American parents' leadership role in their children's education in Okinawa, Japan

American parents' leadership role in their children's education in Okinawa, Japan, is an important component to the academic success of their children. In Okinawa, Japan, an island, a limited choice of educational institutions exists for families with school-aged children (Wright, 2000). The traditional options found in school choices when in the United States are no longer available when a family arrives in Okinawa, Japan. Parents therefore have to continuously guide, encourage, and motivate their children to remain focused while being away from other family members and friends in the United States. Parents develop their leadership role by assessing, evaluating, and forming their views and applying the knowledge to the education of their children as parents and contributors to the school. Parents' leadership role and perspectives were examined using one-on-one interview with 20 military and government civilian parents who have school-aged children. The purpose of the interpretive phenomenological approach to this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of U.S. military and government civilian parents' leadership role in their children's educational experiences while stationed in Okinawa, Japan.