Value Of Parental Involvement Research Articles

Needs and preferences of parents of adolescents with multiple and complex needs in residential care

AbstractThe perspective of parents whose children are in residential care, has received only minor attention in the literature, despite evidence pointing out the value of parental involvement in care delivery for their child. Drawing upon in‐depth interviews with 12 parents of adolescent girls with multiple and complex needs in residential child welfare, this exploratory study describes parents' own needs and preferences with regard to care delivery. Parents wish: (a) to have a true partnership between parents and professionals (involvement), (b) to feel respected by professionals (respect), (c) to have the information and mandate necessary for decision‐making (agency), and (d) to receive consideration and (emotional) support, besides advice on how to handle the challenges their family faces (support). Their plea draws attention to an aspect of the dimension of “parent–caregiver partnership” in family‐centred residential care that deserves more emphasis. Indeed, being attentive to the needs of parents can contribute to the optimization of services for the most vulnerable families.

Pastors’ Views of Parents and the Parental Role in Catholic Schools

Over 300 years of official Church teachings and documents affirm the importance of the home-school relationship, yet relatively little research has systematically explored the need and value of parent involvement in the school community. This study is a secondary analysis of survey data collected for the Notre Dame Study of U.S. Pastors (Nuzzi, Frabutt, & Holter, 2008) and examines pastors’ views of parents and the parental role in Catholic schools. The article closes with recommendations for action based upon analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data trends from pastors’ responses.

Parental Consent for Abortion-Reply

In Reply. —In our Council Report on abortion for minors, the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs concluded that physicians should strongly encourage minors to discuss their pregnancy with their parents. The report emphasizes the value of parental involvement and instructs physicians to ensure that a minor's reluctance to involve her parents is not based on any misperceptions about the likely consequences of parental involvement. The report does not exclude parents nor does it discourage parental involvement. The report recognizes that, in some cases, parental involvement may be harmful. For example, the minor may live in an abusive home, and disclosure of her pregnancy might result in further abuse. In addition, like adults, adolescents need privacy in matters of personal intimacy. Because of the risk of harm to the minor and the minor's need for privacy, the report concluded that minors should not be forced to involve their parents. Nevertheless,

A review of involvement programs for parents of learning disabled children.

The literature on involvement programs for parents of learning disabled children was reviewed to discover the types of programs attempted, their results, and their implications. The most common program types were tutoring and counseling. Results for both types were generally positive. The most effective counseling programs combined counseling with academic tutoring and/or praise for academic performance. Effective tutoring programs combined positive reinforcement with reading and/or perceptual skills. The studies reviewed support the value of parent involvement. Implications include the need for stronger experimental research, comparison studies between tutoring and counseling programs, more efficient evaluation, and follow-up studies.