Fostering effective parental involvement

Abstract

Parents play an instrumental role in the academic and social success of their children, yet levels of parent involvement significantly decrease as students enter their middle school years. Middle school communities can better the social experiences and academic outcomes of their students when families and the school work in collaboration. Successful partnerships are formed when groups understand one another's needs and leads to more efficient and higher levels of involvement. This research study interviewed eleven parents of early adolescents to identify the needs of middle school parents, characterize their interactions with the middle school, and evaluate the effectiveness of school-sponsored programming as a means of addressing parent needs and improving interactions with the middle school. The parents interviewed recognized their children's increasing need for independence as well as tendencies to test boundaries and the new importance of the child's peer group. Parents felt they had to adjust their parenting practices to accommodate their early adolescent's needs and looked to the school as a resource. School interactions were viewed positively; however, the efficiency of communication left much to be desired by parents. School-sponsored programming was deemed an effective tool for middle schools to increase parental involvement as it addressed parental needs for information on relevant topics, provided affirmation of parenting practices, and afforded parents the opportunity to dialogue with peers and professionals about the needs of early adolescents.