Parents’ Perspectives of Parental Involvement to Support Student Academic Achievement

Abstract

Parental involvement is the foundation for family-school relationships that empower parents, improve student academic achievement, and encourage parents to participate in their children’s education. The problem is the inconsistent parental involvement in a Midwestern school to support students' academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of parents about parental involvement and parents’ perspectives about their role in supporting the academic achievement of their children. The study was grounded in Epstein’s theory of six types of parental involvement and Moll’s theory of funds of knowledge. Two research questions were used to investigate parents’ perspectives on parental involvement and parents’ perspective on their role in supporting the academic achievement of their children. A basic qualitative study methodology was applied, and data were collected using semi-structured interviews of 12 selected participants in stratified sampling. Open and thematic coding was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that parental involvement has been inconsistent due to parental lack of knowledge about school activities, lack of time, and parental conflicts of schedules. Based on the findings, a policy recommendation was created for the school to establish communication standards to increase parental involvement activities at home and school. The findings may lead to positive social change if they are used to strengthen programs that increase participation, inform decisions about involving parents, and promote a culture that helps all stakeholders work together for student academic success.