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The percentage of students whose parents reported involvement in their schools rose significantly between 1999 and 2007 across several measures, including attendance at a general meeting, a meeting with a teacher, or a school event, and volunteering or serving on a committee.  However, these proportions fell or remained the same in 2012.

Importance

Students with parents who are involved in their school tend to have fewer behavioral problems and better academic performance, and are more likely to complete high school than students whose parents are not involved in their school.[1] Positive effects of parental involvement have been demonstrated at both the elementary and secondary levels across several studies, with the largest effects often occurring at the elementary level.[2],[3],[4] A recent meta-analysis showed that parental involvement in school life was more strongly associated with high academic performance for middle schoolers than helping with homework.[5]

Involvement allows parents to monitor school and classroom activities, and to coordinate their efforts with teachers to encourage acceptable classroom behavior and ensure that the child completes schoolwork.[6] Teachers of students with highly involved parents tend to give greater attention to those students, and they are more likely to identify at earlier stages problems that might inhibit student learning.[7] Parental involvement in school, and positive parent-teacher interactions, have also been found to positively affect teachers’ self-perception and job satisfaction.[8]

Research shows that students perform better in school if their fathers as well as their mothers are involved, regardless of whether the father lives with the student or not.[9],[10]

Trends

Parental involvement in school, as measured by attendance at a general meeting, a meeting with a teacher, or a school event, or by volunteering or serving on a committee, rose significantly between 1999 and 2007, but fell on most measures in 2012. In 2007, 89 percent of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade had parents who attended a general meeting, compared with 78 percent in 1999. In 2012, 87 percent had parents who attended a general meeting. In 2007, 78 percent had a parent who attended a scheduled meeting with a teacher, 74 percent had a parent who attended a school event, and 46 percent had a parent who volunteered in school or served on a committee, compared with 73, 65, and 37 percent, respectively, in 1999. In 2012, the proportion who attended a scheduled meeting had fallen to 76 percent, and the proportion who volunteered or served on a committee had fallen to 42 percent. (Figure 1)

Differences by Grade

Parents are most likely to attend school meetings and events or to volunteer in their child’s school when their children are in primary school.  In 2012, more than 90 percent of students in kindergarten through fifth grade had a parent who attended a meeting with their teachers, compared with 87 percent of middle-school students, and 79 percent of ninth- through twelfth-grade students.  In the same year, 89 percent, each, of students in kindergarten through second grade, and students in third through fifth grade, had a parent who attended a scheduled meeting with a teacher, compared with 71 percent of students in middle school and 57 percent of students in high school.  Among students in kindergarten through second grade, 56 percent had parents who volunteered or served on a committee, compared with 51 percent of students in third through fifth grade, 32 percent of students in sixth through eighth grade, and 28 percent of students in ninth through twelfth grade. Attendance at school or class events, however, peaked with older elementary school students. (Appendix 2)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin[11]

Hispanic and black students were less likely than white students to have parents who attended general meetings or school events, or who volunteered their time. In 2012, 85 percent of black, and 86 percent of Hispanic students had parents who attended a general meeting, compared with 89 percent of white students. Sixty-eight percent of black, and 64 percent of Hispanic students had a parent who attended school events, while 82 percent of white students had a parent who had done so. Thirty-two percent of Hispanic students and 31 percent of black students had a parent who volunteered their time, compared with 50 percent of white students. (Appendix 1)

Differences by Parental Educational Attainment

Parents with higher levels of education are more likely to be involved in their children’s schools.  For example, in 2012, more than 85 percent of students whose parents had a bachelor’s degree or higher had a parent who attended a school event, compared with 48 percent for students whose parents had less than a high school education. This gap is even wider when it comes to volunteering: 19 percent of students with no parent who had graduated high school had a parent volunteer or serve on a committee, compared with 61 percent of students who had at least one parent who had completed graduate or professional school. (Figure 2)

Differences by Poverty Level

Parents of students living in a household with income above the poverty level are more likely to be involved in school activities than parents of children living in a household at or below the poverty line.  In 2011-12, for example, 45 percent of children living above the poverty line had a parent who volunteered or served on a committee at their child’s school, compared with 27 percent of children living at or below the poverty line. Parents of students living above the poverty line were more likely to be involved than parents of student living at or below the poverty line on all measures of involvement. (Appendix 2)

Differences by Parents’ Language

Parents who do not speak English at home (parents who did not learn English as a child and currently speak a non-English language in the home) are less likely than other parents to attend a general school meeting or school event, or to volunteer or serve on a committee.  For example, in 2012, 50 percent of children with parents who did not speak English had a parent who attended a school event, compared with 62 percent of students with one parent who did not speak English, and 78 percent of students whose parents both spoke English. (Appendix 2)

State and Local Estimates

None available.

International Estimates

None available.

National Goals

The No Child Left Behind legislation, signed into law January 2002, aims for all children to achieve academic proficiency and gain the educational skills necessary to succeed later in life.  The law mandates that parents be informed on how they can be involved in school improvement efforts, and be provided with report cards on schools in their district, to help guide their involvement.  Schools and education agencies are required to disseminate literature on effective parent involvement, and schools receiving Title I funding must have written policies, annual meetings, and training on parental involvement, and re-evaluate and revise their strategies when needed.

For more information on the requirements see
“No Child Left Behind: A Parent’s Guide”

What Works to Make Progress on This Indicator

Increasing parental involvement in school can be challenging, particularly when the families concerned are economically disadvantaged, or do not have English as their primary language.  Low-income parents’ involvement in school may be hindered by transportation difficulties, chronic health conditions, or conflicts with work schedules, while parents whose primary language is not English may not feel able to participate in school activities, or may belong to a culture where questioning teachers is not a norm.[12]

Schools have employed several strategies to increase parental involvement in school, ranging from extensive promotion of events such as “back to school” nights, to school-based cultural events in areas with large immigrant populations.  Large-scale initiatives, such as the community schools movement, are also designed to increase disadvantaged families’ involvement in school by making the school a hub of social services for the neighborhood. However, few studies have rigorously evaluated the effects of such programs on parental involvement.  A recent report from the Center for American Progress provides suggestive evidence from studies of several successful community schools that these types of schools positively impact parental involvement.[13]

Related Indicators

• Parental Expectations for their Children’s Academic Attainment
• School Communication in Parents’ Native Language
• Reading to Young Children

Definition

Parental involvement in school is defined as parent reported participation at least once during the school year in attending a general school meeting; attending a scheduled meeting with their child’s teacher; attending a school event; or volunteering in the school or serving on a school committee.

Data Sources

Data for 2012: Noel, A., Stark, P., Redford, J., & Zukerberg, A. (2013). Parent and family involvement in education, from the National Household Educations Surveys Program of 2012 (NCES 2013-028), Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Table 2. Available at:  http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013028.pdf

Data for 2007: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Parent and Family Involvement in Education, 2006–07 School Year (NCES 2008-050), Washington, DC. Table 3. Available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008050.pdf

Data for 2003: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). Parent and Family Involvement in Education: 2002-03. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: Table 3. Available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005043

Data for 1996 and 1999: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2001). The Condition of Education 2001 (NCES 2001–072), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: Table 54-1. Available at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001072

Raw Data Source

National Household Education
Surveys (NHES): Parent and Family Involvement in Education

http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/

Suggested Citation:

Child Trends. (2013). Parental involvement in schools. Available at: https://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=parental-involvement-in-schools