The purpose of this study was to identify common themes about parental involvement as reflected in the perceptions/opinions of parents and administrators who are part of an urban public school district. The premise being, if we can identify key themes/practices that articulate what parents/administrators believe contribute to positive parental involvement to support student achievement, then we can define what parental involvement in the urban high school is and delineate what it might look like.
Of the 414 surveys distributed to administrators/parents in grades 9-12, 13 (100%) administrators and 178 (45%) parents returned surveys from four target high schools. The instrument had two sections: the Parents As Partners Survey (PAPS) and a short demographic survey. The PAPS was adapted from the High School and Family Partnerships: Surveys and Summaries (Epstein, Connors, Salinas, 1993). The instrument used three of Epstein's six types of parental involvement--Communicating, Volunteering, and Decision-Making. This study posed five research questions. Research question 1, used one-sample t-tests to determine the mean responses to subscales measuring parent involvement and the extent to which parents/administrators shared the same or similar perceptions of parent involvement. Overall, the mean scores of administrators were more positive than the mean scores of parents. Research question 2, used subscale means to align parent/administrator subscales where possible, create central themes/labels to identify shared positive perceptions, and look for the intersection of their subscales. The data suggested six subscales where parents and administrators shared positive perceptions of parent involvement. The means of ten subscales (parent survey) were correlated with the independent variables (personal/professional characteristics) using Pearson product moment correlations in Research question 3. Four dependent subscales correlated to at least two independent variables and entered the multiple linear regression analysis. Current parent practices in parental participation were summarized in Research question 4. The findings indicated parents participated in school activities an average of 1-2 times per year. Research question 5 summarized current administrator practices to promote positive parent involvement. These findings indicated that administrators came in contact with their parents predominantly at parent-teacher conferences, special school/athletic events, and daily/weekly personal contacts regarding their student's academic/behavioral progress.
