Parental Involvement in Education the Term Paper

Specifically the researcher proposes surveying parents and children about their school experiences and participation in the classroom. The researcher suggests surveying three groups of 30 members each consisting of 15 students and 15 parents. Survey questions will be provided in person to students and consist of straightforward questions that assess students views of how increasing parental involvement may affect their attitudes toward school and learning.

The study will also examine previous literature published that examines the relationship between achievement and parental involvement, and the effects of parental involvement on curriculum and policy development in the classroom. Research will be examined from a time frame ranging from 1997 to the present. From the information gathered from the literature review and the information gathered from the field study the researcher will develop a theory that predicts the level of parental involvement necessary to facilitate student achievement. The researcher will also discover what is necessary for teacher understanding of student interests and needs as well as the methods that educational facilities can adopt to successfully encourage parental involvement in the classroom.

The researcher will collect data over a six-month period and examine parental and student relationships in three middle schools. Teachers will also be interviewed to assess their opinions about parent-teacher collaboration in the classroom. Teachers will also be asked to define what methods if any they have adopted so far that have successfully promoted useful collaboration in the classroom. The researcher will also explore what obstacles teachers feel exist barring collaboration between parents and teachers and parents and students.

There are many obstacles that exist within the classroom that can impede suitable curriculum development. One dilemma is combining teacher values and beliefs with those of student interests and values (Powell, 1999). Fortunately it is possible for teachers to learn new framework for teaching to help promote student teacher understanding.

Modern frameworks for developing curriculum include interrelated elements, which include understanding goals, continuing assessments, and creating themes which consider topics that are compelling for both teachers and students (Powell, 1999). Of particular benefit is also parent's ability to connect with student's experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

The researcher will consider all of these while developing a plan of action to promote parent-teacher collaboration in the classroom and stimulate higher educational attainment and achievement for students in the classroom. The researcher will consider any limits that exist about this study, including the small sample size of students, parents and teachers surveyed for purposes of this study.

The researcher will also work to limit potential bias. To do this the researcher will make every attempt to define a sample that is representative of a typical population and classroom in the United States, so the results can be generalized suitably to similar situations and environments.

References:

Bravmann, S.L., Green, N.S., Joseph, P.B., Mikel, E.R. & Windschitl, M.A. (2000).

Cultures of Curriculum. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

De Carvalho, M.E.P. (2001). Rethinking family-school relations: A critique of parental involvement in schooling. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kaplan A. ( 1997). "Work, leisure, and the tasks of schooling." Curriculum Inquiry, 27,

423-451.

Machen, S.M,. Notar, C.E. & Wilson, J.D. (2005). "Parental involvement in the classroom." Journal of Instructional Psychology, 32(1): 13.…