Northwestern College, Iowa

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Master's Theses & Capstone Projects Education

Spring 2021

Parental Involvement in Education

Molly Schnekloth
Northwestern College - Orange City

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Running head: Parental Involvement in Education 1

Parental Involvement in Education

Molly Schnekloth

Northwestern College

A Literature Review Presented

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Master of Education

Parental Involvement in Education 2

Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4

Review of Literature…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7

Parental Involvement by Cultural group…………………………………….………………………………………......7

ELL families…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7

Latino families……………………………………………………………………………………………………………9

Chinese families………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14

Parental Involvement in Early Childhood……………………………………………………………………………….15

Parental Involvement in Elementary Education……………………………………………………………………..16

Parental Involvement in Secondary Education……………………………………………………………………….18

Parental Involvement effects on Social Development…………………………………………………………….20

Parental Involvement effects on Cognitive Development……………………………………………………….21

Parental Involvement with Academic Success………………………………………………………………………..22

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..23

References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….25
Parental Involvement in Education 3

Abstract

Parental involvement in children’s education is important for academic success. Parental

involvement can have effects on a child’s social development, cognitive development, and

behaviors in the classroom. It is important to have parental involvement at home and at school.

Teachers are looking at ways they can involve parents more within their child’s education, and

what barriers may cause parents to be less involved or seem to not be involved. This literature

review examines research has been conducted on parental involvement in early childhood,

elementary and secondary levels of education, parental involvement in different families and

their background, and how parental involvement effects social development, cognitive

development, and academic success.

Parental Involvement in Education 4

Introduction
Parental Involvement in Schools
Parental involvement in a child’s education is important. Parental involvement typically

involves parents’ behaviors in home and school settings meant to support their child’s

educational progress (Nokali, Bachman & Votruba-Drzal, 2010). Measures of parental

involvement commonly include the quality and frequency of communication with teachers as

well as participation in school functions and activities (Nokali, Bachman & Votruba-Drzal,

2010). A report by Herrold and O’Donnell (2008) from the National Center for Education

Statistics found more than 90% of parents of elementary school children reported attending

general school meetings, like those for the PTA or PTO, as well as participating in regularly

scheduled parent teacher meetings throughout the year. Roughly 80% of parents in the sample

reported attending school events and about 60% reported volunteering in the classroom (Nokali,

Bachman & Votruba-Drzal, 2010). Parental involvement is encouraged by teachers, child-care

providers, policy makers, parents and researchers. Additionally, parental involvement is a key

component of early childhood education programs, such as Head Start. These programs

encourage parental involvement by inviting parents to participate in activities at school and

facilitating parent-teacher communication. (Nokali, Bachman & Votruba-Drzal, 2010). Parental

involvement improves students’ academic success. Further examination of the issues of parental

involvement during intermediate years may yield as useful information as parents and teachers

work together to increase the probability of children’s success in school. Although there are still

challenges need to be faced, parental involvement holds the potential for significant rewards.

(Brock, S., & Edmunds, A. L. 2010)

Parental Involvement in Education 5

The problem faced by educators and administrators is to determine which types of

parental involvement are meaningful. Research has reported parental involvement in their

children’s education enhances social skills and academic competence among school-age children

(Nokali, Bachman & Votruba-Drzal, 2010) and has a greater positive effect on preschool

children’s learning and development (Galindo & Sheldon, 2012; Sheridan, Knoche, Edwards,

Bovaird & Kupzyk, 2010). Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler identified three psychological

constructs to be vital to parents’ basic involvement decisions: (a) Role construction - parent

understanding of educational responsibilities (b) Self-efficacy - parent competency navigating

their child’s success and (c) General invitations and opportunities for involvement - parent

perception the child and school want them involved. Further, the researchers identified three

contextual constructs influence parents’ choice of specific forms of involvement: Parents’

knowledge and skills, time and energy, and specific invitations from the child and the school

(Zhang, 2015). Certain types of parental involvement are considered by some researchers to be

“ineffectual” and “meaningless.” An example would be, “Asking family members to engage in

tasks such as cutting fruit or covering books, often in isolation from the children, does encourage

families to return and does not build partnership between educators, families and children.”

(Zhang, 2015) The National Educational Longitudinal Study found parents’ involvement in

school-related activities at home had a particularly strong effect on students’ academic

achievement. (Brock & Edmunds, 2010) According to the findings of The Effective Provision

of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project, a good quality Early Childhood Education (ECE)

combined with home learning positively affects children’s social and cognitive development

(Martin, 2013) Two of the most effective ways to involve parents are as follows; A curriculum

includes the parents in the decision-making process makes a positive difference in a child’s
Parental Involvement in Education 6

intellectual gains, and the results also show children who receive parental support in their

education tend to need less special education. The effects of parental involvement are interactive,

which means, while it affects a child’s learning and development, it is also affected by this

positive change (Martin et al., 2013). Since the family plays a significant role in the child’s

cognitive, emotional and social development, and collaborative work with parents has such an

important effect on children’s academic success, there should be a well-established cooperation

between the school and the family.

The purpose of this literature review is to take a deeper look at how meaningful parental

involvement affects children’s academic success. Research clearly indicates student

achievement is maximized through parental involvement. This literature review will examine

parental involvement in education and how it affects students’ academic success. The literature

review analyzes how parental involvement is changes within grade levels and ethnic groups.

Research about how parental involvement in a child’s education affects social-emotional

development and cognitive development will be shared. Barriers to and opportunities for parents

connecting with school stakeholders will be addressed.

All articles for this literature review are peer reviewed and current within the last 10

years. The review will begin by analyzing parental involvement in the ELL, Latino, and Chinese

families. The effects of parental involvement in early childhood, elementary students, secondary

students will then be examined. Additionally, research will be evaluated addresses how parental

involvement affects social-emotional development, cognitive development, and academic

success.

Review of the Literature

Parental Involvement by Cultural Group
Parental Involvement in Education 7

ELL families

“As educators, we expect parental involvement with the schooling of their children to

be important to students’ success; however, we often know little or nothing about who the

parents are and the realities of their own education.” “As part of a larger study, the stories of

two parents from two different families were invited to participate in this study.”

Understanding the roles of social and family factors influencing second language literacy and

language development is pertinent to this study (Panferov, 2010). Two families were invited to

participate in this study because their children would be considered ELL students. The Pavlov

family was invited to participate because of their strong Russian sociocultural affinity for

literacy and the value of schooling. The Omar family was invited due to the rapid rates of

migration to the region by Somalis, as well as previous familiarity (Panferov, 2010). The study

was to understand what home literacy practices and family expectations for and about school

might best engage ELL parents and consequently. Panferov explored the qualities of literacy

practiced in Pavlov and Omar homes and issues, specific to parent-child and parent-school

interactions.

Second language literacy seems to hinge on three main opportunities: Access to books

and/or technology, structured study time, and regular reading and writing exposure. The

Pavlov’s provided their daughters with lots of books and texts both in Russian and in English, as

well as computer access to the Internet, whereas the only reading material found readily in the

Omar home were scattered mailings and magazines (Panferov, 2010). Schools successfully help

ELL parents navigate school challenges offer both two-way communications and parental

guidance for effecting positive home support of school pursuits. In 2010 an evaluation of the
Parental Involvement in Education 8

program “Moorabool Best Start Partnership,” the Moorabool Literacy Trails was first

established in 2006 to promote and nurture children’s awareness of literacy and numeracy, and

to encourage active participation in the Trails by facilitating local community involvement

(Ollerenshaw, 2012). The idea behind the establishment of the Literacy Trails, is to further

promote literacy and numeracy for children by utilizing the local resources available to them.

An impact evaluation was chosen for this research given the focus is on the program’s

immediate effects in addressing its objectives. The evaluation included the collection of

qualitative and quantitative data using a range of tools: Questionnaires, interviews, focus group

feedback; analysis of previous program evaluation data, and analysis of anecdotal information.

A total of 45 individuals provided feedback for this impact evaluation (Ollerenshaw, 2012). For

many parents who responded to the Likert scale questions, the Literacy Trails was found to be

an important event for promoting a greater awareness and understanding of literacy and

numeracy in their children and for those in the community. The impact of the evaluation had

helped identify factors have contributed to the success and growth of the project.

The research of Jacqueline Lynch (2010) examined print literacy engagement in the

homes and families of low socioeconomic status backgrounds and found families most

stereotyped as not engaging in print literacy activities reported and were observed engaging in

print literacy activities in the home. For example, many families reported engaging in

storybook sharing with children, reading the alphabet, messages, and labels to children, as well

as writing the alphabet and messages. In the larger study, 72 kindergarten teachers in an urban

area in central Canada participated. Kindergarten teachers taught 5-year-old children in half-

day programs. There were 110 questionnaires mailed randomly to selected kindergarten
Parental Involvement in Education 9

teachers in the two boards, and 72 were completed. The questionnaire was used to record

teachers’ beliefs about students’ print literacy knowledge and their beliefs about parental

involvement with children in print literacy activities. Differences were found in the type of print

literacy knowledge teachers’ believed children had, both at the beginning and at the end of

kindergarten based on SES. There were significant differences in teachers’ beliefs about the

following: Children’s knowledge of the sounds of the alphabetic letters both at the beginning

and end of kindergarten, children’s knowledge people read print from top to bottom, and

children’s ability to identify a capital letter. Many teachers in this study made comments about

the important role of parents in supporting children’s early literacy development (Lynch, 2010).

Latino Families

“Parental involvement is an important component of children’s school success” (Durand

& Perez, 2013, pg. 49). Although the literature on parental involvement among Latino families

is growing and moving from deficit-based perspectives, very few studies have examined

parental involvement beliefs and practices of Latino families who vary across demographic and

sociocultural lines within the same school community (Durand & Perez, 2013). As the United

States continues to fulfill its destiny as a nation of immigrants, schools have attempted to

incorporate the voices of diverse groups of parents in ways support children’s learning and

development, as evidenced by collaborations with parent organizations such as ACORN and the

National PTA (Weiss, 2008).

Despite this, parental involvement and engagement among Latinos, the largest ethnic

minority group in the U.S., has often been widely misunderstood and framed within a deficit
Parental Involvement in Education 10

perspective characterizes this group as “uninvolved” or “unwilling,” carrying with it the

implication Latino parents do not actively invest in their children’s educational outcomes

(Durand & Perez, 2013). It seems disadvantaged students who are part of low-income and

single-parent families are the ones who are most affected. Other groups of parents who are

not highly involved in their child’s schooling are minority groups, perhaps because of their

limited ability to communicate with the school because of language barriers, inability to

understand school rules and regulations, and the constant struggle with their own cultural

background (Adamski, Fraser & Perio, 2013). This seems to hold true for many Hispanic or

Latino parents whose cultural beliefs are quite different from those of American parents, and

who often view parental involvement as a sign of disrespect and intrusion. Therefore, they

participate less in their child’s schooling. This was an important issue for this research study

because of their sample consisted of Spanish-speaking students of Hispanic descent in the USA

(Adamski, Fraser & Peiro, 2013).

The study was conducted in a school in Miami South Beah, Florida where 800 students

encompass 40 nationalities, with Hispanics representing 79% of the student population. The

sample in the study consisted of 223 grade 4-6 students in nine Spanish-for-Spanish speakers’

class in one elementary school. Each of these 223 students completed the modified Spanish

version of the WIHIC, TOSRA-L, and Parental Involvement questionnaires, and the Spanish

achievement test (Adamski, Fraser & Peiro, 2013). When associations between parental

involvement in schooling and classroom environment perceptions, and attitudes towards

Spanish and Spanish achievement were explored, positive and statistically significant

associations existed between students’ perceptions of parental involvement and the Spanish
Parental Involvement in Education 11

classroom environment. These findings add to already-existing knowledge about the strong link

between parental involvement and student performance in school (Adamski, Fraser & Peiro,

2013).

Durand & Perez (2013) conducted a study at a public, preK-8 school serves

approximately 400 children in an urban city in the Northeast. Approximately 91% of the

children enrolled are of diverse Latino origin. Participants were 12 parents of preschool and

kindergarten (10 preschool, two kindergarten) children who were enrolled full time at school.

Ten participants were women, and two were men. Parents were of diverse Latino origin; five

reported their ethnicity as Dominican, three Puerto Rican, two Salvadorian, and two reported

Latino/multiethnic. Most parents were born outside of the continental U.S. (Durand & Perez,

2013). The qualitative study explored Latino parents’ beliefs about children’s education, their

involvement and advocacy beliefs and practices, and their perceptions of feeling welcome at

their children’s school. As a result of this study, it was concluded Latino families across the

demographic spectrum highly value education, which should be encouraging for schools and

teachers and help diminish the perception Latino families are not invested in children’s

schooling (Durand & Peres, 2013).

As well, being knowledgeable about cultural values such as education and family life

among Latino families can help educators to build on children’s home cultures and experiences

and to interpret parents’ actions with a more informed, less value-laden point of view (Durand

& Perex, 2013). Latino parental involvement within a strengths-based perspective requires

educators and practitioners become familiar with the cultural beliefs, socialization practices,

and varied forms of cultural and social capital diverse groups of Latino parents activate to
Parental Involvement in Education 12

support their children’s learning if these professionals truly seek to forge meaningful, successful

partnerships with such families (Durand & Perez, 2013).

Similar findings were found by Hakeyemez (2015) when researching parental

involvement, and how it plays a significant role in children’s academic achievement as well as

cognitive development, and social/emotional development. A total of 113 early childhood

educators working participated in this research in 2012. The data was collected in two waves.

In the first wave, after reaching 30 participants, the questionnaires were sent via email. The

response was low (20%); therefore, the distribution method was changed, and the

questionnaires were distributed by hand. Thirty randomly chosen schools were visited, and the

research was explained to the administrators (Hakeyemez, 2015) The main goal was to

investigate the viewpoints of early childhood educators towards parental involvement and their

usage of parental involvement types, which are specified in this piece of work as

communication, involving parents as volunteers, using home support, and involving parents in

the decision-making process. The findings showed early childhood educators have a positive

attitude towards parental involvement, and they admit the importance of it in education. Item-

based analysis shows they believe parents, teachers and principals have quite equal

responsibility when establishing a connection between school and home (Hakyemez, 2015).

Chinese Families

In the study by Lau (2016), Chinese fathers were examined on their direct interaction or

engagement in children’s education both at home and in preschool during early childhood years

using a Hong Kong sample in two studies. In Study 1, comparisons between father and mother
Parental Involvement in Education 13

involvement practices and examination of the associations between family background

variables and father involvement as well as father involvement and school readiness were

conducted. In Study 2, father and teacher focus-group interviews were conducted to explore

fathers’ and teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning father involvement. In Study 1, all

children attending upper kindergarten class and their families in the six participating

kindergartens were invited to participate in this study. A total of 129 families agreed to

participate, with a 76% response rate. In Study 2, each of the six participating kindergartens,

one teacher and one father of a child in each grade (lower, middle, and upper kindergarten)

were invited to participate in the teacher and father focus groups. The focus-group interviews

were conducted with 17 fathers and 18 teachers. The focus-group interviews revealed the

teachers and fathers shared similar perceptions of paternal involvement, especially the

importance of fathering in early years to children’s learning development (Lau, 2016).

Similar findings were seen a study by Verissimo (2014) when researching the effects of

father involvement and developmental outcomes. Father engagement with the child implies

interactions and relationships, and hence there are complex effects between the type of father

engagement and the child characteristics. “The amount and type of father investment varies

with different developmental stages of the child” (Verissimo, 2014). Participants in this study

were the parents and the teachers of 295 children, drawn from a Portuguese convenience

sample of 26 day-care preschools. All families participating were resident-father families and of

European descent. The study showed there were significant differences in father involvement

related to the occupational status of both parents: Fathers were significantly more involved in

the domain of direct care when the mother was employed full time or part time, then when she
Parental Involvement in Education 14

was non-employed. Father involvement at the preschool age has significantly different effects

for girls and boys (Verissimo, 2014).

The research of Hohmann-Marriott (2011) compares to the two previously discussed

studies. This study examines the association of coparenting with father involvement in the

context of the couple’s relationship. “Fathers may be more involved when they have a

cooperative coparenting relationship with the child’s mother” (Hohmann-Marriott, 2011).

Increasing numbers of children are being born to unmarried parents, with nonmartial

childbearing in 2005 representing 36.8% of U.S. births, or more than 1.5 million births, an

increase of 12% over 2002. In this study, key aspects of coparenting and father involvement

were examined in both married and unmarried coresident couples with young children using

the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). The data included a

representative sample of new parents; both mothers and fathers were asked questions about

their relationship and coparenting, and fathers were asked about their involvement. Overall,

tests for differences between union types indicated unmarried, cohabitating parents showed

the highest levels of father involvement and married parents the lowest (Hohmann-Marriott,

2011). Strong relationships, cooperative coparenting, and involved fathers can all benefit

children and their families. Programs, policy, and practitioners aiming to promote these

qualities can target the unique strengths of couples. In the study by Hilado, Kallemeyn, Leow,

Lundy & Israel (2011), the Evaluation conducted a statewide web-survey of Prekindergarten for

At-Risk Children (PreK) and Preschool for ALL (PFA), two types of preschool programs targeting

young children at-risk for school failure. The survey was completed by PreK and PFA program

administrators and provided an in-depth programmatic view of programs serving children ages
Parental Involvement in Education 15

3-5 and their families. The information included child, family, and staff characteristics,

information about program curriculum, social resources and referrals offered by the program,

parent involvement levels, and screening/assessment tools used by the program. 843 out of

914 statewide surveys were completed.

The study showed high quality early childhood programs can support academic learning

and child and family welfare. The educational environment, the emphasis placed on parental

environment, and the social resources provided by early childhood programs can be valuable

supports to children and families facing challenging circumstances (Hilado, Kallemeyn, Leow,

Lundy & Israel, 2011).

Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

In the study by Cohen, Schunke, Vogel, and Anders (2020), the study examines the

longitudinal effects at attending further educational services for children after completing

formats on: Parents attending further educational services for children after completing the

program, children’s vocabulary and level of grammar development at the age of 5, and the

children’s vocabulary development between the ages of 3 and 5. The sample size of the study

was 121 parents and their children at the intervention group and 41 parents and their children

in the comparison group. Findings indicate that attendance of the Chancenreich program’s

courses is related to child and family characteristics and to later patterns of course participation

after completing the program. Further, both children’s level of vocabulary skills at the age of 5

and their development between the ages of 3 and 5 benefit from the parental participation in

parenting skills training at the age of 3.

Parental Involvement in Education 16

The research of Nitecki (2015) also examined the high level of quality of family

involvement in a preschool program. The study employs an inductive qualitative approach,

including observation and interviews. Interviews of 3 teachers and 18 parents were conducted.

The focus of the interview was the parents’ perceptions of their experiences at Millcreek

school, specifically their role as partners in their child’s education. Classroom observation

occurred 48 times, including drop-off and pick-up interactions. In addition, observation

included 12 family events, meetings outside of school hours, and two meetings at the public

school district. The case study revealed three major themes: Multidimensional relationships

occurred across all six components of Epstein’s (2001) framework for school-family-community

partnerships, creating a welcoming environment was essential to the development of the

relationship, and enhancing parents’ cognitions about preschool education and their role in the

child’s learning resulted in the buy-in necessary for a true partnership (Nitecki, 2015).

Parental Involvement in Elementary Education

“Parental involvement not only makes children aware of parental expectations for

schooling, but also facilitates children’s learning and engagement in school by sustaining

students’ learning interests across contexts” (Wong, Ho, Wong, Tung. Chow, Rao, Chan, and Ip,

2018, pg. 1545). This study used the data collected in the Primary School phase of a

longitudinal cohort study of Chinese children recruited from randomly selected kindergartens in

Hong Kong in 2012 spring. The original cohort study aimed to examine the differences in school

readiness between children from low-income families and those from high-income families in

Hong Kong. In the year 2015, when most children in the cohort study reached 8 years of age

and were studying in the first semester of Grade 3, the research team invited all families who
Parental Involvement in Education 17

participated in the Kindergarten phase with agreement given to be followed up to take part in

this study. Parents who expressed an interest to join the study received a formal consent form

with an information sheet about the study, a set of questionnaires, and an addressed return

envelope with postage paid. All questionnaires were self-administered. The study recruited a

total of 507 children. The study found home-based parental involvement was associated with

children’s language competence and psychological wellbeing.

Similar findings uncovered by Nokali, Bachman & Votruba-Drzal (2010) parental

involvement bridges two key contexts in children’s early development, namely, the home and

school settings. The aim of the current study is to extend past research by examining within-

and between-child associations among parental involvement and academic and socioemotional

trajectories during elementary school. Data from this study was drawn from the National

Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth

Development, an ongoing longitudinal, multi-method study of 1,364 children and their primary

caregivers from 10 U.S. data collection sites. Data from birth to 5th grade were utilized in this

study. Females comprised 52% of the sample and 78% of the children were non-Hispanic

White. The findings of this study suggest parents continue to have considerable amount of

influence on children’s development as children progress through school. The research of

Skaliotis (2010) challenges the assumption individual parent’s levels of involvement are fixed

and explores characteristics of parents who do change their degree of involvement.

Parental Involvement in Education 18

Parental Involvement in Secondary Education

In the study by Skaliotis (201), research has shown over time, at a population level,

parents have become more involved in their children’s education, with a shift away from seeing

a child’s education as mainly or wholly the responsibility of schools, to seeing it as the joint

responsibility of schools and parents. The LSYPE began following a sample of 15,770 young

people ages between 13 and 14 in 2004, with the aim of understanding the transitions between

secondary school and further education, training or the workplace.

The sample used in this study includes data from 10,515 young people and their main

parent matching the following criteria: They participated in the first and third waves (2004 and

2006), i.e., ages 13/14 and 15/16; the same parent, either the mother or father, was reported

as the main parent in both waves; and the parents specified how involved they felt in the young

person’s school life in waves one and three. The final sample included 85% of the sample

participated in waves one and three. Of the respondents, 80% counted as the main parent

were the young person’s mother. The sample was evenly split between boys and girls

(Skaliotis). The mean level of involvement increased over time for all parents and there were

minimal differences between boys and girls.

Fathers were significantly more likely to report they were involved and mothers

significantly more likely to report they were not involved at both ages. The analysis gives a

clear indication the attitudes and behavior of the young person are associated with changes in

involvement for both parents. The analyses suggest initiatives targeting adolescents’ attitudes

and their parents’ attitudes to schooling, and how parents can help adolescents with their
Parental Involvement in Education 19

education, may have more success at increasing maternal involvement. There is evidence the

young person’s behavior in more important in predicting changes in father’s involvement over

time than mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in schooling, further analysis needs to be

undertaken to explore other factors influence why 48% of fathers changes their reported

involvement over the two-year period (Skaliotis, 2010). This study clearly shows levels of

parental involvement are variable over time and attitudinal and behavioral variables,

particularly those of the young person and mother, as well as certain family background

variables, are strongly associated with the levels of involvement in children’s education

(Skaliotis, 2010).

The research of Ballard, Chappell, Johnson, and Ngassam (2013), aimed to investigate

middle-class parental involvement during the summertime. The four sets of parents

participating in this multiple case study was made up of 8 participants. The time frame used to

conduct interviews and observations was very brief due to the time of the year as well as the

availability of the participants. The children in the middle-class families were involved in

activities that could be loosely classified as life skills, sports, academics, artistic, and faith based.

After analyzing the data, 3 out of 4 parent sets believed strongly summer was a time for

children to have fun, and academic enrichment activities were not a priority. The other set of

parents’ homes schooled their child, and a strong feeling about family-oriented activities was

conveyed. These findings are consistent with much of the research in relation to middle-class

families and the activities they provide and are involved in with their children in the summer

(Ballard, Chappell, Johnson, and Ngassam, 2013).

Parental Involvement in Education 20

Parental Involvement effects on Social Development

In a study by Nokali, Bachman, and Votruba-Drzal (2010), socioemotional development

was assessed during first, third, and fifth grades using two standardized measures. Parents

completed the Child Behavior Checklist, and teachers completed the Teacher Report Form, a

slightly modified version of the CBCL, to measure children’s social competence and behavior

problems. Early ratings from the 54-month time of social skills and problem behaviors were

included in the between-child analyses when predicting later problem behaviors. In first, third,

and fifth grades, parents and teachers also completed the Social Skills Rating System, which

comprised two subscales examining children’s social skills and academic competence. Reports

showed within-child changes in mother-reported parent involvement predicting within-child

changes in parent-and-teacher reported social skills and problem behaviors during elementary

school. Within-child increases in parent involvement across elementary school were related to

improvements in teacher-reported social skills.

The research of Baker (2017) also talks about social-emotional development, and how

parental involvement effects it. Father warmth and home learning stimulation also predicted

better social emotional skills. Fathers who engaged in more warmth had sons with higher

attention scored and fewer negative behaviors and fathers who engaged in more homes

learning stimulation has sons with higher engagement scores. Although more research is

needed, it is possible fathers who engage in more frequent home learning stimulation advance

their children’s social emotional skills by modeling, teaching, and reinforcing positive behaviors

in the context of home-based communication and learning activities.

Parental Involvement in Education 21

Parental Involvement effects of Cognitive Development

In the study by Baker (2017), preschool reading and math scores were measure using

individually administered tests lasted approximately 35 minutes for each child. The reading test

assessed children’s reading skills in six specific areas: English language skills/oral language,

phonological awareness, letter/word sound knowledge, print conventions, word recognition,

and vocabulary. The math test assessed children’s math skills in four specific areas: number

sense, properties, and operation skills, measurement which involved understanding attributes,

simple identification of geometric shapes to transformations, and combinations of those

shapes, patterns, algebra, and functions. The IRT scores were used in this study and ranged

from 0 to 100. In the study, children’s reading scores ranged from 11.65 to 80.69, and

children’s math scores ranged from 9.83 to 65.74.

The research of Lynch (2010) showed emergent literacy skills are important for children

entering elementary school because schools provide an age-graded rather than a skills-graded

curriculum in which early delays are magnified at each additional step. Differences were found

in this study in the type of knowledge teacher believed children had at the beginning and at the

end of kindergarten based on SES, which might suggest differences in instructional goals for

children based on beliefs about children’s knowledge or differences in expectations for them. It

may also be the case children enter school with less school-based literacy knowledge are

accurate.
Parental Involvement in Education 22

Parental Involvement effects on Academic Success

In the study by Nokali, Bachman, and Votruba-Drzal (2010), past research on parental

involvement and children’s academic skills is mixed. Academic achievement was assessed at 54

months (prior to kindergarten entry), and first, third, and fifth grades using three subtests from

the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised, which was administered to

participants in a laboratory setting. Early childhood scores were included as an additional

preventative measure against omitted variable bias. Overall, the between- and within-child

analyses of parental involvement and achievement revealed consistent findings. Greater

engagement in a variety of parental involvement practices was largely unrelated to academic

achievement, and improvements in parental involvement did not predict gains in any of the

standardized achievement measures, except one possibly spurious finding between changes in

teacher-reported parental involvement and decreased reading growth. The study also revealed

small, negative associations between classroom quality and achievement in both the within-

and between-child analyses.

Similar findings in a study by Adamski, Fraser, and Peiro (2011), shows parental

involvement in schooling and classroom environment perceptions, attitudes toward

achievement were positive and statistically significant associations existed between students’

perceptions of parental involvement and the classroom environment. Positive and statistically

significant associations were also found between students’ perceptions of parental involvement

and student outcomes. The distinctive aspect of the study is that Adamski, Fraser, and Peiro,

explored the unique and common influences of classroom environment and home environment

on student outcomes. It was found that the home environment was more influential than the
Parental Involvement in Education 23

classroom environment, but the classroom environment was more influential than the home

environment in terms of achievement.

Conclusion

There is an astounding amount of research on parental involvement in children’s

education is taking place at home and at school, and how parental involvement is important

and contributes to a child’s academic, social development, and cognitive development success.

This literature review has shown percentages of family involvement in different families, and

how it contributes to children’s success in school. It is so beneficial to have the support of

parents in a child’s education. The results of parental involvement research conducted with

early childhood, elementary, and secondary students, and teachers were analyzed for the

effectiveness of parental involvement.

The findings of the literature review revealed parental involvement is effective in a

child’s success in social development, cognitive development, and academic success. A positive

effect of parental involvement was seen across all age groups were examined in this literature

review. From early childhood students to secondary students, parental involvement in all

families was shown to have positive effects on children.

The findings in this literature review correlated with a review of literature research was

conducted in 2015, by Ma, Shen, Krenn, Hu, and Yuan. The research they conducted reported

the relationship between learning outcomes and parental involvement during a unique period

of child development concerning early childhood and early elementary (school) education.

Based on the 100 independent effect sizes (findings) from 46 studies, children’s learning
Parental Involvement in Education 24

outcomes in this meta-analysis are cognitive in nature measuring mainly children’s academic

achievement, and frameworks of parental involvement reflect a macrostructure of parental

involvement built upon family involvement and partnership development (family-school-

community partnership). The findings revealed the role of parents is important (Ma, Shen,

Krenn, Hu, Yuan, 2015).

Further research needs to be conducted on issues of parental involvement with middle

school students. The research may have useful information as parents and teachers work

together to increase the probability of their child’s success in school. Research should also be

conducted on building social connections among families with children and how to forge

connections among parents in disadvantaged school neighborhoods. Conducting more

research in all areas could be beneficial because the research has been conducted has shown

how important parental involvement is across all ages.

Parental Involvement in Education 25

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