ETEC 542 Literature Review Presentation Robert Fleck

Designing a School-Based Parent Webpage to Increase Parent Involvement and Home/School Communication The literature review discusses how the qualities, benefits, and requirements of of creating a good website can perpetuate more parent involvement, whereby increasing home/school communication.

What the Literature Says About Parent Involvement Parental participation improves student learning whether the child is in preschool or in the upper grades, whether or not the family is struggling economically or is affluent, or whether the parents finished high school or graduated from college (Epstein, 1991; Henderson, & Berla, 1994; Liontos, 1992; Reynolds, et al., 1991; Zellman, G.L., & Waterman, J.M.). The benefits for students when parents are actively involved in schools include: Higher grades and test scores Better attendance and more homework completed Fewer placements in special education More positive attitudes and behaviors Higher graduation rates Greater enrollment in post –secondary education (Clark, R., 1993; Griffith, J., 1996; Dauber, S.L. & Epstein J.L. 1993).

What the Literature Says About Parent Involvement Parents are one available but untapped and undirected resource that teachers can mobilize to help more children master and maintain needed skills for school… This requires teachers’ leadership in organizing, evaluating, and continually building their parent involvement practice (Epstein, 1991). The strongest support for learning occurs at home through positive parenting styles, nightly reading, homework policies, and high expectations. Schools that measure their success in reaching out to parents by the number of volunteers and attendance at workshops and meetings could be missing valuable opportunities to connect with families (Epstein, J. et al., 1997; Dornbusch, S. Et al., 1987; Dauber, S., 1993; Comer, J. & Haynes, N.M., 1992; Zellman, G., 1998).

Problems With Parent Involvement and Home/School Communication Although research clearly indicates an extreme need for home/school communication in order to increase academic success through parent involvement, there is no clear method for communication. Epstein (1999) conducted a national survey that found five problematic areas. *initiation of communication *timelessness of communication *frequency and consistency of communication *follow through * And clarity/usefulness of information

Issues and Challenges of Parent Involvement According to Hoover Dempsey et al., 2000, there are five levels of parental involvement: Family obligation Involvement at school Home education Decision-making and advocacy at school Community collaboration All sorts of logistical issues, such as time, money, safety, and child care can seemingly prevent a parent from participating in their child’s school. Attitudinal barriers such as uncertainty, dissatisfaction, and communication problems are also important factors. Expectation barriers also play an important role in the level of parent involvement.

Advantages of Using Technology Researchers have found that parents like the convenience of electronic communication Nelms(2002). Using web pages and s to communicate is becoming increasingly popular with many educators. Hernandez and Leung (2004) noted that teachers can provide a service to parents helping them become more Internet savvy. The Internet is an attractive source of information for parents because of its round-the-clock availability, speed, and enormous range of information (Martland & Rothbaum, 2006)

Summary With increased availability in today’s society researchers have shown that electronic communication is becoming more frequently used. Many schools are constantly looking for new ways to communicate and increasing parent involvement, by means of and school web pages. More and more parents are going online to learn about how schools are preparing students for the future. Sooner than we think school and classroom web sites will become the new arena to access information and resources, and a new way of learning.

References *Clark, R. (1993). Homework-focused parenting practices that positively affect student achievement. In N.F. Chavkin (Ed.), Families and schools in a pluralistic society (pp ), Albany, NY State University of New York Press. *Epstein, J.L.(1991). Effects of student achievement of teacher practices of parent involvement. In S.B. Silvern (Ed.), Advances in reading/language research: Vol. 5. Literacy through family, community and school Interaction (pp ). Greenwich, CT:JAI Press *Epstein, M.H., & Munk, D.D. (1999). Strategies for Improving Home-School Communication about Homework for Students with Disabilities, Journal of Special Education, 33, *Hernandez,S., & Leung, B.P. (2004) Using the internet to boost parent-teacher relationships. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 40 (3), *Nelms, E. (2002). The effects of a teacher-created web-page on parent communication: An action research study. Action Research Exchange (1), 2.