Characteristics of Highly Engaged Parents in Low Income Urban Schools

1. Characteristics of Highly Engaged Parents in Low Income Urban Schools An Action Research Project By Gary A. Proulx ED 7202- Fall 2010

2. Table of Contents • Introduction • Statement of the Problem • Review of Related Literature • Statement of the Hypothesis • Method • Participants (N) • Instrument(s) • Experimental Design • Procedure • Results • Discussion • Implications • Appendices • Consent Form • Parent Survey • Demographic Survey • Parent Survey # 2 • Correlation Graphs • References

3. Introduction • Noticed something different about the behavior of the parents in the enrichment class. • Parents showed up, signed forms, & returned phone calls! Students came dressed in their uniform, homework done, ready to learn! There was a seriousness about them that I hadn’t noticed from other students. • What makes these parents so unique?

4. Statement of the Problem • At PS X, when parents are not directly engaged in the their child’s education, the student’s level of achievement suffers. • However, when parents show regular and ongoing support and concern about their child’s studies, their child tends to embody that same sense of care and ownership over their own education.

5. Review of Related Literature • “If parental love is truly present…that caring attitude will translate into concrete expressions of love at home, and will have a positive effect on the child’s learning,” (Theorist Albert Bandura ) • “When parents come to school regularly, it reinforces the view of the child’s mind that the home and the school are connected,” (Horvat, Weininger, & Laureau) • “Lack of parental involvement is one of the biggest problems facing our public schools today,” (Desimone, Epstein, Hill, Ladson-Billings) • “There are many reasons for developing school, family, and community partnerships…the main reason is to help all youngsters succeed in school and in later life,”(Joyce Epstein )

6. Statement of the Hypothesis • HR1: By investigating and identifying the common characteristics of highly engaged parents from PS X, the researcher will share those characteristics with administration, colleagues and parents, to catalyze increased parental participation.

7. Method: Participants • Parents of children in the 5th grade Enrichment Class at PS X in Brooklyn, New York • 22 Students: 14 girls (8 Black, 6 Latino), 8 boys (4 Black, 4 Latino). • 3 Parent Surveys between February 2010 and November 2010.

8. Method: Instruments • Researcher created surveys. • Initial survey during “Open School Night,” (Oct. 2010). • Demographic survey (Oct. 2010). • Follow-up survey during “Parent/Teacher Conferences,” (Nov. 2010). • Used the Likert Scale.

9. Method:Experimental Design • Pre-experimental design, one-shot case study; group not randomly assigned. • Symbolic design: XO. • Threats to internal validity included: history, instrumentation, mortality, & selection-maturation. • Threats to external validity included: ecological, selection-treatment interaction, multiple treatments, experimenter effects, Hawthorne effect, and placebo effect .

10. Method: Procedure • Surveys were given to parents when they came into school for “Open School Night.” • A second survey was created using the top responses from the first and given to parents on “Parent/Teacher Conferences.” • Surveys were correlated with student’s NYS test scores. • The action researcher was able to identify at least fourcharacteristics of highly engaged parents and correlate those characteristics with formative test scores.

11. Results Correlation of rxy + 0.708 Correlation of rxy + 0.749

12. Results Correlation of rxy + 0.735 Correlation of rxy + 0.447

13. Discussion • East New York: 87,000 residents with a yearly median income of just over $24, 000. • 34% are living below the poverty level. • Only 9% of the total population have a Bachelor’s degree or higher • The home environment has a powerful effect on what children and youth learn and is considerably more powerful than the parents’ income and education in influencing what children learn in the first years of life. • When parents are not involved the students lack focus, drive, and have an attitude that seems predestined for failure.

14. Implications • Why are these students so highly motivated to learn? Is it instinctual? Or is it a combination of parental involvement and a personal desire to succeed? Whatever the combination, we must work to figure it out and find a way to motivate all parents in under-performing communities to get involved. • We have to find a way to share these methods with all parents so that the children have a strong foundation at home, no mater what home they go to. • Additional research is needed to identify additional characteristics. • More time is needed to study the findings and deliver training to all parents.

15. Appendices • Consent Form • Parent Survey • Demographic Survey • Parent Survey # 2 • Correlation Graphs

16. References • Abdul-Adil, J. & Farmer, A. (2006). Inner-City African American Parental Involvement in Elementary Schools: Getting Beyond Urban Legends of Apathy. School Psychology Quarterly, 21 (1), 1-12. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from JSTOR database. • Barton, A., Drake, C., Perez, J., St. Louis, K, & George, M. (2004). Ecologies of Parental Engagement in Urban Education. Educational Researcher, 33 (4), 3-12. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from JSTOR database. • Cooper, C. & Christie, C. (2005). Evaluating Parent Empowerment: A Look at the Potential of Social Justice Evaluation in Education. Teachers College Record, 107 (10), 2248-2274. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from Wilson Web. • Desimone, Laura (1999). Linking Parent Involvement with Student Achievement: Do Race and Income Matter? The Journal of Educational Research, 93 (1), 11-30. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from JSTOR database. • Epstein, Joyce L., & Dauber, Susan L. (1991). School Programs and Teacher Practices of Parent Involvement in Inner-City Elementary and Middle Schools. The Elementary School Journal, 91(3), 289-305. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from JSTOR database.

17. References • Foster, Michelle L., & Peele, Tryphenia B. (2001). Ring my Bell: Contextualizing Home and School in an African American Community. Classroom Diversity: Connecting Curriculum to Students’ Lives. Portsmouth: Heinemann • Hampton, F., Mumford, D., & Bond, L. (1998). Parent Involvement in the Inner-City Schools: The Project FAST Extended Family Approach to Success. Urban Education,33(3), 410-427. Retrieved from ERIC database EJ572944. • Herbert, T. (2001). If I Had a Notebook, I Know Things Would Change: Bright Underachieving Young Men in Urban Classrooms. Gifted Quarterly, 4, 174- 194. Retrieved on February 25, 2010, from SAGE database. • Huang G., & Mason, K. (2008). Motivations of Parental Involvement in Children’s Learning: Voices from Urban African American Families of Preschoolers. Multicultural Education,15(3), 20-27. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from Wilson Web. • Hill, Dale. (2004). The Boy and the Rose. Gifted Child Today,22 (24), 64. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from SAGE database. • Hoover-Dempsey, K, Bassler, O., & Burow, R. (1995). Parents’ Reported Involvement in Students’ Homework: Strategies and Practices. The Elementary School Journal,95 (5), 435-450. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from JSTOR database.

18. References • Jeynes, William H. (2010). The Salience of the Subtle Aspects of Parental Involvement and Encouraging That Involvement: Implications for School- Based Programs. Teachers College Record, 112 (3), 747-777. Retrieved on April 12, 2010. • Krajewski, B, & Sabir, L. (2002). Every Child a Success: Reaching for a Vision. Principal,79 (4), 44-47. Retrieved from ERIC database (EJ601237) • Ladson-Billings, Gloria (2001). Can Anybody Teach These Children? Crossing over to Canaan. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Laureau, Annette (2000). Social Class and Parent Involvement in Schooling. Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. • Laureau, Annette (2000). What Do Teachers Want From Parents? Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. • Levine, Daniel U. (1982). Successful Approaches for Improving Academic Achievement in Inner-City Elementary Schools. The Phi Delta Kappan, 63 (8),523-526. Retrieved on March 21, 2010, from the JSTOR database.

19. References • Martinez-Pons, Manuel. (2002). Parental Influences on Children’s Academic Self-Regulatory Development. Theory into Practice, 41 (2), 126-131. Retrieved on March 21, 2010, from JSTOR database. • McNamara, E., Weininger E., & Lareau, A. (2003). From Social Ties to Social Capital: Class Differences in the Relations Between Schools and Parent Networks. American Educational Research Journal, 40 (2), 319-351. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from JSTOR database. • Menard-Warwick, J. (2007). Biliteracy and Schooling in an Extended-Family Nicaraguan Immigrant Household: The Sociohistorical Construction of Parental Involvement. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 38 (2), 119- 137. Retrieved on March 3, 2010, from Wilson Web. • Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D. & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of Knowledge for Teaching: Using a Qualitative Approach to Connect Homes and Classrooms. Theory Into Practice, 31, 132-141. • Moore, J., Ford, D., & Milner, R. (2005). Recruitment is Not Enough: Retaining African American Students in Gifted Education. Gifted Quarterly,49, 51-67. Retrieved on February 25, 2010, from SAGE database.

20. References • Nelson, Greg. (2008). Ways with Community Knowledge. Pen128, 3, 213-224. Retrieved on February 21, 2010, from SAGE database. • Nettles, S. (1991). Community Involvement and Disadvantaged Students: A Review. Review of Educational Research,61(3), 379-406. Retrieved on March14, 2010, from JSTOR database. • Overstreet, S., Devine, J., Bevans, K., & Efreom, Y. (2005). Predicting Parental Involvement in Children’s Schooling Within an Economically Disadvantaged African American Sample. Psychology in the Schools, 42(1), 101-111. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from Wiley InterScience, www.interscience.wiley.com • O’Connor-Petruso, S. (2010). Descriptive Statistics Threats to Validity [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://bbhosted.cuny.edu/webapps/portal/ • Powell-Mikle, A, & Patton, M. (2004). Meaningful Learning with African American Families: The Freedom Quilt Fun Packs. Childhood Education,80(4), 187-199. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Wilson Web. • Reed, Wayne (2009). The Bridge is Built: The Role of Local Teachers in an Urban Elementary School. The School Community Journal, 19(1).

21. References • Rosenberry, A., McIntyre E., & Gonzalez, N. (2001). Connecting Students’ Cultures to Instruction. Classroom Diversity: Connecting Curriculum to Students’ Lives. Portsmouth: Heinemann • Schoenfeld, Alan H. (1999). Looking Toward the 21st Century: Challenges of Educational Theory and Practice. Educational Researcher, 28(7),4-14. Retrieved on March 21, 2010, from aera.net. • Stewart, E., Stewart, E., & Simons, R. (2007). The Effect of Neighborhood Context on the College Aspirations of African American Adolescents. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 896-919. Retrieved on March14, 2010, from SAGE database. • Wong, K., & Alkins, K. (1999). Toward Systemic Reform in High- Poverty Schools: A Comparative Analysis of Two Large School Districts. The Elementary School Journal,4(38), 87-101. Retrieved on February 25, 2010, from Wilson Web.