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theses

Lack of parental involvement in schools is often correlated with the persistent academic underperformance of K-12 students (Jeynes, 2012; Topor, Keane, Shelton, & Calkins, 2010). This line of reasoning is pushed by a various groups of professional educators who decry limited parental involvement as a factor inhibiting their ability to effectively reach students (Reiter, 2009). The conventional thinking in education is that partnering with parents is beneficial to the education of students—academic and behavioral benefits alike are to be gained from such involvement. Parental involvement as demonstrated through attendance at school events and setting high expectations at home are two manifestations of this concept. However, moving beyond these more cursory means of engagement is necessary in order to forge authentic school-community power-sharing partnerships. With roots in Bloom’s (1992) empowerment model for parental involvement, this study explored the methods employed by parents and parent groups to influence school and district-level decisions. Drawing on research literature on parental involvement, parental involvement in school reform, and models of parent organizations, a multiple case-study inquiry was conducted in two New Jersey communities of disparate wealth. Through semi-structured interviews with parents and educators, observations of parent groups and school board meetings, and document reviews from parent groups and school board meetings, an understanding of individual and group perceptions and practices around advocacy were discerned . Results indicate that parental advocacy efforts vary in communities of disparate income. While the low-income community tended to advocate almost exclusively through direct contact with educators, higher income communities advocated for shared decision-making in more varied ways including through strategic use of social media and periodicals. Inhibitors to greater parental involvement in both communities tended to center around work and work-related issues such as commute time in addition to the extant cultures in each community. Additionally, standard pathways for parental involvement such as parent teacher groups and public comment periods at school board meetings were not found to be consistent sites of parental advocacy.

ETD_7952

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Chimaobi Obilo Amutah

doi:10.7282/T38G8PFJ

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.