Home-school partnerships command a lot of attention these days. Well-intentioned educators are recommending an infusion of energy toward increasing parental participation in schools. The federal government has issued documents to help schools organize parent participation programs (for example, Rutherford et al. 1997). Major reform efforts and educational interventions list parental involvement as an important ingredient. Scholarly writing on the topic abounds, and various publications offer guidance to schools or describe exemplary programs.
——What does research say about the role of parental involvementat home and in schoolin supporting youngsters' academic achievement? Unfortunately, the mountain of material about parent-school partnerships yields few if any empirical data about the impact of parental involvement on students' academic achievement. But a different set of research studies provides much information that educators should consider. Empirical data show that specific parenting practices are related to students' academic achievement. It is important to understand how, and to what extent, "parental engagement behaviors" bolster student learning.
The Importance of the Home Environment
Until the early 1960s, sociologists believed that school performance and intelligence were immutably connected with socioeconomic status and family structure. However, building on the ideas of Benjamin Bloom, Dave (1963) and Wolf (1964) demonstrated that differences in children's performance could be explained instead by specific conditions and parental behaviors, including parents' roles as language models, parents' press for achievement, and provisions for general learning.
Clark (1983) added significantly to our understanding through an intensive study of 10 African-American students from poor homes, half of whom were successful academically and half of whom were not. The researchers discovered that parents of high-achieving students had distinct styles of interacting with their children. They created emotionally supportive home environments and provided reassurance when the youngsters encountered failure. They viewed school performance as being accomplished through regular practice and work. They accepted responsibility for assisting their children to acquire learning strategies, as well as a general fund of knowledge.
Research reveals that parental engagement at home and engagement at school are not equally important to children's learning. At the same time, extensive research reviews find that the home environment is among the most important influences on academic performance (Wang et al. 1993).
Parental Engagement at Home
- actively organizing and monitoring the child's time;
- helping with homework; and
- discussing school matters with the child.
The exact form that each of these takes may differ from one family to another, but research shows that each is important. In fact, studies of student resilience indicate that many of these same behaviors explain why some students succeed academically despite the adversities posed by poverty, minority status, or native language (Finn 1993, Masten 1994, Peng and Lee 1992).
Managing and organizing time. Clark's original study found that parents of successful students actively helped them organize their daily and weekly schedules and checked regularly to see whether they were following the routines. Other studies have shown that children who are involved in regular routines at home tend to have better school performance (for example, Astone and McLanahan 1991, Taylor 1996).
Monitoring children's use of time is identified as important in all studies of parental engagement (for example, Astone and McLanahan 1991; Ho and Willms 1996; Crouter et al. 1990; Lamborn et al. 1992). Research shows that parents of academically successful students make sure they are informed about their youngsters' activities in school, their school performance, and whether or not they have been assigned homework; and they make certain that a place and time are allocated for homework. In addition, school performance is better among students whose parents know where they are, who they are with, and when they plan to come home. These parents also exercise reasonable control over nonschool activities—television viewing, in particular.
Involvement with homework. Homework offers an opportunity for parents to show an interest and to take a direct role in their youngster's schooling. Making certain that homework is completed, discussing the specifics of assignments and papers, explaining the assignments, checking accuracy, and actively helping children complete assignments have all been found to be related to children's academic performance (Ho and Willms 1996, Clark 1983, Finn 1993, Lamborn et al. 1992). If a parent is not familiar with the content of the schoolwork, the acts of asking questions about an assignment and examining completed work still underscore the importance attached to skill development.
In some instances, parents may serve as tutors to their children. Peterson (1989) notes that the familiarity of the home environment, in contrast to the structure of the classroom, can become a comfortable setting for tutoring. In a survey of parents of elementary schoolchildren, Epstein (1983) found that more than 85 percent spent at least 15 minutes daily tutoring their children when the teacher requested it. Of course, tutoring requires some degree of subject-matter knowledge and some knowledge of teaching strategies.
Discussing school matters. Children whose parents converse regularly with them about school experiences perform better academically than children who rarely discuss school with their parents (Astone and McLanahan 1991, Ho and Willms 1996, Finn 1993). Other research suggests that the nature of parent-child discussions is also important. Parents should be willing to hear about difficulties, as well as successes, and play a supportive role, encouraging persistence when schoolwork or relationships at school are problematic (Clark 1983, Lamborn et al. 1992, Steinberg 1996). Research supports joint parent-student decision making when the situation permits, such as choosing what project to undertake or, in later grades, what courses to take (for example, Lamborn et al. 1992, Taylor 1996). This level of interest is associated with higher student engagement, as well as academic achievement.
Literacy and reading at home. Studies from Wolf and Dave to the present have shown a positive relationship between a literacy-laden home and students' school performance. The presence of newspapers, magazines, books, a dictionary, and a computer or word processor helps to create a positive home setting. Even when these resources are in short supply, reading to a child and asking the child to read to the parent are crucial activities for the development of literacy. A great deal of research confirms a strong relationship between parents reading to their children and the development of reading proficiency (see Anderson et al. 1985 for a summary). Further, there is an important connection between children's reading to their parents and reading achievement—especially if the parents guide and correct the young readers (Tracey 1995).
Unfortunately, many households, especially low-income or minority homes, have few books in total and even fewer that are appropriate and interesting to children (Edwards 1992; Baker et al. 1997). Children from these homes arrive at school with surprisingly little experience with books. At the same time, many parents feel they lack, or actually do lack, the skills to guide their children's reading or schoolwork (Edwards 1995; Hoover-Dempsey et al. 1995). Some parents who attempt to read with their youngsters make beginners' mistakes, such as reading an entire story just to get through it when part of a story would suffice; focusing so much on mechanics that their child's motivation is diminished; and taking a punitive attitude when the child makes errors.
School-sponsored programs, although not universally available, have been highly successful in improving these situations. At least one program provided books for children to take home twice a week (Toomey 1992). A large number of school-parent reading programs have been reviewed by Topping (1986), Edwards (1992), and Tracey (1995). Better programs have proactive components to recruit parents, improve their literacy skills, help them develop a regular structure for home-based literacy, help them overcome obstacles to literacy activities in the home, and convince them that their children can become successful readers.
Most research on parental engagement at home, with the exception of studies of parent-child reading, has involved students at the junior high level. There are good reasons to believe that the same parental engagement behaviors are important for younger children. Psychologists and educators agree on the importance of setting habits early on that persevere throughout childhood and beyond. Early behavior that is dysfunctional tends to be sustained and to increase over the years (see Finn 1993); the most efficient time to set a child on a positive path is at a young age.
Parental Engagement in School
The opportunity for parents to stay intensively involved in school diminishes as students become increasingly independent and as peers come to have greater influence (Epstein 1984, Steinberg 1996). At the same time, parents can continue to be in-school participants by visiting the school; attending school events, performances, and athletics; and initiating contact with teachers and administrators.
It may be surprising that research has not consistently documented links between parents' in-school engagement and student achievement. Steinberg (1996) found a small but statistically significant correlation of achievement with parents' attendance at school programs, conferences, and extracurricular activities. The author noted that teachers may pay more attention to students whose parents are involved in the school, which may in turn explain the relationship. But others (for example, Finn 1993, Ho and Willms 1996, Taylor 1996) found little or no relationship between grades or achievement scores and parental visits to school, volunteer work, attendance at school events, and so on. Interestingly, several studies found that the relationship between parent-teacher contacts and academic achievement is negative; obviously, contacts increase when a student experiences academic or behavior problems (Milne et al. 1986; Ho and Willms 1996).
Given this research base, it is natural to ask why there is so much pressure to increase parent-school partnerships. Much has been written about different ways in which parents and schools can work together to facilitate academic outcomes. For example, Epstein and Dauber (1991) list basic health and safety responsibilities of parents and of schools; volunteering and attending school functions; parental involvement in learning at home, as recommended and supported by school staff; parental involvement in decision making; and encouraging parents and schools to become involved in community organizations that can support families and children's learning. Like other research, the data presented by Epstein and Dauber show that parents who are involved in some of these activities tend also to be involved in others, but not that these activities are related to children's school performance. These types of activities require real time commitments—time not always available to a single or working parent (Moles 1987). A parent who does not have the time for in-school involvement may, out of frustration, not consider more helpful activities that can take place at home.
For these reasons, we must ask whether it is prudent to emphasize increased parent-school connections at this time. Although there can certainly be no harm in promoting parental involvement, and although parents who exhibit one sort of engagement are likely to practice others, the only answer research provides about the unique benefits of engagement in school is "the jury is still out."
What of the Disengaged?
In his work on child-rearing practices, Steinberg (1996) described parents who are "disengaged"—that is, who are authoritarian in their interactions with their children, who fail to provide guidance or structure in the family setting, and who fail to provide the emotional support needed when the child encounters problems. Steinberg found that children whose parents are disengaged have the poorest developmental patterns, lacking psychological maturity, social competence, and self-esteem. The problems encountered by these youngsters, in school and out, multiply throughout the school years.
The research reviewed here points to specific attitudes and behaviors that, if implemented by parents, are associated with improved academic performance. These practices have been classified by Hoover-Dempsey and others (1995) as (1) providing structure—structuring routines at home, and coordinating with school when problems arise; and (2) active involvement—monitoring the youngster's expenditure of time, teaching and explaining concepts, reviewing homework, and providing support when the child experiences difficulties. These authors and others give guidelines for parents who wish to increase their support for their children's academic work, and many effective programs are available for parents who would like assistance. Although the research evidence on participation in school is mixed, the evidence about parental engagement at home is persuasive. Disengagement is incapacitating.
Studies reviewed here (Epstein 1983, Toomey 1992) indicate that schools can foster the specific behaviors at home that promote student performance. In view of this, educators should pay particular attention to one ingredient of home-school partnerships. Most programs include an "outreach" effort to encourage parental involvement, both at home and at school. Educators should encourage this function, at least, of parent-school partnerships.
