BARRIERS TO PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AS PERCEIVED BY ADMINISTRATORS, PARENTS, AND TEACHERS
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to parental involvement in kindergarten and first grade as perceived by administrators, parents, and teachers in a public school community district in New York City. Barriers to parental involvement were investigated as they related to: (1) administrator-parent relations, (2) teacher-parent relations, (3) parent-child relations, (4) the parent-teachers association, and (5) community-school relations. The study also sought to determine the differences among and the relationships between the perceptions of barriers held by administrators, parents, and teachers. These perceptions were measured through responses to the Parental Involvement Questionnaire developed by the investigator. The following research questions were addressed: (1) What are perceptions of administrators, parents, and teachers regarding barriers to parental involvement? (2) Are there any significant differences in these perceptions? (3) Are there any significant relationships between these perceptions? The Parental Involvement Questionnaire was distributed by the investigator to each of the fifteen elementary schools in District Three. Thirteen of the schools cooperated, returning eight principals' forms, 25 teacher forms, and 102 parent forms. Answers to open-ended questions were also received, with 74 subjects also expressing willingness to be interviewed in order to elaborate on their views. All of these subjects were subsequently contacted by the investigator either in person or on the telephone. As a result of these investigations, it was concluded that parental involvement is still considered of critical importance in the education of young children. On the whole, administrators were not perceived as standing in the way of this involvement. One of the chief difficulties appeared to be a lack of agreement between parents and teachers as to the parental role in education and the efficacy of parents working with their children at home. Workshops for parents were given high priority as a need for improving this lack of understanding. The investigator concluded that future research should concentrate on finding ways to forge better relationships between teachers and parents and to study the methods used by successful administrators to this end.
Subject Area
Preschool education
Recommended Citation
RUESTOW, MARGARET ELIZABETH, "BARRIERS TO PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AS PERCEIVED BY ADMINISTRATORS, PARENTS, AND TEACHERS" (1986). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8624503.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8624503
