Best Practices for Parental Involvement in Suburban Schools

Date of Award

2020

Degree Name

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.)

Department

Department of Counselor Education and Human Services

Advisor/Chair

Advisor: Susan Davies

Abstract

Parent involvement can affect children in and of the school setting. Previous research related to parent involvement in schools has focused mostly on urban school district populations. There is a gap in research examining parent involvement within suburban school districts. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate what hinders and promotes parent involvement, as well as what parents define as best practices for parents. This study followed the constructivism interview approach through the use of a semi-structured interview protocol. Ten parents were recruited to participate from Southwestern Ohio suburban school districts. Participants were parents of children enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelfth during the 2018-19 school year. Parentparticipants reported five major components that defined best practices of parent involvement: regular open communication with both educators and students, supporting extracurriculars, assisting with schoolwork (i.e., homework, monitoring grades, and enrichment), presence in the school, and promoting healthy trajectory. Participants reported four major barriers that hindered parent involvement: time constraints due to working outside the home and inflexible work schedules, lack of communication from both educators and their children, an unwelcoming environment, and lack of volunteer opportunities provided by the schools. Parent participants reported four major facilitators that promoted parent involvement: being offered a variety of involvement opportunities, receiving more individualized communication as well as more organized and consistent communication from the school, a welcoming environment, and establishing a sense of connectedness through technology. The findings from this study can inform strategies to enhance parent involvement in suburban schools.

Keywords

Education, Best practices of parent involvement, Parent involvement in suburban schools, Barriers to parent involvement, Facilitators for parent involvement, Increase parent involvement in schools

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2020, author

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