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Motivation of Parent Involvement in Secondary-level Schooling


File number :
CS-CEFC-03e

Bibliographic reference :
Deslandes, R., & Bertrand, R. (2005). Motivation of Parent Involvement in Secondary-Level Schooling. Journal of Educational Research, 98(3), 164-175.

Abstract :

Parental involvement in children’s academic progress is recognized as a determining influence on children’s schooling and academic achievement. But what factors encourage their involvement? Inspired by the model of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, the authors of this article sought to answer this question.

Research Question
What is the relative contribution of four constructs to predicting parental involvement, at home and at school, in the first three years of high school? These constructs were as follows: (1) construction of the role that parents have to play to help the school instruct their children; (2) parents’ self-efficacy in helping their children succeed at school; (3) parents’ perceptions of teachers’ invitations to become involved; (4) parents’ perceptions of students’ invitations to become involved.

Methodology
Five Quebec (Canada) high schools took part in the study. Teachers sent questionnaires to parents. Overall, 770 parents completed the questionnaire: 354 parents of Secondary I students, 231 parents of Secondary II students and 185 parents of Secondary III students.

Main Results
Results emphasized the importance of distinguishing parental involvement at home and at school. Findings also revealed grade-level differences in the constructs determining parental involvement.

The construct that best predicted parental involvement at home across grades was parents’ perceptions of their children’s invitations to become involved. Therefore in order to encourage parental involvement, it is vital on the one hand to make adolescents aware of the importance of inviting their parents to participate and, on the other hand, to encourage the development of parent-adolescent communication regarding school matters.

At the Secondary I level, two other constructs also proved instrumental: parental role construction and self-efficacy. At the Secondary III level, these two constructs no longer seemed determining factors in parents’ decision to become involved in their children’s academic progress at home.

With regard to parental involvement in school, parents’ perceptions of teachers’ invitations to become involved seemed to be the most determining element. Parental role construction also played an important role, especially in the case of Secondary III students. Therefore, it is vital that teachers initiate contact with parents to encourage parental involvement in school.

In conclusion, whether at home or school, parents will get involved inasmuch as they feel invited by their children and by teachers.



Links :
This journal is available in electronic format. Publisher’s Website Address: http://www.heldref.org/jer.php"

Key Words :
Parental Involvement, Parental Role, Self-efficacy, Engagement, Motivation, Perception, Parent-adolescent Relationships, Quantitative Analysis, Secondary/High School, Newsletter12

Monitored Countries :
Quebec (Canada)