A study of the relationship between parental self-efficacy and indicators of school involvement exhibited by Hispanic parents of elementary school children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Hispanic parents' sense of self-efficacy at various degrees of acculturation to the United States and specific indicators of school involvement in their elementary school children's education. It assessed the effects of acculturation on the level of parental self-efficacy and their degree of school involvement. The theoretical framework guiding this investigation was Bandura's theory of self-efficacy which advocates that the amount of effort a person devotes to the accomplishment of a specific outcome is related to a person's beliefs in their capabilities regardless of actual competencies.^ The research method involved a correlational design measuring levels of parental self-efficacy, acculturation, degree of school involvement and related demographic characteristics. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the degree of relationships existing between the predictor variables of self-efficacy and level of acculturation, and level of school involvement. The data was subjected to a path analysis to test the validity of the causal model advanced in this study specifying a positive relationship between the constructs of acculturation, parental self-efficacy and level of school involvement.^ A total of 109 Hispanic parents of students enrolled in five elementary public schools in Dade County, Florida, were selected for participation in the study. Results revealed a significant positive correlation r =.23, p $<$.05 between level of parental self-efficacy and number of hours parents spent helping their children with homework. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between acculturation and level of self-efficacy r =.21, p $<$.05. Statistically significant positive correlations were also found between acculturation and such indicators of parental school involvement as participation in parent-teacher conferences r =.20, p $<$.05, volunteering at school, r =.22, p $<$.05, attendance at school sponsored sports activities r =.26, p $<$.01, and volunteering in field-trips r =.28, p $<$.01.^ The multiple regression analysis equation predicting level of homework assistance provided by parents and self-efficacy was statistically significant, F(2,106) = 3.59, p $<$.03. The beta weights revealed that self-efficacy contributed the most to the prediction of homework assistance by parents, B =.258, p $<$.009. In turn, the variable of acculturation was the most significant predictor of number of school based parent involvement activities, B =.281, p $<$.05 level. The path analysis confirmed the results obtained in the multiple regression analyses, establishing self-efficacy as having a direct effect on the level of homework assistance provided by parents. Conversely, the variable of acculturation had a direct effect on the number of school based parent involvement activities. ^

The influence of weak parental and peer attachment on academic achievement among late adolescent college students

The current study examined the influence of weak parental and peer attachment on academic achievement among late adolescent college students. In previous research, weak attachment to parents and/or peers had been found to have an adverse influence on the academic success of college students. This study also examined the potential moderating influence of several cognitive and non-cognitive psychosocial variables that might act as protective factors for weakly attached students and, therefore, enhance their academic competence. Data regarding attachment, cognitive variables, and non-cognitive variables were collected using several self-report measures. The multi-ethnic sample of students in this study (n = 357) attended an urban university. Students were classified into one of nine parental-peer attachment groups (e.g., Low-Low, Medium-Medium, High-High). Attachment groups were compared in terms of cognitive and non-cognitive variables. Contrary to the hypothesis, no statistically significant academic achievement differences were revealed for the group of college students who perceived themselves to be weakly attached to both parents and peers. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified the High-High group to be significantly different in terms of academic outcome variables from the other eight groups while the Low-Low group had significantly lower levels of non-cognitive variables than several of the other attachment groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that cognitive variables accounted for significant amounts of variance in academic outcomes and that several non-cognitive variables were significant predictors of scholastic competence. Correlational analyses revealed that parental and peer attachment were positively correlated with several cognitive and non-cognitive variables but neither was significantly correlated with self-reported college GPA. In general, the findings do not provide support for a main effect of weak attachment to parents and peers upon academic adversity among college students. Results suggest that both cognitive variables and non-cognitive variables may moderate academic risk due to weak attachment to parents and peers. Descriptive within group analyses of the Low-Low group revealed a heterogeneous group of students with regards to academic outcomes and scores on non-cognitive measures. Gender and ethnic differences were found for attachment status but not for cognitive or non-cognitive variables. Implications for interventions and suggestions for future research are presented. ^

An examination of parental opinions regarding the inclusion of disabled students in regular education classes

This study investigated the opinions regarding inclusion of parents of both disabled and nondisabled elementary children from a large suburban county. An opinion survey combining Wilczenski's Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale with additional questions was distributed to 1170 children from 24 schools. Three research questions focused on differences between mean parental responses as they related to the inclusion and disability status of the parent's child. Results from the 270 respondents indicated that parents with disabled children had more favorable opinions about inclusion than did those with nondisabled children. Parents with included children were more favorable toward inclusion than were parents whose children were not included. Parents with included disabled children were more accepting of inclusion than were those with nondisabled children in inclusive settings. Parents' answers differed depending on the type of disability being included. Regardless of their child's disability or inclusion status, the ranking for disability types from most acceptable for inclusion to least acceptable were: social, sensory, motor, academic and behavioral. Results across types of questions, including questions relating to acceptance and general inclusion issues, indicated consistently more favorable opinions of parents with disabled children, included children and disabled children in inclusive classes. Two additional research questions examined parental responses as they related to demographic characteristics of the parents and of the schools their children attended. Analysis of Variance found only one significant main effect for any parental demographic variable. This difference was for the number of parents' elementary children when comparing parents with and without disabled children. The only significant main effects of demographics of schools the parents' children attended were for the area of the county and for schools with differing percentages of severely disabled students when comparing responses of parents with disabled and nondisabled children. For all research questions, tests indicated low effect sizes and moderate to high power levels. These results, and the fact that means for all groups were in the middle range of response choices, indicate that there may be little practical significance to the overall results. Further studies should investigate the trends found in this study. ^

Parental behaviors in child anxiety: An observational study

The increasing awareness of the prevalence, impairment, and long-term consequences of childhood anxiety disorders have led investigators to explore psychosocial factors in the etiology of these disorders. Recent investigations have begun to focus on family-level processes in the etiology and/or maintenance of childhood anxiety disorders, specifically patterns of parent-child interaction. The present study compared parent-child interactions across three problem-solving tasks of clinically anxious children and their mothers versus non-referred children and their mothers in terms of (1) direct observation measures, (2) children's, mothers', and independent observer's subjective ratings, (3) and children's evaluations using videotape-aided thought reconstruction. ^ Results suggested that the mothers of clinically anxious children engaged in fewer positive and more negative parenting strategies as compared to the mothers of non-referred children across three tasks. Although not significant, trends were evident among the subjective ratings reported by the clinically anxious children, mothers, and observer for the global perception indices. When videotape-aided thought reconstruction was used as a cue to elicit children's perceptions of the parent-child interactions, clinically anxious children reported less mother-referent positive statements and more mother-referent negative statements than non-referred children. ^

Parental involvement: Its relation to achievement in a multiethnic sample of newly immigrated students

The current study examined how parental involvement is related to the academic adaptation and performance of a multiethnic sample of newly immigrant students from South America and the Caribbean---Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, and English-speaking Caribbean countries. Six hundred twenty-two participants attending elementary, middle and high school in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties were interviewed during two consecutive years at their respective schools. Parents completed surveys at home and returned them by mail. ^ Three forms of parent involvement were chosen as predictor variables---(1) parental contact and communication with school, (2) parental monitoring of children's school-related activities at home, and (3) parental expectations regarding children's academic achievement. Academic performance indicators obtained from school records were students' grade point averages for math and reading (GPA), FCAT-SSS (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test-Sunshine State Standards) scores, and FCAT-NRT (Norm Referenced Test) scores. Hypotheses were (a) that the forms of parent involvement would differ across the different cultural groups and (b) that parent involvement would relate to students' achievement, regardless of the specific form of involvement. ^ Results indicated that Cuban and Colombian parents differed significantly in terms of monitoring school-related activities of their children and had higher expectations for their children than Haitian, West-Indian, or Argentinean parents. Cuban parents were more likely to be actively engaged in communication with their children's schools than parents of the other ethnic groups. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the three forms of parent involvement accounted for a significant proportion of GPA and FCAT-SSS scores, after controlling for the effects of demographic variables---grade level, gender, and ethnicity. Given interactions of the parent involvement variables by country of origin for GPA, separate analyses indicated that parent involvement appeared to be most effective for Cubans and West Indians. Results are discussed in terms of the need for experimental intervention studies to identify causal relationships between parent involvement and academic achievement. ^

Hispanic adolescents with severe substance abuse problems: Parental involvement, acculturation-related factors, and attachment

The main objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between parent-related, acculturation-related, and substance use-related variables found within individual, familial/parental, peer and school adolescent ecological domains, in a clinical sample (i.e. adolescents who met criteria for a Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV [DSMIV] clinical diagnosis of substance abuse/dependence) of Hispanic adolescents from Miami, Florida. ^ The sample for this study consisted of 94 adolescent-mother pairs. The adolescent sample was 65% male, and 35% female, with a mean age of 15 years. More than half of the adolescents were born in the United States (60%) and had resided in the U.S. for an average of 12 years; 80% of the caregivers (primarily mothers) were foreign-born and lived in the U.S. for an average of 21 years. ^ Correlation and hierarchical regression were used to answer the research questions. The findings indicate that the hypothesized model and corresponding anticipated effect of the relationship between parental school and peer involvement on adolescents’ frequency of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine use was not supported by the data. Parental “acculturation-related” variables did not explain any of the variance in adolescent substance use frequency in this sample. Mediation and moderation models were not supported either. However, some interesting relationships were found: ^ The larger the acculturation gap, the lower the parental involvement in school tended to be (r = -.21, p < .05). Adolescents who experienced a greater acculturation gap with their parents (-.81, p >.01) had an earlier onset of marijuana (-.33, p < .01) and cocaine use (r = -.24, p <.01). The less acculturated parents experienced more parenting stress (r = -.31, p = < .01). Attachment was positively associated with parental peer involvement (r = .24, p < .05) and inversely associated with parenting acculturative stress (r = -.24, p < .05). Attachment was also positively associated with marijuana (r = .39, p < .01) and cocaine use (r = .33, p < .01). Adolescent males reported being more attached to their mothers when compared to adolescent females (r = .22, p >.05), they also reported using marijuana more frequently than females (.21, p >.05). ^

The impact of a family home-learning program on levels of parental/caregiver efficacy

This study sought to determine if participation in a home education learning program would impact the perceived levels of parental self-efficacy of parents/caregivers who participate in the completion of home-learning assignments and increase their levels of home-learning involvement practices. Also, the study examined the relationship between the parental involvement practice of completing interactive home-learning assignments and the reading comprehension achievement of first grade students. A total of 146 students and their parents/caregivers representing a convenience sample of eight first grade classes participated in the study. Four classes (n=74) were selected as the experimental group and four classes (n=72) served as the control group. There were 72 girls in the sample and 74 boys and the median age was 6 years 6 months. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design utilizing eight existing first grade classes. It examined the effects of a home-learning support intervention program on the perceived efficacy levels of the participating parents/caregivers, as measured by the Parent Perceptions of Parent Efficacy Scale (Hoover-Dempsey, Bassler, & Brissie, 1992) administered on a pre/post basis. The amount and type of parent involvement in the completion of home assignments was determined by means of a locally developed instrument, the H.E.L.P. Parent Involvement Home-learning Scale, administered on a pre/post basis. Student achievement in reading comprehension was measured via the reading subtest of the Brigance, CIB-S pre and post. The elementary students and their parents/caregivers participated in an interactive home-learning intervention program for 12 weeks that required parent/caregiver assistance. Results revealed the experimental group of parents/caregivers had a significant increase in their levels of perceived self-efficacy, p<.001, from the pre to post, and also had significantly increased levels of parental involvement in seven home-learning activities, p<.001, than the control group parents/caregivers. The experimental group students demonstrated significantly higher reading levels than the control group students, p<.001. This study provided evidence that interactive home-learning activities improved the levels of parental self-efficacy and parental involvement in home-learning activities, and improved the reading comprehension of the experimental group in comparison to the control.

Parental involvement and group cognitive behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: Treatment specificity and mediation effects of parent and peer variables

Phobic and anxiety disorders are one of the most common, if not the most common and debilitating psychopathological conditions found among children and adolescents. As a result, a treatment research literature has accumulated showing the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for reducing anxiety disorders in youth. This dissertation study compared a CBT with parent and child (i.e., PCBT) and child group CBT (i.e., GCBT). These two treatment approaches were compared due to the recognition that a child’s context has an effect on the development, course, and outcome of childhood psychopathology and functional status. The specific aims of this dissertation were to examine treatment specificity and mediation effects of parent and peer contextual variables. The sample consisted of 183 youth and their mothers. Research questions were analyzed using analysis of variance for treatment outcome, and structural equation modeling, accounting for clustering effects, for treatment specificity and mediation effects. Results indicated that both PCBT and GCBT produced positive treatment outcomes across all indices of change (i.e., clinically significant improvement, anxiety symptom reduction) and across all informants (i.e., youths and parents) with no significant differences between treatment conditions. Results also showed partial treatment specific effects of positive peer relationships in GCBT. PCBT also showed partial treatment specific effects of parental psychological control. Mediation effects were only observed in GCBT; positive peer interactions mediated treatment response. The results support the use CBT with parents and peers for treating childhood anxiety. The findings’ implications are further discussed in terms of the need to conduct further meditational treatment outcome designs in order to continue to advance theory and research in child and anxiety treatment.

Parental absence and academic achievement in immigrant students

Academic achievement and educational expectations as a function of parental absence were examined among 268 newly immigrant elementary, middle, and high-school students from Spanish-speaking countries. Data collected as part of a longitudinal study of adaptation and achievement in newly immigrant students were analyzed. Participants had varying experiences with parental absence, in terms of length of absence, gender of absent parent, and reason for absence. Reasons for parental absence included parental divorce, parental death, and serial migration, a cause unique to immigrant children. Students who experienced parental absence reported lower educational expectations. Students who experienced the death of a parent had lower achievement scores and lower expectations than students who did not experience parental death. Prolonged absence was also important, with students who experienced parental absence for more than one year performing worse than students who had minimal parental separation. In addition, boys who experienced parental absence because of serial migration performed worse academically than boys who did not have this occurrence. Educational expectations were reduced among students who experienced parental absence as a result of the migratory process, especially for younger students. The extent to which parental absence related to achievement and expectations through potential mediating factors, such as economic hardship, perceived school support, and parental school involvement was assessed with structural equation modeling. Overall, the model was able to explain some of the relationship between parental absence and the academic achievement and educational expectations of immigrant students from Spanish-speaking countries.^

The effects of parental nurturance and involvement on peer relationships and psychosocial functioning of young adults

This study examined peer relationships and psychosocial functioning as a function of maternal and paternal involvement and nurturance along with the moderating effects of gender, family form, and ethnicity. Prior research has shown the influence of mother’s involvement on peer relationship quality but not of fathers. Further, previous studies did not examine moderation by family form, gender, or ethnicity. The sample consisted of 1359 students who identified their biological mother and father as the most influential parental figures in their lives. Their ages ranged from 18 to 26; Sixty-one percent of the sample was Hispanic, 13% non-Hispanic Black, 25% non-Hispanic White; 76% female and 70% from intact families. The analytical strategy included using bivariate correlations and structural equation modeling to examine these relationships. ^ All dimensions of maternal and paternal nurturing and involvement were positively related to positive characteristics of peer relationships, self-esteem and life satisfaction consistent with the multicultural findings of PARTheory (Rohner, Khalique, & Cournoyer, 2005). A structural model was developed that was able to adequately account for the relationship between parental influence, peer relationships, and psychosocial functioning. These effects of both maternal and paternal influence were strongly moderated by culture, family form, and gender. Finally, a differential effect was found among parental influence with fathers having a greater influence on friendship quality and importance than mothers, despite greater maternal involvement. ^ These findings have theoretical, clinical, and social implications as they call for a socially based theoretical perspective within which to study these relationships. Such a perspective would better inform clinicians when using impaired social functioning as indicative of axial diagnosis, and for the implementation of social policy to encourage paternal involvement. ^

Issues in Parental Involvement

This paper examines kinds of parental involvement for student achievement. It draws on current literature concerning each kind of involvement’s effect on student achievement. The perspectives of educators on parental involvement are explored, as are communication between home and school and roadblocks encountered in parental involvement initiatives.

Changing Parental Perceptions of Math and Science Curriculum Through Hands-on Workshops

Many parents hold negative perceptions of math and science because they have never been taught these domains from a hands-on, constructivist approach. Only 20 - 30% of adults have actually experienced activity-based science inquiry. Instead, these individuals were exposed to didactic science programs that emphasize drill, skill and memorization (Shymanksy, 2000). This has had a negative impact upon their content knowledge in these areas and their perceptions of math and science. Consequently, parents are hesitant to incorporate math and science into their home life. There is a dire need to determine if parental perceptions of math, science, and their content knowledge will be positively effected as a result of participation in hands-on science workshops.

Parental Involvement between Two Different Urban Communities

Parent involvement is an integral part of a child’s educational progress. In some cases, students’ academic achievement can be directly related to the level of parental involvement exhibited in schools. Families’ perception of roles toward parental involvement in schools may vary among groups from diverse cultures. In today’s urban schools, the increasing diversity of cultures may contribute to differences in levels of parental involvement. The purpose of this research is to address the need to promote parental participation in the educational process of their children. This study will focus on three research questions: Are there differences in levels of parental involvement after participating in a program designed to assist them with their children’s reading skills? Are there changes in the attitudes of families towards parental involvement after participating in the instructional cycle? Is there a relationship between the level of parental involvement and student academic achievement?

Parents Acquiring Learning Strategies (PALS): How Empowering Hispanic Parents Increases Parental Involvement and Student Achievement

Some Hispanic parents in Miami-Dade County show limited involvement in the educational process of their children. Currently, Miami-Dade County Public schools consists of an increasingly high number of language minority students who come from homes where parents are limited in their English proficiency. Consequently, these parents have difficulty assisting their children with schoolwork and often feel they lack adequate skills to involve themselves in school curricula. The lack of parental involvement by this population has a negative impact on students’ learning and their academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to impact the level of participation of these families and to study its ultimate effect on students’ academic achievement.

How Can Teachers Alleviate Parental Anxiety in High Stakes Testing?

In Florida, third and tenth graders are required to take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), a high stakes test. Third graders must score a Level 2 or higher on the Sunshine States Standards portion of the FCAT or fifty-one percent or higher on the Normreference portion of the FCAT in order to be promoted. In 2003, the Florida Department of Education reported 31 percent of third graders in Miami-Dade County were retained (2003). The purpose of the study is to investigate how third grade teachers can decrease the level of parental anxiety for this high stakes test and determine if there are different levels of parental anxiety based upon certain variables. Parent workshops will be offered to families focusing on FCAT strategies and relaxation techniques designed to increase parental efficacy and decrease parental anxiety related to high stakes testing.