Correlates of, and intervention effects on, parent-school relationships
Date
2009
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine parent-teacher relationships within the context of a community-based intervention program. This study used an experimental, repeated measures design to explore how similar parent and teacher role expectations were, how perceptions of school climate related to parent involvement, and whether participation in the program strengthened parent-teacher relationships and increased parent involvement in schools. This study was part of a larger program evaluation of the effectiveness of the DARE to be You (DTBY) Bridge program. This innovative project provided community-based intervention to children along with their parents and their K-1 teachers through a series of workshops that focused on building relationships and improving the learning environment, with the goal of enhancing school readiness and adjustment. Participants were recruited from kindergarten classes and first-grade classes in the Four Corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The sample consisted of 347 parents, who were randomly assigned to a control or an experimental group, and 80 teachers. At baseline, findings indicated that parents and teachers agreed that they should be supportive of one another's roles, that parents should have more responsibility than schools for teaching social skills, and that family and school should have equal responsibility for children's school success. Furthermore, teachers had significantly higher expectations than parents for parent involvement, and parent involvement was significantly greater when parents perceived parent-teacher communication to be more frequent and the school climate to be welcoming. No significant intervention effects were found for parents on actual parent involvement, role expectations, or parent-teacher communication. However, parents from the intervention group, compared to controls, reported the school climate to be more welcoming a year after enrolling in the program. Findings are discussed within the context of several frameworks of family school-relations. Teachers' tendency to want increased parental involvement in teaching social skills is discussed in terms of the Separate Spheres model and parents' perception of a welcoming school climate is discussed in terms of the importance of high-quality communication.
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Subject
parent involvement
parent perspectives
parent-teacher communication
parent-teacher relationships
school climate
teacher perspectives
school administration
early childhood education
elementary education
correlation analysis