Increasing the Effectiveness of Parental Involvement

1. Increasing the Effectiveness of Parental Involvement Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey Associate Professor, Psychology & Human Development Vanderbilt University A Research-to-Practice Symposium Florida Statewide Parent Information Resource Center Program Tampa, Florida February 5, 2008 For further information on our model, publications, and measures, please see: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Peabody/family-school

2. Increasing the Effectiveness of Parental Involvement • The Peabody Family-School Partnership Lab at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, especially: • Christa Green (West Virginia University) • Manya Whitaker (Vanderbilt University) • Joan Walker (Long Island University) • and our current undergrads, Christine Orlowski & Daphne Penn • The many parents, families, students, teachers, principals, and family outreach workers who’ve contributed a rich variety of personal experience, perspective and ideas to all that we’ve learned

3. Increasing the Effectiveness of Parental Involvement • What do we need to know if we’re to increase incidence and effectiveness of parental involvement? • We need to know: • Whyparental involvement is so important • Why parents decide to be involved • What parents do when they’re involved that “makes a difference” for their students • What parents’ involvement contributes to their children’s learning and achievement

4. Why is parental involvement so important? • To understand why parental involvement is so important to children’s/students’ learning, we turn to research in the field. • What we find is evidence that parental involvement contributes to students’ learning and achievement in at least four critical ways:

5. Parental Involvement is So Important Because It . . . • Contributes to student attributesand skills that support learning and achievement, for example: • Motivation for learning • Self-regulation • Academic self-efficacy

6. Parental Involvement is So Important Because It . . . • Contributes to student attitudes about education that support achievement, for example: • Believing that school & education are important • Believing that doing homework is important • Believing that trying hard is important

7. Parental Involvement is So Important Because It . . . • Contributes to student behaviors that support achievement, for example: • Better attendance record • Improved attention in the classroom • Stronger engagement in learning

8. Parental Involvement is So Important Because It . . . • Contributes to student achievement, for example: • Standardized test performance • Grades • Teacher-rated achievement • Other measures of learning and accomplishment

9. Parental Involvement is So Important Because It . . . • Has been related to several long-term indicators of educational success, for example, • Lower rates of retention in grade • Lower school dropout rates • Lower incidence of juvenile & young-adult criminal behavior • Better jobs in adulthood (e.g., more likely to have full time jobs, more likely to have higher-paying employment)

10. A Model of the Parental Involvement Process • Given the importance of parental involvement, we developed a model of the parental involvement process in order to understand:

11. A Model of the Parental Involvement Process • Why parents decide to become involved • What kinds of involvement activities they can engage in • What learning mechanisms they can employ to maximize the benefits of their involvement • Howtheir involvement influences children’s learning outcomes • What learning outcomes are most influenced by their involvement

12. A Model of the Parental Involvement Process We created a model of the parental involvement process because: “You have to have a model . . . for guiding your behavior. When you have a theoretical framework, it helps you understand specifically what factors you have to work on. You’re not out there just fishing in the dark. And you have a way to do the research because your variables are identified and (what you’re doing) is much clearer . . . .” Dr. Dorothy Williams, Chair, Community Advisory Board Tommie F. Brown Academy, Hamilton County Public Schools Chattanooga, Tennessee

13. A Model of the Parental Involvement Process • Our model of the parental involvement process suggests that there are five critical levels in the process:

14. Our Model of the Parental Involvement Process • Level 1: Motivators of parental/family involvement, i.e., “Why do parents decide to become involved?” (Level 1.5: Parent choice of involvement forms: home-based; home- school communications; school-based; community-based; others) • Level 2: Mechanisms of involvement’s influence, i.e., “How does involvement ‘work’?”

15. A Model of the Parental Involvement Process (Level 3: Student perceptions of parent mechanisms: these help ‘get’ parents’ involvement ‘into’ the child, i.e., in a position to influence the student’s learning) • Level 4: Student ‘proximal’ learning outcomes: student beliefs, attitudes and skills that lead to achievement • Level 5: Student ‘distal’ achievement outcomes, orsummary measures of achievement

16. Usingthe Model We use the model to: • Develop strategies that support parents’ motivations for becoming actively involved in their child’s/ student’s education • Target specific learning mechanisms that parents can use in supporting their children’s learning • Target—with parents—the “proximal” learning outcomes influenced by their involvement (include a strong focus with parents on importance of these outcomes for children’s school success)

17. Model Level 1: Why Do Parents Decide to Become Involved? • The model’s Level 1 suggests that parents are motivatedto become involved by three major kinds of reasons: • Psychological motivators (role construction, efficacy) • Contextual motivators (invitations from school, teachers, child) • Life context variables (‘fit’ with parents’ skills & knowledge, time & energy, family culture)

18. Model Level 1: Why Do Parents Decide to Become Involved? Psychological motivators • Parental role construction: “Do I believe I’m supposed to be involved?” • Parent’ssense of efficacy for helping the child learn: “Do I believe my involvement will make a difference for my child?” • It’s very important to note that these motivators are “socially constructed;” that is, schools as a whole, principals, teachers, and other school staff have strong influence on these parental motivations.

19. Model Level 1: Why Do Parents Decide to Become Involved? Contextual motivators • School climate:“Is the school inviting? Do people at the school ‘tell’ me they want my involvement?” • Invitations from the teacher(s): “Does the teacher ask me to be involved? Does he/she offer specific requests and suggestions for my involvement?” • Invitations from the child/student: “Does the child/student want or need my involvement?”

20. Model Level 1: Why Do Parents Decide to Become Involved? Life context variables • Parents’ knowledge & skills: these influence parents’ ideas about • What they can do that is likely to help the child or student succeed in school • What kinds of involvement they prefer • Parents’ time and energy: these influence parents’ ideas about the involvement activities they can reasonably choose to engage in • Parents’ culture: influences parents’ • Ideas about appropriate or possible roles in their children’s education • Perceptions of appropriate and useful involvement activities

21. Model Level 2: Mechanisms of Involvement’s Influence • The model’s Level 2 suggests that there are four major learning mechanisms that parents employ during involvement activities: • Encouragement • Modeling • Reinforcement • Instruction

22. Model Level 2: Mechanisms of Involvement’s Influence Encouragement • Positive emotion, behavior, and words the parent uses to emphasize his/her support for the child’s/student’s learning, effort, and behaviors related to education • Parents’ explicit positive attitude about, support for educational goals and outcomes for the child

23. Model Level 2: Mechanisms of Involvement’s Influence Modeling • Modeling refers to parents’ actions and behaviors and the understanding that children learn from observing and processing their observations of parents’ behaviors • Modeling as related to parents’ influence on children’s learning may take direct and indirect forms

24. Model Level 2: Mechanisms of Involvement’s Influence Modeling • Direct modeling occurs when parents work explicitly to show the child how something is done, what one might do, how one should proceed • Indirect modeling occurs when the child/student observes parents’ normal behaviors, activities, etc. and processes that information in thinking about his/her own learning and behavior

25. Model Level 2: Mechanisms of Involvement’s Influence Reinforcement • Reinforcement refers to those external ‘rewards’ or behavioral contingencies that parents enact with the general intention of shaping the child’s/student’s behavior to meet desired goals

26. Model Level 2: Mechanisms of Involvement’s Influence Instruction • Instruction refers to parental interactions with the child/student focused on helping the child learn something • Direct instruction generally involves helping the child learn facts and straightforward processes • Indirect instruction generally involves asking questions, offering suggestions intended to guide the child/student in developing his/her ‘own’ responses

27. Model Level 4: Proximal Outcomes of Parental Involvement • Academic self-efficacy: The student’s belief that she/he can do the work required for learning success • (Intrinsic) motivation: The students’ ‘internal’ interest in the content of learning

28. Looking for resources . . . In addition to the four readings from our lab made available on the conference website, the following are also excellent sources of information about varied ways to enhance parents’ motivations for involvement, use of effective learning mechanisms during involvement, and focus on learning attributes/proximal outcomes that support the child’s/student’s achievement:

29. What Else Can We Do To Encourage Involvement? A Sample of Resources Bryk, A.S., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Chavkin, N.F. (Ed.). (1997). Families and schools in a pluralistic society. Albany: State University of New York Press. Christenson, S.L. (2004). The family-school partnership: An opportunity to promote the learning competence of all students. School Psychology Review, 33(1), 83-104. Clark, R. (1983).Family life and school achievement: Why poor Black children succeed or fail. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Comer, J.P. (1993). School power: Implications of an intervention project. New York: Free Press. Constantino, S.M. (2003). Engaging all families: Creating a positive school culture by putting research into practice. Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Press. Delgado-Gaitain, C. (2004). Involving Latino families in schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Epstein, J.L. (1986). Parents’ reactions to teacher practices of parent involvement. Elementary School Journal, 86, 277-294.

30. What Else Can We Do To Encourage Involvement? A Sample of Resources Epstein, J.L., Sanders, M.G., Simon, B.S., Salinas, K.C., & Jansorn, N.R. (2002). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Green, C.L., Walker, J.M.T., Hoover-Dempsey, K.V. & Sandler, H.M. (2007). Parents’ motivations for involvement in children’s education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3), 532-544. Grolnick, W.S., Benjet, C., Kurowski, C.O., & Apostoleris, N.H. (1997). Predictors of parent involvement in children’s schooling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 538-548. Henderson, A.T., & Mapp, K.L. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Henderson, A.T., Mapp, K. L., Johnson, V. R., & Davies, D. (2007). Beyond the bake sale: The essential guide to family-school partnerships. New York: The New Press. Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., & Sandler, H. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children’s education? Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 3-42.

31. What Else Can We Do To Encourage Involvement? A Sample of Resources Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., Walker, J.M., Jones, K.P., & Reed, R.P. (2002). Teachers Involving Parents (TIP): An in-service teacher education program for enhancing parental involvement. Teaching and Teacher Education,18(7), 843-867. Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., et al. (2005). Why do parents become involved? Research findings and implications. Elementary School Journal, 106(2 ), 105-130. Johnson, V.R. (2000). The family center: Making room for parents. Principal, September 2000, 27-31. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Josey-Bass. Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education,72(1), 37-53. Lightfoot, S.L. (2003). The essential conversation: What parents and teachers can learn from each other. New York: Random House. Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect home and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2),132-141.

32. What Else Can We Do To Encourage Involvement? A Sample of Resources National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education. (2001). Developing family-school partnerships: Guidelines for schools and school districts. Washington DC: National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education. National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). (2000). Building successful partnerships: A guide for developing parent and family involvement programs. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service. Patrikakou, E.N., Weissberg, R.P., Redding, S., & Walberg, H.J. (Eds.). (2005). School-family partnerships for children’s school success. New York: Teachers College Press. Weiss, H.B., et al., (2003) Making it work: Low-income working mothers’ involvement in their children’s education. American Educational Research Journal, 409 40 , 879-901. Weiss, H.B., Krieder, H., Lopez, M.E., & Chatman, C.M. (2005). Preparing educators to involve families: From theory to practice. Available at www.finenetwork.org or through hfrp@gse.harvard.edu.