The broken compass
Subtitle: parental involvement with children's education
By: Keith Robinson and Angel L. Harris
Contributors: Harris, Angel L., 1975- author
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 312
ISBN-13: 9780674725102
Subjects: Academic achievement; Education; Home and school; Parent participation
Description: It seems like common sense that children do better when parents are actively involved in their schooling. But how well does the evidence stack up? The Broken Compass puts this question to the test in this scientific investigation into how parents across socioeconomic and ethnic groups contribute to the academic performance of K-12 children. The study's surprising discovery is that no clear connection exists between parental involvement and improved student performance. Keith Robinson and Angel Harris assessed over sixty measures of parental participation, at home and in school. Some of the associations they found between socioeconomic status and educational involvement were consistent with past studies. Yet other results ran contrary to previous research and popular perceptions. It is not the case that Hispanic and African American parents are less concerned with education than other ethnic groups -- or that "tiger parenting" among Asian Americans gets the desired results. In fact, many low-income parents across a wide spectrum want to be involved in their children's school lives, but they often receive little support from the school system. And for immigrant families, language barriers only worsen the problem. While Robinson and Harris do not wish to discourage parents' interest, they believe that the time has come to seriously reconsider whether greater parental involvement can make much of a dent in the basic problems facing their children's education today. This study challenges some of our beliefs about the role of family in educational success.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-303) and index.

Internet Archive - 2

Internet Archive 2
Table of contents: title: The role of parental involvement in children's schooling; title: Parental involvement and social class; title: Implications of parental involvement at home by social class; title: Implications of parental involvement at school by social class; title: Academic orientation among parents at home by race; title: Effectiveness of parental involvement at home by race; title: Parental involvement at school by race; title: Implications of parental involvement at school by race; title: Parenting and poor achievement; title: Setting the stage for academic success; title: Appendix A: Sources of data; title: Appendix B: Methodology; title: Appendix C: Description tables; title: Appendix D: Guide of "effects" by race.