Mobile Apps for Home-School Communication and Parents’ Motivations for Involvement in International Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ use of mobile apps for home-school communication and parents’ motivations for involvement in their child’s schooling in international schools. A sample consisting of 25 teachers from 10 different international schools in 9 countries and 132 parents representing 34 different nationalities were invited to participate in an online survey. The 157 participants used either the Bloomz, ClassDojo, or Seesaw mobile app for parent-teacher communication. The survey included demographic questions and adapted versions of scales used by Walker et al. (2005) and Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2002) to apply Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s (1995, 1997) model of the parental involvement process. The results of a Pearson’s Product-method correlation test revealed a significant positive correlation between teachers’ use of mobile apps and parents’ perceived motivations for involvement. This finding indicates that parents in classrooms where teachers use mobile apps for home-school communication generally perceive their motivations for involvement positively. Additionally, using Welch unequal variance F-tests, no significant differences in means were found in parents’ perceived motivations for involvement within any of the different demographic groups analyzed. This additional finding indicates that the use of mobile apps for home-school communication may be an effective way to overcome traditional barriers to parent involvement and effectively engage diverse parents in their child’s schooling, in particular, those who might not normally be involved. This current study extends Keyes’ (2000) seminal work, where she identified communication as the central aspect of Epstein’s (1983; 1995) typology of parent involvement. Implications of the findings and recommendations for further research are discussed herein.