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Department:
This research was made possible in part by support from the Undergraduate Research
Opportunity Program, Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters,
and the University of Notre Dame.
Understanding Under-Involvement:
The Educational Involvement Decisions of Motivated Low-SES Parents
Numerous studies have found that parents’ involvement in their children’s education is an
important component of student achievement (e.g., Compton-Lilly, 2003; Lareau, 2000; Shields,
Gordon, & Dupree, 1983; Walker, Wilkins, Dallaire, Sandler & Hoover-Dempsey, 2005).
Specifically, Greenwood and Hickman (1991) found that parental involvement enhances a
child’s attitude, sense of well-being, and educational aspirations while also improving grades and
readiness for school. In addition, Anderson (2000) observed that parental involvement decreases
the likelihood that students will be placed in special education, repeat a grade, and or drop out.
Other studies have found that parental involvement increases student motivation (Gonzales-
Haas, Willems & Doan Holbein, 2005) and decreases instances of behavioral problems (Domina,
2005).
Department of Education released What Works: Research about Teaching and Learning. This
guide to effective educational methods regards parents as “children’s first and most influential
teachers” (p. 5), and advocates that parents read to their children frequently and incorporate
literacy and numerical skills into home activities. More recently, the US Department of
Education (2004) stated that parental involvement is a key factor in creating successful schools
and increasing student achievement. Additionally, in a 2002 USA Today article entitled “Schools
Can’t Improve Without Help of Parents,” then Secretary of Education Rod Paige called energetic
and enthusiastic involvement from all parents “the most important help of all” in achieving
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Despite researchers’ and policymakers’ vehement endorsement of parental involvement,
(Goodwin & King, 2002), ironically shutting out the low-income parents whose children are
often most in need of support. Other research (Englund, et al., 2004; Lareau, 2000) confirms that
parents of low-socioeconomic status (SES) tend to be less involved in their children’s education
volunteerism and working with children at home. In particular, Lareau found that low-SES
parents are less likely to supplement curriculum with closely related work at home, to challenge
teachers’ expertise, and to communicate with other parents about their children’s education.
However, other studies have demonstrated that low-SES parents are just as eager to help
their children succeed in school as their higher-SES counterparts (e.g., Handel, 1999; Lareau,
2000). For instance, Handel writes about students in her developmental reading class for adults.
While her students, many of whom were low-SES parents, seemed disengaged with course
material, they would eagerly crowd around her desk after class to ask questions about reading to
their children. Furthermore, Lareau found that low-SES parents value education as much as
discourse that says urban, low-SES parents do not care about education. She explains that these
parents attempt to support their children academically from within their difficult social context.
As a result, their methods of involvement are often different from the mainstream, causing their
The somewhat conflicting findings summarized above beg the question of why low-SES
parents are less involved in their children’s education despite being highly motivated. In order to
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involvement decisions. In what follows, I combine the work of previous scholars who have
noted the differences in involvement by middle/high-SES and low-SES parents and others who
have developed models to explain parents’ decisions about involvement. Specifically, my study
shows that certain characteristics and experiences common to low-SES parents affect their
involvement decisions and lead to low levels of traditional involvement activities, such as
volunteering in the classroom, helping with homework, and reading with children.
Methods
This study builds upon a study conducted by the principal and Title I Family and
school. After surveying parents’ concepts of involvement, they determined that parents fall into
three main categories. First, a very small group of parents does not believe that parental
education. Finally, a “middle group” of parents believes that parental involvement is important,
but is not effectively involved. According to this study, the majority of parents fall into the
middle group.
Diamond’s Title I Family and Community Specialist, Ms. Ford, describes the middle
group as “parents who care, but don’t know what to do.” They fit the description of low-SES
parents put forth by Handel, Lareau, and Compton-Lily and discussed above, in that they are
motivated to be involved but are unsure about how to do so. My research seeks to better
understand the involvement decisions of this group of parents in light of theoretical models by
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All names of people and places have been changed.
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Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995) and Walker, et al (2005), which have proposed specific
what factors affect the decisions of low-SES parents and in what ways, educators and
The first two stages of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model deal with decision-making
in parental involvement. The first level of the model looks at parents’ decisions to become
involved in their children’s education. According to the model, this decision is shaped by three
main factors: parental role construction, which refers to parents’ belief that it is part of their role
as a parent to be involved in their children’s education; sense of efficacy, which refers to parents’
confidence in their ability to help children succeed in school; and general opportunities and
The next level deals with parents’ choices about specific methods of involvement, which
occur after the initial decision to become involved. It credits self-perceived specific skills and
knowledge, total demands on time and energy, and specific requests for involvement as the main
factors of those choices. Furthermore, these factors are affected by parents’ direct experience,
vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Figure 1 below summarizes the
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Figure 1: Levels 1 and 2 of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s Model
A more recent follow-up to that study (Walker, et al., 2005) reorganized the model
somewhat, but retained its original factors. Walker and her colleagues found that three
categories are parents’ motivational beliefs, defined as parental role construction and perceived
efficacy; parents’ perceptions of invitations for involvement from others, defined as perceptions
of general school invitations, perceptions of specific child invitations, and perceptions of specific
teacher invitations; and finally parents’ perceived life context, defined as self-perceived time and
energy and self-perceived skills and knowledge. Figure 2 below summarizes this model.
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Figure 2: Walker, et al.’s Model
Midwestern city and enrolling approximately 275 students in grades K-4. It is a school-wide
Title 1 school with 86% of its students qualifying for free lunch in 2005-2006. Preliminary data
for the 2006-2007 school year estimate the following racial make-up: 48% Black, 21% Hispanic,
15% White, 12% Multiracial, and 4% Asian. Diamond’s 2004 No Child Left Behind Report
Card, contained in Appendix A, shows passing rates on state standardized tests to be below both
Data from the 2000 Census help to shows the SES of Diamond parents. Although Census
data describes the SES of this community to be lower than the district, state, and nation by most
university in the area. While many middle/high-SES faculty members from the university live
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very few children associated with the university actually attend Diamond. Appendix B
summarizes demographics for the community that Diamond serves and compares these data
The most significant section of data was collected through three focus groups consisting
of nine parents from the middle group at Diamond Primary School. The focus groups were tape-
recorded and later transcribed. Because a significant number of Diamond parents do not speak
English fluently, one focus group was conducted in Spanish with the help of a translator. After
each focus group, parents completed a short survey of questions relating to the study.
Parents were chosen based on prior survey data and suggestions from Diamond faculty.
In particular, I sought parents from the middle group. Certain parents also volunteered to
participate, which influenced selection. Of the nine selected parents, eight were mothers, and
one was a father. One participant was White with multi-racial children; five participants were
Black; and three participants were Latino/a. Four parents did not graduate from high school or
earn a GED; three parents did not graduate from high school, but later earned a GED; one parent
attended some college; and the final parent graduated from a four-year college. On a scale of 1-
10, all parents rated their parental involvement between 8 and 10, showing that they believed
Data gained from focus groups was combined with and supported by survey data from a
broader sample of Diamond parents and interviews with faculty. These data contributed
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Data Analysis
I developed focus-group questions around the two theoretical models, asking questions
about factors of parental-involvement decision-making. I began with general questions, such as,
“How are you involved in your child’s education, both at home and at school?” I then moved to
more specific questions about factors in the model. For example, I asked parents, “Would you
like to be more involved, but other things prevent you?” in order to understand how their
perceptions of demands on time and energy affected their involvement decisions. In addition,
my progression of questions differed among focus groups based on parents’ responses. For
instance, parents from the first focus group were more involved so I focused questions on how
they chose their involvement activities while parents from the second focus group were generally
less involved so I asked questions aimed at understanding what prevented their involvement.
For the Spanish-speaking focus group, I asked parents some of the same questions that I
asked at previous focus groups, but I concentrated on how their language barrier affects their
parental-involvement decisions. For example, I asked these parents, “What special difficulties
does not speaking English create in terms of your involvement at school?” Appendix D contains
In analyzing surveys data and interviews with faculty, I looked for factors of involvement
decision-making that may be present at Diamond but not captured by the small sample of nine
focus-group participants. I also looked for factors that parents might have been uncomfortable
discussing in the setting of the focus group, such as lack of resources. Interviews with Diamond
faculty were especially helpful in understanding some of the effects of poverty and low SES on
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Results
The results of my research show that certain factors from Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s
(1995) and Walker, et al.’s (2005) models are especially significant in the involvement decisions
of low-SES parents. These factors are parental role construction, sense of efficacy, general
opportunities and invitations for involvement, demands on time and energy, perceived skills and
knowledge, and direct experience. Other factors from the models appeared, but less frequently.
Furthermore, research revealed the role of factors outside the model; namely awareness, reactive
Although my results share many similarities with the previous theoretical models, the
true importance of my findings lies in their deviance from other studies. Because the previous
explain the actions of middle-SES parents. My results, however, reveal those factors that most
influence low-SES parents as well as factors not uncovered previously. Below, I describe in
more detail the factors that affected parents most and offer examples of the models at work
among Diamond parents. Appendix E gives the number of references made to influencing
factors along with the methods of research in which these references occurred.
Parental role construction, which appears in both previous models, refers to parents’
belief that it is part of their role as parents to be involved in their children’s education. For
example, Lareau (2000) found that low-SES parents who lack proper role construction defer to
teachers on educational decisions because they believe teachers have expertise, which makes
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Most Diamond parents reflected Lareau’s observations in that they believed teachers to
possess special knowledge that superseded parents’ own knowledge. When asked to describe the
school/teacher’s job and the parents’ job in terms of education, most parents answered in
hierarchical terms that described the teacher as leader and the parent as supporter of the teacher.
For example, one parent answered that the school/teacher’s job is “to teach them [students] what
they need to know to go the next grade.” This same parent then said that the parents’ job is to
“reinforce” what the teacher does. Two other parents offered similar supporting roles for
parents, including, “to help [the teacher],” and “to back them [the teacher] up.” Only one parent
at this focus group described a relationship between equals by characterizing the roles as
“teamwork.”
A more specific example arose as two parents expressed their disappointment with
previous schools and teachers. One mother believed that her child might not have needed to
repeat second grade if she had had a different teacher. When asked if she would question the
teacher or request a transfer for her child if a similar situation occurred in the future, the mother
Monica: I don’t think I would [question the teacher]. I don’t know. I would really
have to talk with the teacher before I just question her. You know, you [the
teacher] are the one that’s teaching. You know what she’s [Monica’s daughter]
doing and what she can and can’t do. I’m not just going to say, “No, you’re
wrong.”
Monica’s statement agrees with Lareau’s findings about the role construction of low-SES
parents. She believes that teachers possess a level of expertise not to be challenged by parents.
Most interestingly, Monica believes that her daughter’s teacher has a better grasp of what her
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Although Lareau’s findings about low-SES’s parents’ reluctance to challenge teacher’s
expertise were common among Diamond parents, some parents showed a willingness to oppose
teachers. For example, when Allison disagreed with a previous school’s methods of instruction
Allison: I didn’t like that school. [They would say] she couldn’t spell, but she could
spell at home, anything she wanted to spell. She read stuff that she saw on TV.
She could read a book to me and her brothers and sisters. How were they going
to keep sitting there and telling me that she couldn’t spell and she couldn’t read?
…I took her out of there and put her here. It was just to the point where, “No, it’s
not working.”
Allison’s role construction was strong enough that was able to trust her own assessment of her
daughter’s ability over that of the school and to evaluate the quality of the school.
Jackie also possesses a strong role construction. She characterizes her perception of the
important part she plays in her daughter’s education in this excerpt, which describes the roles of
Jackie: We’re trying to build each other up, you know. It’s like bricks. [The parent]
puts the brick on this side. I give it to the teacher. She puts it on her side. You
know, we’re trying to build that foundation, so I’m just looking at it like, “Here,
you stack this brick on this side to get [my daughter] in line.” You [the teacher]
tell me, “Here stack this brick. This is how you get her in line.” I’m telling her
about the behavior problem. She’s telling me about the teaching problem. You
know what I’m saying, we’re just steady going up, steady going up.
Jackie’s comment signifies that she does not believe the teacher is the leader in education.
Rather, she sees herself and the teacher as equals specializing in different areas of her daughter’s
education and well-being. She believes that sometimes the teacher gives her specific tasks to
reinforce her child’s learning, but just as often, she helps the teacher to better understand her
daughter's needs.
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Sense of Efficacy
Parents’ sense of efficacy for helping children succeed in school refers to parents’ belief
that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to help their children, that their children can
learn from them, and that they can find alternative sources of help if necessary. In keeping with
the models, those Diamond parents who seemed most involved had the greatest sense of efficacy,
while those who were under-involved possessed a weak sense of efficacy. For example, Susan,
who was the most involved of the parents in the study, explained how important even seemingly
Susan: A lot of people don’t realize, and a lot of parents don’t realize that your
child’s self-esteem starts there [with parental involvement]. You know with
school, being able to say, “Yeah, my mom will be here for parent-teacher
conferences; Yeah, my mom will volunteer; Yeah, my mom will bake cookies.”
That’s something that’s very important to a child, and I think a lot of people don’t
realize that… [Lack of involvement] almost makes you feel as if, “What am I
doing this for? If nobody’s excited and supporting me…what am I doing it for?”
And I think that’s how a lot of kids get lost, because they don’t get that support. I
think it’s just so, so important.
Susan’s remark shows her strong sense of efficacy. She believes that parental involvement, from
considerable activities like parent-teacher conferences and volunteerism all the way down to
simple activities like baking cookies, encourages and motivates children, leading to high
academic achievement.
Other parents expressed similar feelings of efficacy. Interestingly, all parents who spoke
any belief in their ability to help children learn material. Rather, they believed that they could
encourage children to focus and try hard in school through exhibitions of interest and
involvement.
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General Opportunities and Demands for Involvement
Diamond parents were very much affected by general opportunities and demands for
involvement. According to Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler and Walker and colleagues, for
opportunities for involvement can be presented by both children and schools. For example, if
children eagerly ask parents to be involved and schools create a welcoming atmosphere for
parents, parents will be more likely to become involved. Research showed that general
opportunities presented by the school had an especially large effect on parents’ involvement
decisions. Specifically, those parents who felt welcome frequently came to school to attend
events or check the progress of students. However, those parents who did not feel welcome
For example, parents who knew Ms. Ford, who says the essence of her job “is to make a
positive school climate for our parents,” felt very welcome at Diamond. They attributed their
frequent presence at school to her practices of sending out invitations, making reminder phone
calls about meetings and events, and her overall willingness to help parents.
Unfortunately, some parents had not experienced the welcoming atmosphere created by
Ms. Ford. Missy waited until parent-teacher conferences to meet her son’s teacher because she
did not feel welcome at the school at other times. She described one time when she attempted to
Missy: Well, I just met my son’s teacher at the parent-teacher conference. I think we
missed back-to-school night so I didn’t get a change to meet her then…But as far
as getting in contact with them…I was down there. I don’t think they wanted me
to come down. I wasn’t, you know…I just wanted to come down to bring his
homework and talk to his teacher, try to explain to her [why they hadn’t met
before]. But they just said, “Well, just leave it in the mailbox.” So that’s what I
did.
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Missy interpreted this action by one of the school’s secretaries, which was probably meant to
save Missy the time of walking to her son’s classroom, as unwelcoming and discouraging. She
waited until two months into the school year to return to school and finally meet her son’s
teacher.
on parents’ time and energy. Their findings are significant because they contradict the common
belief that low-SES parents are unable to become involved in their children’s educations due to
considerable demands from work and family responsibilities. On the contrary, Hoover-Dempsey
and Sandler assert that these demands affect parents’ decision on “how to become involved, not
whether to become involved,” (p. 318). Once parents have decided in favor of involvement, they
will choose methods of involvement that fit their schedule, no matter how busy. For example,
parents who work fulltime may read to their children before bed even though their work
volunteer at school due to work or school schedules. Other parents said the demands of being a
single parent kept them from volunteering. However, instead of saying that they had no time to
be involved, this group consistently expressed their belief that their involvement was extremely
Similar issues relating to demands on time and energy came up in focus group
discussions, though less frequently than in survey responses. In fact, less than half of focus
group participants said that lack of time or energy kept them from being as involved at the
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wanted to be. Parents who did cited working long hours, being a single parent, attending other
activities, and taking care of sick parents as obstacles to their involvement. For example, Missy
said, “I don’t really have an excuse other than sometimes just being tired.”
A majority of parents did not perceive demands on time and energy from other
responsibilities as obstacles to their involvement. Several mothers either did not work or worked
jobs that allowed them to be with their children after school hours. The one father who
participated in the focus groups worked, but did not believe this prevented him from being
involved. Jackie, who was currently looking for a job, explained that her job would have to be
Jackie: Yeah, I’m out filling out job applications now and whoever hires me is going
to have to do loopdy-doop-bridge roller coasters. I tell all the jobs, I got stuff I
need to do with the kids. I need the money, but that’s not my first priority. My
kids, I’m sorry…I know I need my money, but I can work 3rd shift. I know I need
my money, but I need my memories…I am a memory person. Money is cool, but I
don’t base my life on money. If I have it, I have it. If I don’t, I don’t. As long as
my bills are paid and my kids are taken care of… I need my kids. It’s about my
kids.
Jackie’s comment shows the dedication exhibited by many low-SES parents, which is often
overlooked by mainstream discourse that assumes low-SES parents are simply too busy to be as
year old daughter and 4-year old twins is very demanding, she finds ways to juggle her schedule
According to the concept of self-perceived specific skills and knowledge put forth in the
models, parents choose involvement activities at which they believe they will be successful. For
example, athletic parents who performed poorly in academics may offer to help coach a sports
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team rather than help their children with homework. Similarly, shy parents may prefer home-
based activities, such as reading with their children, to school-based activities, such as
Survey data show that Diamond parents’ reflect the above findings. For example, in
response to a question that asked about parental involvement activities, one parent said that they
help their child at home but do not come to school because they are shy and uncomfortable in
large groups. Another parent said they themselves need help with basic literacy, but they do the
speaking parents chose methods of involvement that did not require English. These parents
frequently chose involvement activities that related to extracurricular activities, such as sports
and music. In addition, Clara, who volunteered at the school sometimes, suggested that the
school offer involvement activities that would include parents who could not speak English:
Clara: I wish they also encouraged parents more to help make the school better. I
volunteer here sometimes, but if other parents could help paint or plant trees to
make it greener, I think that would really make things better for the students.
Those are the kinds of things I can help out with because they don’t require
English skills.
Direct experience
My research suggests that direct experience directly affects parents’ decisions to become
involved. In particular, many parents linked their involvement decisions, both positive and
negative, to their own experiences. This finding contrasts with those of Hoover-Dempsey and
Sandler, who link direct experience to sense of efficacy. They suggest that parents who have
been successful in school, parents who recognize that their own parents’ involvement helped
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them succeed in school, and parents who have previously helped children succeed are more
likely than parents without these experiences to have a strong sense of efficacy.
Diamond parents often had negative experiences in terms of parental involvement and
school. The effects of these experiences have been positive in some instances but negative in
others. For example, Susan and Missy have chosen to be involved in their children’s education
precisely because they missed their own parents’ involvement while they were in school.
However, other Diamond parents choose not be involved at school because of their own negative
experiences as students.
Susan described how her parents’ lack of involvement influences her own involvement
decisions:
Susan: My parents weren’t [involved], and that’s why I think I am so much. I grew
up in a lot of different foster homes, and when I look back on that…I mean I was
involved in a lot of sports, and school came natural to me, but just having that…I
mean even something as simple as a school play and being able to look up and
know someone was there to support you.
In this comment, Susan expresses the disappointment and discouragement she felt growing up
without any parental support in her education. Susan has chosen to become involved so that her
In a separate focus group, Missy expressed a similar link between her own direct
Missy: Yeah, I believe that [you model parenting after your own parents]. But as far
as parental involvement—as far as school and my mom—she really didn’t really
go, and she didn’t really participate. We weren’t real involved in sports or band
or anything. I am raising my kids like she raised me, but as far as school, she
really didn’t come out and be involved…I just want to see what’s going on from
the inside and try to make sure I know what’s going on so that when my son
comes home, I can be able to relate to him. And also, you know, I want to play a
part because my mom didn’t. And I know how it felt not to have your mom there,
or dad there. So I want to be a strong support for him in school.
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Although she maintains a close relationship with her mother and believes she models many of
her parenting techniques after those of her mother, Missy says educational involvement is one
aspect of parenting in which her actions differ from her mother’s, largely because she recognizes
the effect that lack of involvement had on her own school experience
Ms. Ford talks about the negative experience that many parents probably had and its possible
repercussions:
Ms. Ford: The experiences that a lot of our families had as kids in school are not the
best. A lot of parents are coming from corporal punishment in schools. We only
eradicated that in like ‘94 from our corporation. So I’m sitting here thinking,
“Why would you want to go into school if the last time you were in school, you
were being spanked.”
Ms. Ford suspects that because many parents had negative experiences, such as corporal
punishment, as students, they are reluctant to return to school as parents. They see school as a
My study also revealed some causes of under-involvement among Diamond parents that
the pervious models do not address. The first of these causes, which can be described as
characteristics of low SES, emerged through an interview with Ms. Ford. She cited the
following causes of under-involvement, which she has observed through her interaction with
parents:
Ms. Ford: Our parents feel so disenfranchised. Parents have often a lot of learned
helplessness, and that happens a lot with poverty. And also…plain old
availability of resources [is missing]. When I say that, I guess I am referring to
[resources] like telephones. Not all of our parents have working telephones. So
they can’t call the teacher or call other parents and ask them questions. And
phone numbers are disconnected and reconnected. So even if you had a phone
and you had another parent’s phone number, is their phone going to be working?
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Awareness
Some parents seemed to lack a general awareness about what types of activities
constituted parental involvement in education. For example, when asked what they do to be
involved in their children’s education, parents from the second focus groups answered, among
other things, that they take their children to the movies, the mall, and the skating rink. They
mentioned helping with homework and reading to children only after being prompted.
Moreover, most parents worried that they would not know how to help their children as they
reached higher-grade levels despite feeling comfortable at the elementary-school level. Others
Reactive Attitude
Some parents exhibited a reactive attitude toward parental involvement that caused them
to become involved only after students began to have problems in school. For example, Monica
believed that her older child, who was having difficulty in school, required her involvement in
school, but not her younger daughters, who were doing well.
Monica: They’re not the two… My 12 year-old is the one I really have to worry
about. And she’s at [a local middle school]. I really have to stay on her about
her homework and stuff like that. But the two that are here, I don’t.
Monica believes that parental involvement is most important and most effective to students who
are having difficulty in school. She is unaware of the links between parental involvement and
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In another example, Monica told Jackie not to worry about her Kindergartener who had
started school somewhat behind other children because she had not been able to attend Head
Monica: Did you say she’s in Kindergarten? Oh, she’s going to be all right. She’s
going to catch on.
While Jackie was employing impressive involvement methods, comparable to those expected
from middle/high-SES parents, to ensure the academic success of her daughter, Monica told
Jackie that these measures were not necessary. Rather, she believes young children will simply
between the previous and revised models. I then explain how educators and policymakers can
use my findings to increase parental involvment and offer suggestions for further research.
which a variety of factors affect parents’ choices of parental involvement methods. The factors
are divided in two categories: factors from previous models and factors specific to low-SES
parents. The first category contains factors originally found in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s
or Walker, et al.’s models and signifies which of these factors are most prominent. The second
category contains original factors uncovered in this study that relate to low-SES parents’ specific
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Figure 4: Model of Involvement Decision-Making for Low-SES Parents
Factors from
Previous Models
Factors Specific to
Low-SES Parents
Parental Role
Construction Vicarious Experience
Verbal Persuasion Awareness
Emotional Arousal
Parents’ Sense
of Efficacy Reactive
Attitude
Most Prominent
General Invitations/
Feeling Welcome e.g., Lack of Resources, Characteristics
Learned Helplessness, of Low-SES
Disenfranchisement,
Self-Perceived
Lack of Education
Skills and e.g., Language
Knowledge Barriers
Demands on
Time and Energy
Direct
Experience
Specific Invitations
for Involvement
This model is a positive and necessary addition to the previous research because previous
Because low-SES parents often face very different life-contexts than typical parents, the previous
models failed to capture many of the significant factors affecting their involvement decisions and
My research was useful in confirming that many of the factors in Hoover-Dempsey and
Sandler’s and Walker, et al.’s models affect low-SES parents as well as typical middle-SES
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parents. For example, my research found examples of all factors of the previous models, with
parental role construction, sense of efficacy, general opportunities and invitations for
involvement, perceived skills and knowledge, and demands on time and energy being most
prominent. Direct experience was also very prominent among focus-group participants, but it
My research also showed that some unique factors affect low-SES parents. These factors
include lack of awareness, a reactive attitude toward educational involvement, and characteristics
related to low SES. This section of my revised model should be most useful to educators at
schools serving low-SES communities because it offers new findings in this area of research.
Although this study offers a beneficial new perspective to the field of research
pertaining to parental involvement, more research remains to be done. Armed with this
improved understanding of the specific factors influencing low-SES parents’ involvement, others
must now develop research strategies to identify effective methods of targeting these factors to
increase involvement. For example, given the finding of this study that low-SES parents tend to
have a reactive attitude about parental involvement, what can be done to change this attitude?
With a more complete understanding of how to target factors of involvement decision-making
among low-SES parents, educators and policymakers will be able to develop programs that
channel the motivation of low-SES parents into increased student achievement.
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References
Anderson, S. (2000). How Parental Involvement Makes a Difference in
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College Press.
Englund, M., Luckner, A., Whaley, G., & Egeland, B. (2004). Children's Achievement in Early
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Appendix C
What is your name? How many kids do you have at Diamond? What grades are they in?
What do you do to be involved?
Why did you choose to do these things?
What is the school’s job and what is the family’s job?
Were your parents involved?
Do you talk to other parents about school?
How does it make you feel when your child does well in school?
Does your child ask you to be involved?
Is your child resistant to working at home?
Do you feel comfortable communicating with teachers and other people at school?
Is there anything the school could do to change or increase your involvement?
Do you feel able to help your child with their schoolwork? All subjects?
Would you like to attend refresher courses on certain content?
Would you like to be more involved, but other things prevent you?
*Questions are not in order. These questions were asked at one or both English-speaking focus groups.
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Appendix D
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Appendix E
Instances of Factors
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