents in activities to improve student achievement;
• origins and sponsorship by external institutions including evaluation;
• significant public sector and private sector support;
• commitment to reduce the gap between home and school cultures; and
• parent empowerment.

Parents can be an important resource to schools if used wisely (Weisz, 1990). Common themes appear in much of the research. Lists of suggestions hold many things in common: parent rooms, communication, parenting workshops and activities. Mentioned less often are the roles of parents as advocates and decision makers. It is also important to expand what it means to be a volunteer beyond traditional boundaries. With this in mind, more parents can then be recognized for their contributions to the education of children.

Conclusion

Schools are under increasing pressure due to decreasing resources, increasing needs of children and the demands of the 21st century. They cannot do the big job of preparing our most precious resource for the future alone. It is important, therefore, to take advantage of the resource of those most interested in children--their parents--in new and innovative ways. The Checklist for Improving Parental Involvement is based on a synthesis of the strategies and practices reviewed in this article. It is provided as a tool for schools to use to review their current parental involvement practices and to identify areas in which they wish to increase their efforts. The items in it are meant to be a general guide, not an inclusive list. Each school will have to make determinations about which strategies for involving parents are best for its context.

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