| The federal government has made parental involvement a national priority (No Child Left Behind, 2002). Then too, educational researchers have reported a positive relationship between parental involvement and the academic success of the students in the schools (Shaffer, 2009; Harvard Family Review Project, 2001; Cotton & Wicklund, 2006). This investigation was used to determine the impact of parental involvement on the academic achievement of students in an urban, low-income neighborhood. Two research questions were formed: (1) How do parents rate parental involvement in the school? (2) What is the relationship between parental involvement and student achievement? As related to the second research question, it was predicted that parents who feel that parental involvement in the schools was important would have students who score higher (i.e., or are more likely to meet or exceed the state's standards) on the CRCT in the subject area of Reading than will students whose parents do not feel as though parental involvement in the schools was important. A quantitative research design was used (Creswell, 2009). Parents were asked to respond to the Parental Involvement Questionnaire and archival data were collected from the school's records regarding the performance of the students on the CRCT. A total of 67 parents responded and returned the questionnaire. Results indicated that parents believe their involvement is important and has a positive impact on the academic performance and behavior of the students. Additionally, the pattern of parents' responses suggests that the school would benefit if they engaged in efforts to promote and maintain parental involvement through the PTA. In order to determine if there were a relationship between the parents' perceptions about parental involvement in the school and student achievement (i.e., scores and performance levels on the CRCT in the subject area of Reading), Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficients were performed. Results showed that, while there were some significant relationships, there were no significant relationships revealed between parents' perceptions of parental involvement and the students' scores or performance on the CRCT in Reading. Such results might differ should the same study be conducted using a qualitative research design. Directions for future research and recommendations for educators are discussed. |
