The role of communications technologies in facilitating parental involvement in middle schools

Parental involvement in schools has been proclaimed as effective in increasing student academic performance, student behavior, and parental perceptions of schools. Previous studies uncovered a disturbing lack of parental involvement in middle schools.;Communication between parents and schools has been identified as effective in facilitating parental involvement. Over the past 20 years, the use of communication technologies such as cell phones, e-mail, and websites by the American public has steadily increased. This study examined the role of innovative communication technologies in increasing parental involvement in middle schools.;The complexity of parental involvement leads to the need for the use of an assortment of communication methods to achieve family-school partnerships. The results of the study revealed a difference in technology usage by parents and teachers. Parents still rely heavily on traditional communication venues such as the school newsletter. Teachers expressed a preference for using technologies such as e-mail and websites for communication, but they also expressed a willingness to use multiple communication tools to keep parents informed.;This study was limited to three southeastern middle schools and cannot be generalized to other populations. However, the study offers an important basis for future research into the impact of communications technologies on the family-school partnership.