Parent involvement on school advisory councils: A process evaluation at the middle school level

Increasing parental involvement was made an important goal for all Florida schools in educational reform legislation in the 1990's. A forum for this input was established and became known as the School Advisory Council (SAC). To demonstrate the importance of process and inclusion, a south Florida school district and its local teacher's union agreed on the following five goals for SACs: (a) to foster an environment of professional collaboration among all stakeholders, (b) to assist in the preparation and evaluation of the school improvement plan, (c) to address all state and district goals, (d) to serve as the avenue for authentic and representative input from all stakeholders, and (e) to ensure the continued existence of the consensus-building process on all issues related to the school's instructional program. ^ The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent and in what ways the parent members of one south Florida middle school's SAC achieved the five district goals during its first three years of implementation. The primary participants were 16 parents who served as members of the SAC, while 16 non-parent members provided perspective on parent involvement as “outside sources.” Being qualitative by design, factors such as school climate, leadership styles, and the quality of parental input were described from data collected from four sources: parent interviews, a questionnaire of non-parents, researcher observations, and relevant documents. A cross-case analysis of all data informed a process evaluation that described the similarities and differences of intended and observed outcomes of parent involvement from each source using Stake's descriptive matrix model. A formative evaluation of the process compared the observed outcomes with standards set for successful SACs, such as the district's five goals. ^ The findings indicated that parents elected to the SACs did not meet the intended goals set by the state and district. The school leadership did not foster an environment of professional collaboration and authentic decision-making for parents and other stakeholders. The overall process did not include consensus-building, and there was little if any input by parents on school improvement and other important issues relating to the instructional program. Only two parents gave the SAC a successful rating for involving parents in the decision-making process. Although compliance was met in many of the procedural transactions of the SAC, the reactions of parents to their perceived role and influence often reflected feelings of powerlessness and frustration with a process that many thought lacked meaningfulness and productivity. Two conclusions made from this study are as follows: (a) that the role of the principal in the collaborative process is pivotal, and (b) that the normative-re-educative approach to change would be most appropriate for SACs. ^

Parent involvement on school advisory councils: a process evaluation at the middle school level

Increasing parental involvement was made an important goal for all Florida schools in educational reform legislation in the 1990's. A forum for this input was established and became known as the School Advisory Council (SAC). To demonstrate the importance of process and inclusion, a south Florida school district and its local teacher's union agreed on the following five goals for SACs: (a) to foster an environment of professional collaboration among all stakeholders, (b) to assist in the preparation and evaluation of the school improvement plan, (c) to address all state and district goals, (d) to serve as the avenue for authentic and representative input from all stakeholders, and (e) to ensure the continued existence of the consensus-building process on all issues related to the school's instructional program. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent and in what ways the parent members of one south Florida middle school's SAC achieved the five district goals during its first three years of implementation. The primary participants were 16 parents who served as members of the SAC, while 16 non-parent members provided perspective on parent involvement as "outside sources." Being qualitative by design, factors such as school climate, leadership styles, and the quality of parental input were described from data collected from four sources: parent interviews, a questionnaire of non-parents, researcher observations, and relevant documents. A cross-case analysis of all data informed a process evaluation that described the similarities and differences of intended and observed outcomes of parent involvement from each source using Stake's descriptive matrix model. A formative evaluation of the process compared the observed outcomes with standards set for successful SACs, such as the district's five goals. The findings indicated that parents elected to the SACs did not meet the intended goals set by the state and district. The school leadership did not foster an environment of professional collaboration and authentic decision-making for parents and other stakeholders. The overall process did not include consensus-building, and there was little if any input by parents on school improvement and other important issues relating to the instructional program. Only two parents gave the SAC a successful rating for involving parents in the decision-making process. Although compliance was met in many of the procedural transactions of the SAC, the reactions of parents to their perceived role and influence often reflected feelings of powerlessness and frustration with a process that many thought lacked meaningfulness and productivity. Two conclusions made from this study are as follows: (a) that the role of the principal in the collaborative process is pivotal, and (b) that the normative-re-educative approach to change would be most appropriate for SACs.

Envolvimento Parental e Nível Sociocultural das Famílias

O envolvimento parental refere-se a todas as actividades realizadas pelos pais na educação dos filhos. Os pais desempenham um papel fundamental no processo de escolaridade dos filhos. Um dos aspectos que mais influencia a qualidade do envolvimento parental na escolarização dos filhos é o nível sociocultural dos pais. Entende-se por nível sociocultural todo o tipo de experiências sociais e culturais que a criança tem acesso na família. O objectivo principal deste estudo é avaliar a relação entre o nível sociocultural das famílias e o envolvimento parental na escolaridade dos filhos. São objectivos complementares desta investigação, verificar quais os factores socioculturais que estão mais significativamente associados ao envolvimento parental na escolarização dos filhos e quais as dimensões comportamentais deste envolvimento que mais contribuem para adaptação escolar dos filhos. Para concretizar estes objectivos, foi realizado um estudo epidemiológico descritivo, em corte transversal, a fim de avaliar uma amostra de 92 pais de alunos do 1º Ciclo do ensino básico pertencentes ao agrupamento de escolas do concelho de Coimbra. O protocolo de investigação é constituído pelo questionário de envolvimento parental na escola, versão para pais (QEPE, Pereira, 2002), e a escala de Graffar adaptada à população portuguesa, para avaliar o nível sociocultural das famílias dos alunos. Os resultados obtidos revelam que as famílias com um nível sociocultural mais elevado apresentam um maior envolvimento na escolaridade dos filhos. Verificamos que os factores socioculturais mais significativamente associados à qualidade do envolvimento dos pais são a profissão e o nível de instrução do chefe de família. Verificámos, ainda, que as dimensões comportamentais mais privilegiadas pelos pais na escolaridade dos filhos são as actividades de aprendizagem em casa, comunicação escola-família e actividades na escola e reuniões de pais. Concluímos que o nível sociocultural influencia a qualidade do envolvimento parental. O nível de escolaridade e a profissão dos pais são factores determinantes para a qualidade desse envolvimento. /

The effect of maternal employment on adolescents' transition to young adulthood

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between multiple characteristics of maternal employment, parenting practices, and adolescents’ transition outcomes to young adulthood. The research addressed four main research questions. First, are the characteristics of maternal work (i.e., hours worked, multiple jobs held, work schedules, earnings, and occupation) related to adolescents’ enrollment in post-secondary education, employment, or involvement in neither of these types of activities as young adults? Second, are the work characteristics related to parental involvement and monitoring, and are the parenting practices related to adolescents’ transition outcomes? Third, do parental involvement and monitoring mediate any relationships between the characteristics of maternal employment and adolescents’ transition outcomes? Finally, do any associations between characteristics of maternal employment and parenting practices and adolescents’ transition outcomes vary by poverty status, race/ethnicity, or gender? To address these research questions, secondary data analysis was conducted, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) from 1998 through 2004. The study sample consisted of 849 youths who were 15 through 17 years of age in either 1998 or 2000, and were 19 through 21 years of age when their transition outcomes in young adulthood were measured four years later. Multinomial logistic and ordinary least squares regression models were estimated to answer the research questions. Study findings indicated that of the maternal work characteristics, mothers’ multiple jobs held, occupation, and work schedule were significantly related to the youths’ transition outcomes. When mothers held multiple jobs for 1 to 25 weeks per year, and when mothers held jobs involving lower levels of occupational complexity, their youths were more likely to experience employment rather than post-secondary education. Adolescents whose mothers worked a standard work schedule were less likely to experience other types of transitions than post-secondary education. With regard to the effects of maternal employment on parenting practices, none of the maternal work variables were related to parental involvement, and only one variable, mothers working less than 40 hours per week, was negatively related to parental monitoring. In addition, when parents were more involved with their youths’ education, the youths were less likely to transition into employment and other types of transitions rather than post-secondary education. The parenting practices did not mediate the relation between the significant work variables (holding multiple jobs, work schedule, and occupation) and youths’ transition outcomes. Finally, none of the interactions between maternal work characteristics and poverty status, race/ethnicity, and gender met the criteria for determining significance; but in a series of sub-group analyses, some differences according to poverty status and gender were found. Despite the lack of mediation and moderation, the findings of this study have important implications for social policy and social work intervention. Based on the findings, suggestions are made in these areas to improve working mothers’ lives and their adolescents’ development and successful transition to adulthood. Finally, directions for future research are discussed.

Contributos do envolvimento parental no desenvolvimento de um grupo de 4 anos

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção de grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar

An exploration of parent ivolvement in Response to Intervention (RTI) in Title I schools

Research demonstrates that parental involvement positively impacts student achievement and enhances targeted instruction. Notably, however, little research currently exists on how schools involve parents in Response to Intervention (RTI), a framework for implementing targeted, tiered, research-based instruction. The purpose of this study was to interview selected parents, teachers, RTI specialists, and principals in three Title I elementary schools in one school district, plus one district-level administrator, in order to examine how elementary schools currently involve parents in RTI prereferral interventions, and to understand the factors that might facilitate or challenge such parent involvement. I employed a comparative case study qualitative design with each elementary school as the main unit of analysis. I conducted individual, in-depth interviews that lasted approximately 45-60 minutes with a total of 33 participants across the three school sites, including 11 parents, 12 teachers, and six RTI specialists, three principals, and one district-level administrator. I also analyzed documents related to RTI processes that are available through websites and participants. I used Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) three-step scheme for thematic/grounded theory analysis, and Atlas.ti as the electronic tool for management and analysis. Analyses of the data revealed that personnel across the sites largely agreed on how they explain RTI to parents and notify parents of student progress. Parents mostly disagreed with these accounts, stating instead that they learn about RTI and their child’s progress by approaching teachers or their own children with questions, or by examining report cards and student work that comes home. Personnel and parents cited various challenges for involving parents in RTI. However, they all also agreed that teachers are accessible and willing to reach out to parents, and that teachers already face considerable workloads. It appears that no district- or school-wide plan guides parent involvement practices in RTI at any of the three schools. Finally, I present a discussion of findings; implications for teachers, RTI implementation leaders, and Title school leaders; study limitations; and possibilities for future research.

O Impacto do Envolvimento Parental numa Pedagogia Participativa

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Concepções e práticas de envolvimento dos pais na escolaridade dos filhos

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada para obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Educacional.

Representação escolar dos pais, envolvimento e contributo para a relação educativa

Dissertação de mest. em Observação e Análise de Relação Educativa, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Univ. do Algarve, Escola Superior de Educação, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, 2005

Parent-teacher engagement : a coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing approach

The accumulated evidence from more than four decades of education research strongly suggests that parent involvement in schools carries significant benefits for students as well as for the success of schools (e.g., Henderson & Mapp, 2002). Governments in Australia and overseas have supported parent involvement in schools with a range of initiatives while parent groups have indicated a strong desire for expanded school roles that include participation in formal educational processes namely curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Research has also signalled the need for teachers to engage parents rather than adopt traditional parent-school involvement practices so that parents can participate as joint educators in their children's schooling alongside teachers (Pushor, 2001). Actually improving the quality of contact and relationships between parents and teachers to enable engagement however remains problematic. Coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing originally emerged as an innovative approach in the context of teaching secondary school science. Coteaching brings together the collective expertise of several individuals to expand learning opportunities for students while cogenerative dialogues refer to sessions in which participants talk, listen, and learn from one another about the process (Roth & Tobin, 2002a). Coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing reportedly benefits students academically and socially while rewarding educators professionally and emotionally through the support and collaboration they receive from fellow coteachers. These benefits ensue because coteaching theoretically positions teachers at one another's elbows, providing new and different understandings about teaching based on first-hand perspectives and shared goals for assisting students to learn. This thesis proposes that coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing may provide a vehicle for improving quality of contact and relationships between parents and teachers. To investigate coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing as a parent-teacher engagement mechanism, interpretive ethnographic case study research was conducted involving two parents and a secondary school teacher. Sociological ideas, namely Bourdieu's (1977) fields, habitus, and capitals, together with multiple dialectical concepts such as agency|structure (Sewell, 1992) and agency|passivity (Roth, 2007b, 2010) were assembled into a conceptual framework to examine parent-teacher relationships by describing and explaining cultural production and identity construction throughout the case study. Video and audio recordings of cogenerative dialogues and cotaught lessons comprised the chief data sources. Data were analysed using qualitative techniques such as discourse and conversation analysis to identify patterns and contradictions (Roth & Tobin, 2002a). The use of quality criteria detailed by Guba and Lincoln (2005) gives credence to the way in which ethical considerations infused the planning and conduct of this research. From the processes of data collection and analyses, three broad assertions were proffered. The findings highlight the significance of using multiple coordinated dialectical concepts for analysing the affordances and challenges of coteaching and cogenerative dialogues that include parents and teachers. Adopting the principles and purposes of coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing promoted trusting respectful relationships that generated an equitable culture. The simultaneous processes and tensions between logistics and ethics (i.e., the logistics|ethics dialectic) were proposed as a new way to conceptualise how power was redistributed among the participants. Knowledge of positive emotional energy and ongoing capital exchange conceived dialectically as the reciprocal interaction among cultural, social, and symbolic capitals (i.e., the dialectical relationship of cultural|social|symbolic capital) showed how coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing facilitated mutual understandings, joint decision-making, and group solidarity. The notion of passivity as the dialectical partner of agency explained how traditional roles and responsibilities were reconfigured and individual and collective agency expanded. Complexities that surfaced when implementing the coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing approach were outweighed by the multiple benefits that accrued for all involved. These benefits included the development of community-relevant and culturally-significant curricula that increased student agency and learning outcomes, heightened parent self-efficacy for participating in and contributing to formal educational processes, and enhanced teacher professionalism. This case study contributes to existing theory, knowledge and practice, and methodology in the research areas of parent-teacher relationships, specifically in secondary schools, and coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing. The study is particularly relevant given the challenges schools and teachers increasingly face to meaningfully connect with parents to better meet the needs of educational stakeholders in times of continual, complex, and rapid societal change.

Safer driving agreements in the Australian context : can they be effective?

Prior research suggests that greater parental involvement in the safety and learning of their young novice driver can have a positive impact on their child’s safety. Safer driving agreements, which typically involve a formal statement of driving conditions and restrictions ratified by a driver and another party, most often parents, are an increasingly common initiative to enhance young novice driver safety. However, there are few formal evaluations of such initiatives and the limited available research suggests only modest differences in traffic violations, and minimal impacts on crash involvement. The current paper reports on an assessment of the potential efficacy of safer driving agreements in the Australian context, via a literature review and extensive stakeholder and community consultations. Specifically, discussions were conducted with an expert panel of United States researchers and program developers; a survey was completed with Australian police, transport and motoring stakeholders; and focus groups and surveys were completed with young drivers and parents. Overall, results suggested mixed understanding of, and support for, safer driving agreements in Australia, with issues relating to voluntary participation and accurate monitoring of behaviour cited as major barriers. Indeed, the potential effectiveness of the initiative was largely perceived as being limited to those young drivers who are already safety conscious, and as being dependent on existing strong relationships with parents (e.g., trust, honesty and respect). Implications of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Graduated driver licensing : an international review

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) aims to gradually increase the exposure of new drivers to more complex driving situations and typically consists of learner, provisional and open licence phases. The first phase, the learner licence, is designed to allow novice drivers to obtain practical driving experience in lower risk situations. The learner licence can delay licensure, encourage novice drivers to learn under supervision, mandate the number of hours of practice required to progress to the next phase and encourage parental involvement. The second phase, the provisional licence, establishes various driving restrictions and thereby reduces exposure to situations of higher risk, such as driving at night, with passengers or after drinking alcohol. Parental involvement with a GDL system appears essential in helping novices obtain sufficient practice and in enforcing compliance with restrictions once the new driver obtains a provisional licence. Given the significant number of young drivers involved in crashes within Oman, GDL is one countermeasure that may be beneficial in reducing crash risk and involvement for this group.

Licensing system in Oman and literature review. Report to the Research Council of Oman, Muscat

This document reviews the existing literature in the area of novice driver behaviour and the impact of Graduated Driver Licencing (GDL) as a key response to young driver management. The document focuses on consolidating the available research evidence and identifying existing gaps in the current knowledge. The chapter reviews novice driver crash risk, the factors that influence novice driver behaviour, countermeasures used to address the problem, the learner phase, the provisional phase, The Australian example of GDL, compliance with the road laws and parental involvement in the GDL process...

Overparenting and homework: The student’s task, but everyone’s responsibility

A high level of parental involvement is widely considered to be essential for optimal child and adolescent development and wellbeing, including academic success. However, recent consideration has been given to the idea that extremely high levels of parental involvement (often called ‘overparenting’ or ‘helicopter parenting’) might not be beneficial. This study used a newly created overparenting measure, the Locke Parenting Scale (LPS), to investigate the association of overparenting and children’s homework. Eight hundred and sixty-six parents completed online questionnaires about their parenting beliefs and intentions, and their attitudes associated with their child’s homework. Parents with higher LPS scores tended to take more personal responsibility for the completion of their child’s homework than did other parents, and ascribed greater responsibility for homework completion to their child’s teacher. However, increased perceived responsibility by parents and teachers was not accompanied by a commensurate reduction in what they perceived was the child’s responsibility. Future research should examine whether extreme parental attitudes and reported behaviours translate to validated changes in actual homework support.

Violência familiar, práticas educativas parentais e suas repercussões na saúde mental do adolescente.

Em todo mundo, 10-20% das crianças e adolescentes passam pela experiência de algum transtorno mental. Neste processo, são implicados diferentes fatores: individuais, familiares e socioeconômicos. Apesar de indivíduos que sofreram violência familiar na infância (VFI) parecerem ter maior risco de desenvolver transtornos mentais comuns (TMC), o tema não é consensual. A boa relação entre pais e filhos, por meio das práticas educativas parentais (PEP) positivas, pode funcionar como fator de proteção contra adversidades e VFI. Entretanto, o processo de educação de crianças e adolescentes por seus pais é pouco valorizado em pesquisas de saúde. Esta Tese visa contribuir para este debate com objetivo de investigar se PEP positivas (calor e afeto), que ocorrem concomitantemente às práticas violentas, reduzem a probabilidade de ocorrência de TMC em adolescentes. Fez-se necessário continuar o processo de adaptação transcultural (ATC) do instrumento s-EMBU, que se propõe a aferir PEP. A ATC seguiu modelo universalista, sendo avaliadas primeiramente equivalências conceitual, de itens, semântica e operacional. Para tal, foram feitas revisão da literatura, discussão com especialistas, tradução e retrotradução dos itens. A verificação da equivalência de mensuração se deu pela apreciação da estrutura dimensional do instrumento, por meio de análises fatoriais confirmatórias (AFC) e exploratórias. As relações entre VFI, PEP e TMC foram pesquisadas a partir de abordagem transversal, sendo a população de estudo constituída por 487 alunos de seis escolas da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro e participantes do Estudo Longitudinal de Avaliação Nutricional de Adolescentes (ELANA). Para análise de dados, optou-se por regressão linear multivariada, testando-se modificação de efeito das PEP no desenvolvimento de TMC em adolescentes expostos à VFI. Em relação ao s-EMBU, encontraram-se incongruências referentes aos itens da dimensão Superproteção, que culminaram em índices de ajuste de modelo apenas razoáveis na AFC. Todavia, itens que abarcam a dimensão Calor Emocional mapearam de forma adequada o construto subjacente. Todos os tipos de VFI abuso físico ou emocional e negligência física ou emocional mostraram-se importantes fatores de risco para presença de TMC em adolescentes, mesmo após ajuste por variáveis socioeconômicas, sociodemográficas e grau de calor emocional materno ou paterno. O efeito nocivo da negligência física na saúde mental de adolescentes foi maior para aqueles que relataram baixo grau de calor emocional, tanto materno quanto paterno. Esta versão do s-EMBU é recomendada para uso em adolescentes brasileiros, especialmente em relação à dimensão Calor Emocional. Contudo, ajustes ainda são necessários para itens componentes das outras dimensões. Os resultados evidenciam o efeito deletério dos maus tratos na infância na saúde mental de adolescentes, corroborando achados relatados na literatura. Embora se tenha encontrado efeito modificador das PEP positivas apenas nos casos de negligência física, estes resultados sugerem que estas práticas podem funcionar como fatores atenuadores do efeito da VFI no desenvolvimento dos TMC em adolescentes. Mesmo que sejam necessários mais estudos para elucidar o papel da relação entre pais e filhos na proteção à saúde mental, programas de investigação que abrangem efeitos da violência familiar na saúde de adolescentes não devem deixar de considerar as PEP no processo.