Previous Reference Desk Digests

• Phonics Instruction — July 23, 2010
• Single-Sex Education — July 16, 2010
• Teacher Candidates' Field Experiences — July 9, 2010
• Kindergarten Entry Age — July 2, 2010
• Equitable Distribution of Teachers — June 25, 2010
• Drug Abuse Prevention Programs — June 18, 2010
• Data Use by Teachers— June 11, 2010
• School Start Time — June 4, 2010
• Balance Balls and Student Attention — May 28, 2010
• Student Mentoring — May 21, 2010
• Alternative Schools — May 14, 2010
• Low-Performing Schools — May 7, 2010
• Extended Learning Time — April 30, 2010
• 21st Century Skills — April 23, 2010
• Dropout Prevention Legislation — April 16, 2010
• High-School Grade Configuration — April 9, 2010
• Middle-Grades Configuration — April 2, 2010
• Music and Infant Development — March 26, 2010
• Homework and Student Achievement — March 19, 2010
• Foreign Language Technology — March 12, 2010
• Standardized Testing — March 5, 2010
• Charter Schools — February 26, 2010
• PD for Principals — February 19, 2010
• Formative Assessment — February 12, 2010
• Limited English Proficiency — February 5, 2010
• Teacher Evaluation Models— January 29, 2010

The Reference Desk, using available evidence and research, provides quick-turnaround responses to questions submitted by education stakeholders around the Northeast and Islands Region. Every Friday, REL-NEI highlights one or two questions submitted to its Reference Desk.

How Can Schools and Districts Promote Parent Involvement?

The Reference Desk has received many questions about supporting struggling students. This week’s question addresses how to increase and promote parent involvement in students’ lives. Among the resources listed below is a REL-NEI report that explores how to promote parent involvement specifically in urban middle and high schools. REL-NEI also hosted a webinar on this topic, which is included below. Finally, a REL Northwest report rounds out this week’s resources. As always, download the full report to learn more.

Question

What research is available about promoting parent involvement in schools?

Research Synopsis

Reference Desk researchers found resources that discuss recent research on increasing parent involvement in children’s lives, as well as reports that list additional resources that might be helpful for researching the topic. Although the Reference Desk found that “the evidence on what works is limited, and the evaluations that do exist are frequently constrained by weak designs,” research supports the claim that “parent involvement [correlates] with higher grades and test scores, better attendance, improved classroom preparation and behavior, and higher rates of graduation and postsecondary enrollment.” (REL-NEI, 2009).

Publicly Available Resources

1. Parent Involvement Strategies in Urban Middle and High Schools in the Northeast and Islands Region. Agronick, G., Clark, A., O’Donnell, L., and Steuve, A.; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Issues and Answers Report, REL 2009–No. 069; April 2009; 59 pages.
   “This report summarizes efforts to develop and pilot test a protocol for collecting information about parent involvement policies, practices, and programs being implemented at the middle and high school levels. The protocol can be used to expand documentation of strategies selected, adapted, and sustained in future years.”
   The literature review of this report (pages 5–20) discusses strategies that promote parent involvement during middle and high school years. Appendix A (pages 36–43) provides a table that lists the details of those policies, practices, and programs for promoting parent involvement.
2. Parent Involvement Strategies in Urban Middle and High Schools in the Northeast and Islands Region. Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands; 2009; webinar archive; 47 minutes.
   This link provides a video in which a webinar describes the REL-NEI study “Parent Involvement Strategies in Urban Middle and High Schools in the Northeast and Islands Region” (see above).
3. Parent Involvement Activities in School Improvement Plans in the Northwest Region. Speth, T., Saifer, S., and Forehand, G.; U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Issues & Answers Report, REL 2008–No. 064; October 2008; 30 pages.
   Noting that “the NCLB Act views parent involvement as central to raising student achievement and lifting schools out of improvement status,” this “study explores how the improvement plans of Title I schools in improvement in the Northwest Region align with the parent involvement requirements of the NCLB Act.” Among other research findings in the report is the claim that the “literature shows that several school-initiated actions that are focused on helping parents assist their child academically are also associated with student achievement.” Pages 1–4 discuss in greater detail recent findings related to student achievement and parent involvement.
   

Reference Desk researchers also recommend “Promoting Parental Involvement in the REL Appalachia States” as good place to find more reports about the connection between parent involvement and student achievement.

Download the Full Response

If this material brings up questions of your own, please submit a new request here. If you’re interested in learning more about the Reference Desk, read about us here. And finally, share thoughts, experiences, and resources of your own in our Feedback section below.