| The literature points to lack of parental involvement as one issue related to poor math learning. The purpose of this triangulation mixed methods study was to investigate different types of parental involvement and its effects on student achievement. The theoretical base for this study is the theory of Marzano, Henderson, and Canter, which states that parental involvement in their child's learning leads to the academic success. Key variables of focus for this study included parents' education, socioeconomic background, upbringing, and types of parental involvement. A survey, developed from the National Center for Educational Statistics, was distributed within a high school located in a suburb of an eastern U.S. metropolitan center to 1,377 students in 65 mathematics classes. Data were analyzed using a Spearman and Pearson correlation. Interviews with 20 randomly selected parents were coded for themes about the relation between parental involvement and academic success. Journals from parents were collected that reflected interactions within the families such as study locations and how parents were able to aid in the learning process. The results indicated that more education and the higher socioeconomic status of the parents were related to academic success and that the upbringing of the student's parents and parental involvement, such as reading to their child at an early age or constant supervision when the child was working on homework, was also related to academic success. The study contributes to positive social change by providing evidence that active parental involvement in learning can translate into greater academic success of their children. Educational institutions can help parents become more actively involved in their child's learning and academic success. |
