Selected Parent Involvement Research

A summary of selected research compiled by Dr. John H. Wherry, President,
The Parent Institute, P.O. Box 7474, Fairfax Station, VA 22039-7474, U.S.A..
(Revised September 16, 2003.)

 

• Studies find that students with involved parents are more likely to:
  1. earn higher grades and test scores,
  2. pass their classes, earn credits and be promoted,
  3. attend school regularly,
  4. have better social skills, show good behavior and adapt well to school,
  5. graduate and go on to further education¹
• Families from all cultural backgrounds, education, and income levels can encourage their children, talk with them about school, help them plan for higher education, and keep them focused on learning and homework. All families can have a positive influence on their children's learning.²
• The research evidence is now beyond dispute. When schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life. In fact the most accurate predictor of a student’s achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student’s family is able to:
  1. Create a home environment that encourages learning
  2. Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children’s achievement and future careers
  3. Become involved in their children’s education at school and in the community.³
• When parents are involved in their children’s education at home, their children do better in school. When parents are involved at school, their children go farther in school, and the schools they go to are better.⁴
• The family provides the child's primary educational environment. Parent involvement is most effective when it is comprehensive, long-lasting, and well-planned. Involving parents in their own children's education at home is not enough. To ensure the quality of schools as institutions serving the community, parents must be involved at all levels in the school.
• The more parents participate in schooling, in a sustained way, at every level—in advocacy, decision-making and oversight roles, as fund-raisers and boosters, as volunteers and paraprofessionals, and as home teachers—the better for student achievement.⁵

__________________________________________

¹ Henderson, A. & Mapp, K. (2002) A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement, Austin, Texas, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: 7.

²¹ Henderson, A. & Mapp, K. (2002) A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement, Austin, Texas, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: 34.

³Henderson, A. (1994) A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Crucial to Student Achievement. Washington, DC. National Committee for Citizens in Education.

⁴Henderson, A. (1994) A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Crucial to Student Achievement. Washington, DC. National Committee for Citizens in Education.

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