Where A Study of Attitudes Among Parents of Primary School Children Study Results Patterns of Parental Involvement in Education Critical Elements of Successful Parent-School Partnerships Study Results Hand in Hand commissioned a national study to determine levels of parent involvement in their children's education. This report summarizes key findings of that recent survey of 1,032 parents of primary-school children in grades K through 6, as well as focusing group discussions among parents of children in the same grade levels. Trained professionals, working from a central, monitored location, conducted the telephone interviews between June 25 and July 9, 1995.
Parents acknowledge the critical importance of involving themselves with their children's education.
Time and uncertainty are the greatest barriers to parental involvement. In terms of involvement outside the home, parents tend to become most involved in activities that clearly and directly benefit their own children. The level of parental involvement declines noticeably as children grow older. These parents not only devote fewer hours per week to their children's education than do the parents of younger children, they also speak with their children's teachers far less frequently. In addition to the survey results, more than 30 years of research supports that parent involvement in education contributes to not only children's positive school perceptions, but also to improved academic performance.