EA 3.2

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN CHILD’S SCHOOL

Many educators consider parental involvement in school activities to have a beneficial effect on children’s school performance. They associate higher levels of parental involvement with greater monitoring of school and classroom activities, a closer coordination of teacher and parent efforts, greater teacher attention to the child, and earlier identification of problems that might inhibit learning.³⁴

Differences by Children’s Grade Level. Figure EA 3.2 presents national estimates for 1996 on the degree of parental school participation among parents of children in grades 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Possible activities include: 1) attending general school meetings (e.g., a PTA meeting or back-to-school night); 2) going to a regularly scheduled parent–teacher conference; 3) attending a school or class event such as a play or sports event; and 4) volunteering at the school or serving on a school committee.³⁵ As the figure indicates, the level of parental involvement in school activities decreases substantially as children get older. For example:
 

• Thirty-nine percent of children in grades 3–5 had parents who were classified as highly involved in their children’s schools, meaning that they had been involved in three or more types of activities described above during the school year.
  
  
• Children in grades 6–8 and 9–12 had parents with substantially lower involvement levels, with 24 and 22 percent, respectively, classified as highly involved.
  
  
• Nearly one half of children in grades 9–12 had parents who were classified as having a low level of involvement, defined as having participated in one or no school activities.

Differences by Gender. Among some age groups, girls were more likely than boys to have parents with high or moderate levels of involvement. For example, among children in grades 6–8, girls were more likely than boys to have parents with high levels of involvement, and in grades 9–12, girls were more likely to have parents with moderate involvement levels. Alternatively, boys were more likely to have parents with low involvement levels in grades 6–8 and 9–12 (see Table EA 3.2).

Differences by Race and Ethnicity.³⁶ White children had parents who were more likely than parents of black or Hispanic children to be highly involved in their schools at each grade level (see Table EA 3.2).

Differences by Family Type. Children in two-parent families were more likely to have parents who were highly involved than children in families with one or no parent. For example, among students in grades 3–5, 43 percent of children with two parents had parents who were highly involved in their schools, compared to 29 percent of children with one or no parent (see Table EA 3.2).

Differences by Socioeconomic Status. Children with non-poor parents (above the poverty threshold) were much more likely to have highly involved parents than children with poor parents (at or below the poverty threshold), for all grade levels. Children whose mothers had higher levels of education had more highly involved parents than children whose mothers had lower education levels, at all grades (see Table EA 3.2).

Differences by Mother's Employment Status. Among children in grades 3–5 and 9–12, those whose mothers worked part time (less than 35 hours per week) had more involved parents than children whose mothers either worked full time (35 hours or more per week) or were not in the labor force. For instance, of children in grades 3–5, 56 percent of children whose mothers worked part time were classified as highly involved, compared to 33 percent of children whose mothers worked full time, and 36 percent of children whose mothers were not in the labor force (see Table EA 3.2).
 

Figure EA 3.2   Degree of Parental Involvement in Child's School Activities: 1996

Note:
Low involvement = involvement in 0 or 1 activities
Moderate involvement = involvement in 2 activities
High involvement = involvement in 3 or more activities

Possible activities include 1) attending general school meetings; 2) going to a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference; 3) attending school or class event; and 4) volunteering in the school or serving on a school committee.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES:96).
 
 

Table EA 3.2  Percentage of Parents Who Have Been Involved in their Child's School Activities, by Level of Involvement, Grade, and Family Characteristics: 1996
					Low Involvement  ———————————			Moderate Involvement  ———————————			High Involvement  ———————————
					Grades	Grades	Grades	Grades	Grades	Grades	Grades	Grades	Grades
					3 to 5	6 to 8	9 to 12	3 to 5	6 to 8	9 to 12	3 to 5	6 to 8	9 to 12
					———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———
TOTAL					26	37	48	36	39	31	39	24	22
	Gender
		Male			27	40	50	35	38	29	38	22	22
		Female			24	34	46	36	39	33	40	27	22
	Race/Ethnicity
		White non-Hispanic			21	31	43	36	41	32	44	28	25
		Black non-Hispanic			37	52	60	36	31	27	27	17	14
		Hispanic			36	49	61	36	36	26	29	16	14
	Poverty Statusb
		Non-poor			21	31	44	35	41	31	44	28	25
		Poor			39	55	64	37	31	27	24	14	10
	Family Type
		Two parents			22	32	43	35	40	32	43	28	25
		One or no parent			35	47	59	36	36	27	29	17	13
	Mother's Educationc
		Less than HS			52	64	74	32	29	21	16	7	6
		High School/GED			29	43	54	38	37	28	34	20	17
		Vocational/technical
		or some college			21	30	43	36	42	34	43	28	23
		College graduate			11	19	27	33	42	36	56	39	37
	Mother's Employment Status
		³ 35 hours per week			28	37	46	39	40	24	33	31	23
		< 35 hours per week			16	30	42	28	37	34	56	31	27
		Not in labor force			29	42	54	35	37	21	36	30	16
Note:			aLow involvement = involvement in 0 or 1 activities   Moderate involvement = involvement in 2 activities   High involvement = involvement in 3 or more activities
Possible activities include 1) attending general school meetings; 2) going to a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference; 3) attending school or class event; and 4) volunteering in the school or serving on a school committee.   bChildren were classified as non-poor (living above the poverty threshold) or poor (living at-or-below the poverty threshold), based on family size and income. For more information about this classification, see Wright, D., Hausken, E.G., and West, J. (1994). Family-Child Engagement in Literacy Activities: Changes in Participation Between 1991 and 1993. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.   cChildren without mothers in the home are not included in estimates of mother’s education or mother’s employment status. A mother is defined as a biological mother, adoptive mother, stepmother, foster mother, or female guardian (e.g., grandmother) who resides in the home with the child.   Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES: 96).

³⁵ The level of involvement depends on the number of different activities reported by the parents, ranging from 0 or 1 (low involvement) to 2 (moderate involvement) to 3 or more activities (high involvement). Note that the number of times that the parent has been involved in each activity was not measured.

³⁶ Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races.
 

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