Running head: Parental Involvement 1

Overall effectiveness of Parental Involvement Strageties

Dominique Thomas
University of St. Thomas

Parental Involvement 2
Overall effectiveness of Parental Involvement Strageties
Eighty-six percent of the general public believes that support from parents is the most
important way to improve schools. Lack of parental involvement is the biggest problem facing
public schools. The most accurate predictor of students achievement in school is not income or
social status, but the extent to which the students family is able to encourage learning, express
high expectations for student achievement and become involved in their childs education
(Henderson, 1994, pg.15). Decades of research show that when parents are involved students
education by using parental involvement strageties have: higher grades, test scores, and
graduation rates; better school attendance and increase motivation and better self-esteem
(Cotton).
Parental Involvement Strategies
There are many ways parents can be involved in their childs education. Families whose
children are doing well in school exhibit the certain strategies. Establishing a daily family routine
is one of the many ways parents can become involved. This includes providing time and a quiet
place to study, assigning responsibility for household chores, being firm about bedtime and
having dinner together. Parents should model the value of learning, self-discipline, and hard
work. This would include communicating through questioning and conversation, demonstrating
that achievement comes from working hard. Parents need to express high but realistic
expectations for achievement by setting goals and standards that are appropriate for children's
age and maturity, recognizing and encouraging special talents, informing friends and family
about successes. Parents can also encourage children's progress in school by maintaining a warm
and supportive home, showing interest in children's progress at school, helping with homework,
discussing the value of a good education and possible career options, staying in touch with

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teachers and school staff. All these strategies are characteristics for families whose children
success in school.
Meta-Analysis
A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall effects of parental involvement
strageties on K-12 students academic achievement and to determine which expression of
parental involvement are beneficial to children (Jeynes, 2005). The meta-analysis drew from 77
studies, comprising over 300,000 students. Of the 77 studies, 36 included data only from
secondary schools, 25 consisted of data only from elementary schools, and 16 possessed data for
both elementary and secondary schools. The results of the meta-analysis indicate that parental
involvement is associated with higher student achievement outcomes. These findings emerged
consistently whether the outcome measures were grades, standardized test scores, or a variety of
other measures, including teacher ratings. This trend holds not only for parental involvement
overall but for most components of parental involvement that were examined in the metaanalysis (Jeynes, 2005).
Results
The result of the study are very impressive. The results are fairly substantial and support
the belief that parental involvement has a significant impact across various populations. Also, not
only does voluntary parental involvement have an influence, but parental programs do as well.
Schools should adopt strategies to enhance parental engagement in their children's schooling
(Jeynes, 2005). The most effective forms of parent involvement are those, which engage parents
in working directly with their children on learning activities at home. Family participation in
education was twice as predictive of students academic success as family socioeconomic status
(Walberg, 1984). Teachers, principals, and school counselors should familiarize themselves with

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the facets of parental involvement that can help the most, so that they can guide parents on what
steps they can take to become more involved. These include time-intensive parental involvement
activities such as reading to one's children and communicating with them, and subtle
involvement activities like parental style and expectations. Given the substantial influence of
parental involvement, educators should encourage parents to become more involved in their
children's schooling (Jeynes, 2005). The result indicate parental expectations has the greatest
influence. The effect sizes for parental style and reading with one's child were smaller than for
either parental expectations, but they also had very consistent influences across the studies.
Parent involvement programs also influenced educational outcomes, although to a lesser degree
than preexisting expressions of parental support (Jeynes, 2005). Reading and communicating
with the child, and parental style and expectations, had a greater impact on student educational
success than some of the more demonstrative aspects of parental involvement, such as parental
attendance and participation at school functions.
The consequences of low parental involvement will continue to impact student
performance. The need for parental involvement has become more urgent for students. Parental
involvement strategies must be implemented in order to increase grades, test scores, and
graduation rates; better school attendance and increase motivation and better self-esteem. When
using the appropriate strategies students success has been proven to rise. Awareness of ways
parents can be involved can be beneficial to students, districts and parents.

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References

Cotton, K., & Wikelund, K. (n.d.). In Parent Involvement in Education. Northwest Regional
Education Laboratory.
Henderson, A. (1994). Introduction. In A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to
student achievement (p. 15). Columbia, Md.: National Committee for Citizens in
Education.
Jeynes, W. (2005). A Meta-Analysis Of The Relation Of Parental Involvement To Urban
Elementary School Student Academic Achievement. Urban Education, 237-269.
Walberg, H. (1984). Families as Partners in Educational Productivity. 65, 397-400.