Factores que intervienen en la participacion familiar escolar: Implicaciones para el ejercicio del liderazgo educativo

The purpose of this multi-methodological research is to study the intervening factors in family involvement and participation in school education and its implications for educational leadership practice. Data obtained was analyzed to identify positive and negative factors that influence family school involvement, both from the K-6 level student's family perspective and from the standpoint of the five school directors that are part of the Puerto Rico Department of Education San Juan II District. Intervening factors in school family involvement were identified by 267 family members and 5 educational leaders of the participant schools. Convergences and divergences among factors were discussed.;Two instruments for data collection were designed and used for this research: a self-administered questionnaire (family survey) and a protocol for a semi-structured interview addressed at school directors. In order to answer the research questions, quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive measures, T-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Wolcott's (1990) model of description, analysis and interpretation was used for the analysis of the research's qualitative component.;The results revealed that one of the most significant negative influences in family school involvement are contextual factors (related to the family context), as identified by both research populations: family members and school leaders. Institutional factors (related to the institutional environment) were mostly identified as promoting family participation and also exerting influence on individual factors (related to family members self-concept). This evidences that there is an existing link between educational leadership and being able to attain the conditions to cause an increase in family involvement. It was also found that some factors identified as promoters of family participation can also transform into hindering factors, either because they are absent or they are not promoted enough.;Studying these factors contributes to the research field in Puerto Rico as it promotes the search for alternatives to increase family involvement in their children's education and more effective programs oriented towards achieving that in the Puerto Rican context.