Search Institute: Archives

By Eugene C. Roehlkepartain and Peter L. Benson, Ph.D.
(From October 1994, Source Newsletter)

Measuring the Impact of Involvement
Barriers to Involvement
Increasing Involvement
Selected Resources

School-family partnerships are in the limelight once again as a cornerstone of education reform. This fall's students were greeted with a plethora of newspaper and magazine stories on the importance of parent involvement, and the U.S. Department of Education also launched the National Family Involvement Initiative to reach one of the National Education goals:

"By the year 2000, all schools will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children."

Despite the flurry of interest in the field, relatively few parents stay involved with their children's education through high school. Furthermore, many schools do not make parent involvement a priority, and they are unsure of the most effective ways to approach it. Yet, several themes emerge from research that suggest strategies for reaching and involving families.

Measuring The Impact Of Involvement

Research by Search Institute and others finds that family or parent involvement has a significant impact on students' well-being and success in school.

Increased Commitment To Education-When parents are involved in school, students tend to have higher levels of commitment to their own education. A recent analysis of parent involvement by Search Institute for the General Mills Foundation found that 6th-12th grade students with involved parents tend to be more motivated in school and more committed to continuing education beyond high school.
Reduced School Problems-Similarly, a Child Trends report found that 6th-12th grade students whose parents are highly involved in their education are less likely to experience various problems in school (Running in Place: How American Families Are Faring in a Changing Economy and an Individualistic Society , 1994). For example, 26 percent of students with highly involved parents are in the bottom half of their class, compared to 56 percent of those whose parents are minimally involved. And 11 percent of youth with highly involved parents have repeated a grade, compared to 25 percent of those whose parents are minimally involved. Indeed, some research suggests that parent involvement is a more powerful predictor of student behavior than family income.
Reduced High-Risk Behaviors-The Search Institute analysis found that problem behaviors such as alcohol use, violence, and anti-social behavior decrease as parent involvement increases.
Increased After-School Involvement-Parent involvement is a strong predictor of levels of involvement in extracurricular and non-school activities, Child Trends reports. Overall, 42 percent of youth with low-involvement parents are involved in non-school activities such as scouting, religious youth groups, or non-school sports, compared to 79 percent of youth with high-involvement parents.

Return to top of page

Barriers To Involvement

As much as family involvement has been found to have a significant impact, the challenges of realizing that goal are numerous. The Search Institute study for the General Mills Foundation identified several obstacles:

LOW Involvement-Only a minority of youth report that their parents are actively involved in their schooling. Overall, 42 percent of the first 167,000 6th-12th grade youth surveyed through RespecTeen using Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors report that their parents seldom or never help with homework. A similar percentage (39 percent) say parents seldom or never attend school meetings. As one parent involvement project director put it, "It is extremely difficult to activate consistent parental involvement among the 40 to 50 percent of students who most need academic support."
Declining Involvement With Older Youth-Parent involvement seems to be more challenging as students grow older. All types of parent involvement measured decline between 6th and 12th grades, so that, by graduation, only a minority of students benefit from their parents' active involvement (see chart, page 1). One reason for this decline, Child Trends researchers suggest, is that many high schools do not require or encourage parent involvement in the older grades. In addition, parents may not have heard the message that involvement is important throughout high school.
Demographic Differences-Parent involvement must operate out of different models based on the community and its residents. For example, these efforts appear to be particularly difficult to implement in low-income and communities of color where the community tends to have a deeper mistrust of schools and educators. The mistrust and sense of powerlessness seem to immobilize parentsÑparticularly if they feel that they do not have the power or skills to be an advocate for their child's needsÑor to assist in academic learning. In more affluent communities, however, the challenges more likely involve time and scheduling conflicts.
Lack Of Fathers' Involvement-Parents participating in programs and conferences at schools tend to be mothers, not fathers. Some of this can be explained by the number of single-parent families. But a Search Institute study of middle school students in Minneapolis and St. Paul found that mothers are more active in school events than fathers, even in two-parent families.
Few Proven (And Shared) Practices Or Skills-While a lot of energy goes into developing innovative practices, actual success in these efforts is much harder to achieve than had originally been envisioned. Furthermore, educators don't receive training or support in developing effective parent involvement efforts. As a report from the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota puts it: "The vast majority of states do not require teachers or administrators to study parent involvement, or to develop skills in promoting parent involvement."

Return to top of page

Increasing Involvement

There are no instant formulas for developing an effective parent involvement program. However, the research points to some keys that will help to CONNECT parents and schools:

Customize-No single model of parent involvement will work in all schools. The Search Institute study, for example, found that African American communities tend to emphasize involvement at home, not in-school involvement. Fitting a program to the resources and needs of a community can be key to its effectiveness.
Overcome Logistical Obstacles-Busy schedules, child care, and similar issues can undercut the effectiveness and reach of parent involvement programs. Some programs have seen initial success in attracting parents to events with either food or financial incentives. More creative thinking should be given to how to address these obstacles.
New Practices-In addition to networking to learn from existing practices, there is still a need for creative dreaming and planning around parent involvement methods. Few educators receive training in how to build family-school partnerships, thus they have less experience and understanding to draw upon in designing effective partnerships.

In addition, parent-involvement programs have tended to be most successful in middle-income communities. They have been less successful in reaching low-income families, who might benefit the most from the partnership. In many cases, these families feel isolated from schools and other institutions, and they often are not comfortable with typical approaches to parent involvement. Particular attention needs to be paid to reach these families.

New Understanding-Both families and schools must create a new, shared understanding of the importance of ongoing parent involvement throughout high school. As the Child Trends report concludes, "If parents wish to increase the chances of their adolescents doing well in school, they should remain more involved in the schooling process and other aspects of their teenagers' lives."
Expand Options-An important key to developing an effective parent involvement program is to see that it includes more than having parents participate in parent-teacher conferences. Giving options and affirming different types of participation can open doors to involvement for parents who may not fit the traditional involvement structures.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have identified five types of family-community-school partnerships, which provide a helpful framework for exploring options:

Schools help families with their basic responsibilities of health and safety, parenting, and providing a learning-rich environment at home.
School-home communication that keeps families informed about school programs and student progress with letters, phone calls, memos, report cards, conferences, and other methods.
Families help schools through volunteer activities in the classroom and elsewhere in the school, and also through their support for school activities.
Involvement in learning activities at home, including teachers sharing ideas for ways parents can monitor or assist their children's education through learning activities that are coordinated with classroom instruction.
Involvement in governance, decision making, and advocacy through parent associations, advisory committees, advocacy groups, and school improvement efforts.

For more information on this framework, contact the Center on Families, Communities, Schools and Children's Learning.

Create Relationships-Parents are more likely to connect with schools when they have personal relationships with staff and faculty, the Child Trends report suggests. Building ongoing relationships between one teacher and a family, seeking and supporting parental values and preferences in the school, and making schools more "family friendly" can all help create an atmosphere in which parents are more comfortable relating to the school and teachers.
Team-In the end, the key is for parents, educators, youth workers, and others in the community to all see themselves as members of the team that is working together to raise healthy, competent young people. Creating a sense of teamwork, mutual respect, and shared concern is key to creating healthy family-school partnerships.

Return to top of page

Selected Resources

Beyond the Bake Sale: An Educator's Guide to Working with Parents, by Anne T. Henderson, Carl L. Marburger, and Theodora Ooms (Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education, 1986). To order, call (202) 462-7688.

MegaSkills: The Best Gift You Can Give Your Child, by Dorothy Rich (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1992). Available in bookstores or from the Home and School Institute, 1-800-634-2872.

A New Generation of Evidence: The Family Is Critical to Student Achievement, edited by Anne T. Henderson and Nancy Berla (Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education, 1994). To order, call (202) 462-7688.

Running in Place: How American Families Are Faring in a Changing Economy and an Individualistic Society, by Nicholas Zill and Christine Winquist Nord (Washington, DC: Child Trends, 1994). To order, call (202) 362-5580.

Return to top of page

Organizations

Home and School Institute, MegaSkills Center, 1500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 466-3633.

National Committee for Citizens in Education, Center for Law and Education, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20009; (202) 462-7688.

Center on Families, Schools, and Children's Learning, Johns Hopkins University, 3505 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218; (410) 516-0370.

National Association of Partners in Education, 209 Madison St., Suite 401, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 836-4880.