THE EFFECTS OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT ON STUDENT SUCCESS

The purpose of this study was to find whether a correlation exists between parent involvement and student success at the high school level at Pepin High School, Pepin, Wisconsin.

The review of literature focused on parent involvement in school activities and programs, parent expectations of their children and parenting attitudes. Reasons for lack of parental involvement were identified. Lastly, why it’s important for parents to be involved and how to achieve increased parent involvement.

The survey was sent to parents of all students in the 2002 graduating class of Pepin High School. Data was collected through the use of a survey designed specifically for this study. There were three sections to the survey. Section I surveyed parent’s attitudes about education and their involvement with their child and their child’s school. Section II surveyed parental behaviors as they relate to themselves, their child, and their child’s school. Section III dealt with demographic data.

Research Hypothesis I

There will be a positive correlation between Pepin parents’ level of involvement and the levels of success of their children.

Research Hypothesis II

There will be a positive correlation between parents’ levels of education and expectations for their children.

Results of this study indicate that Pepin parents’ are, as a group, involved in the lives of their children who usually average A’s and B’s. Parents are somewhat more involved at home than at school. This is a result common to other studies of parents of high school students.

Parents’ level of education had little or no effect on their desires and expectations for their children. All groups scored high which speaks well of Pepin parents. It is obvious from the survey that parents are concerned about their children’s success in and out of school.

This information could assist in identifying behaviors and attitudes of parents that affect children’s success in school. Knowledge gained from this study may encourage changes that could improve the level of parent involvement in all aspects of children’s lives.