Parental Involvement and the Theory of Planned Behavior

Introduction The literature related to parents and schools is rife with articles that convey a convincing and positive connection between parent involvement and academic achievement (Henderson & Mapp, 2002), school attendance (Sheldon, 2007), graduation rates (Harvard Family Research Project, 2006), educational aspirations (Greenwood & Hickman, 1991), positive classroom behavior (Cotton & Wikeland, 2001), enrollment in more challenging curricula (Heymann, 2000), and favorable attitudes towards school (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Trusty, 1996; Astone & McClanahan, 1991). Long term social and financial benefits, such as improved health outcomes, decreased welfare dependence, and reduced crime are also correlated with increased parental involvement (Haveman & Wolfe, 1995). Augmenting these findings is research that indicates that the earlier in a child's educational process parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects (Cotton & Wikeland, 2001). Many of these investigations parallel the original observations of Henderson and Berla (1994), who reviewed 66 studies of parental involvement and overwhelmingly concluded that parents play a crucial role in the instructional experiences of their children. Although this conclusion may strike some as mere "common sense," it is important to mention that these data represent more than just a correlation. There are some clear paths through which such involvement improves student success. A review of the literature suggests that when parents/guardians are involved, teachers give more attention to students, teachers tend to identify potential learning problems at earlier stages, parents and teachers are able to coordinate efforts to aid individual students and provide family services, communities prioritize to build and maintain better physical facilities, schools recruit and retain quality staff and administration and schools are more likely to obtain new funding for after-school programs and other innovative supports (Zill & Nord, 1994; Epstein, 1995; Mediratta & Fruchter, 2001). Thus, it is not an overstatement to suggest that when parents "show up," they have enormous potential to positively impact the intellectual, emotional, and physical development of their children, school, and community. Hence, there is perhaps no topic on which there is greater agreement than the need for parental involvement in a child's education (Epstein, 1995). The consensus that parents are associated with a range of enhanced school outcomes is mirrored by legislative policies that mandate increasingly specific, research-based programs of family involvement. In fact, for the first time in the history of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, there is a definition of parental involvement that is designed to facilitate the development of parent involvement practices. Most recently, NCLB outlined a cascade of school, district, and state requirements that are intended to involve parents in ways that close the achievement gap between disadvantaged minority students and their peers. Specifically, these policies hope to promote student achievement via shared accountability between schools and parents. Some of these provisions include "expanded public school choice and supplemental educational services for eligible children in low-performing schools, local development of parental involvement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs, and building parents' capacity for using effective practices to improve their own children's academic achievement" (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). Connected to these well-intentioned policies is a simple message from former U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, who states, "Schools can't improve without the help of parents" (Paige, 2002, p. A-13). Undoubtedly, the involvement of parents is vital to the success of our schools. So, why aren't more parents involved? The rewards of parent involvement are so clear. …