Parental involvement and student success in reading.

1. Parental involvement and student success in reading. Marquita Bailey Ed. 7201T Fall 2011

2. Table of Contents • Abstract • Introduction 3 • Statement of the problem 4-5 • Review of literature 6-7 • Statement of the Hypothesis 8 • Method • Participants 9 • Instruments 19-10 • Experimental Design • Procedure • Results • Discussion • Implications • References 11 • Appendix(ces) • Appendix A: Consent Forms 12-13

3. Introduction According to Senechal and LeFevre (2002) some early reading skills are acquired at home through specific experiences. Parents are the first teachers in their children’s lives. Parents are the ones who begin their children’s learning at home before they step foot inside of a classroom. Parents who foster positive attitudes about school and reading set good examples for their children. With continued support, involvement, and encouragement from parents throughout the years, students are capable of doing well academically.

4. Statement of the problem Throughout the years, teachers have encountered different types of parents • Parents who are deeply involved in their children’s education • constantly check up on their child’s progress • Ask questions and ask for tips and suggestions • attend meetings and workshops (ex: P/T conferences and open house) • respond to letters and return phone calls • Complete homework/projects with their child • reads with/to their child regularly • etc. • Parents that are partially involved • Parents that aren't involved at all • parents who you never see • they don’t attend meetings/workshops • they never return phone calls or respond to letters • don’t do homework/projects with their child • never check homework • Never read with/to their child

5. Statement of the problem (cont’d) • Parental involvement is a major issue in education. Many students lack the parental involvement that they need in order to succeed. Parental involvement is an important variable that can have positive effects on students’ education. As children get older, parental involvement decreases. There are many reasons that may contribute to this. The education of a child is an ongoing process that requires support from all parties involved. With more help and support from parents, students are capable of doing better in school.

6. Review of literature • “ Young children are active learners who learn through their early years at home more quickly than at any other time in their life”. (Al-Momomani, Ihmeideh, & Naba’h, 2010). • “Deliberate, cooperative intervention efforts by parents and educators to modify academic conditions in the home have an outstanding record of success in promoting achievement”. (Walberg, & Paik, 1997). • “Effective parenting makes important contributions to children’s education and achievement”. (Campbell, & Verna, 2007). • Traditional parental involvement in education included involvement in home activities such as helping with homework, encouraging reading, and promoting school attendance as well as school based activities such as PTA meetings, parent teacher conferences and participating in fund raising activities. (George, & Mensah, 2010)

7. Review of literature (con’d) • “Parental encouragement and assistance contributes to students’ higher achievement, report card grades, better attitudes, and higher aspirations”(Cottrell,2005). • Parents have the responsibility of enhancing their children’s success in literacy both at home in school (Al-Momami, Ijmuiden, & Naba’h, 2010). • The National Panel has identified word decoding (phonics) and reading fluency as two key components of successful early reading instructional programs. Being able to decode words accurately and effortlessly is important to reading success. (as cited by Padak, & Rasinski, 2006). • “When homework assignments encourage interaction between parents and children, improvements are shown in reading skills” (Bailey, Silvern, Brabham, & Ross 2004, Bailey, 2006). • According to the Harvard Family Research project, parental involvement results in higher reading scores, greater language growth and development, and increased motivation to achieve. (as cited by Mccollough, & Ramirez, 2010).

8. Research Hypothesis Increased parental involvement via teacher designed daily reading homework for 20 minutes per week day, over a 4 week period to 21 first grade students in P.S.X of Brooklyn N.Y will increase students’ reading levels as measured by mCLASS Literacy assessment.

9. Methods • Participants The students included in this case study are • 21 first grade students ages six to seven • 10 girls/11 boys • Lower to middle SES • Instruments • mCLASS literacy assessment (Observation reading assessment. Measures students ability to read with comprehension.) • (Pre and Post to determine reading level and skills before and after.) • Parent questionnaires and student questionnaires • Pre to determine the amount and level of reading activities that occur at home. • Post to determine the amount of reading activities that have occurred and that will continue at home.

10. Methods con’d • Teacher designed daily reading homework that must be completed by parent and child. • Ex: Students will take home a new book each week • Sample questions • Did my child bring home a new book this week (yes or no) • Tile of the book _____________________ • I read the book to my child, with my child or my child read the book to me. • I discussed parts of the book with my child. • We discussed________________. • We read the book ____ times this week • Parent/student comments or what they learned about the book

11. References Al-Momani, I., Ihmeideh, F., & Naba’h, A. (2010). Teaching reading in the years: exploring home and kindergarten relationships. Early Child Development & Care, 180(6), 767-785. Bailey, L. (2006). Interactive homework: a tool for fostering parent-child interactions and improving learning outcomes for at-risk young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(2), 155-167. Bailey, L., Silvern, S., Brabham, E., Ross, M. (2004). The effects of interactive reading homework and parental involvement on children’s inference responses. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 173-178. Bartel, V. (2010). Home and School Factors impacting parental involvement in a title I elementary school. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 24(3), 209-228. Campbell, J.R., & Verna, M. (2007). Effective parental influence: academic home climate lined to children’s achievement. Educational Research and Evaluation, 13(6), 501-519. Cottrell, S., & Shaughnessy, M. (2005). An interview with Joyce Epstein: about parental involvement. Retrieved from http://www.educationnes.org/articles/an-interview with- joyce-epstein-about-parental-involvement-.html Ediger, M. (2008). Psychology of parental involvement in reading. Reading Improvement, 45(1), 46-52. George, D., Mensah, D. (2010). Parental involvement in home work for children’s academic success. A study in the cape coast municipality. Academic Leadership, 8(2), 1-5. Ghazi, S., Ali, R., Shahzad., Khan, M. (2010). Parental involvement in children’s academic motivation. Asian Social Science, 6(4), 93-99. Graue, E., Clements, M., Reynolds, A., & Niles, M. (2004). More than teacher directed or child initiated: preschool curriculum type, parent involvement, and children's outcomes in the child-parent centers. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(72)1-38. Guofamg, L. (2006). What do parents think? Middle-class Chinese immigrant parents’ perspectives on literacy learning, homework, and school-home communication. School Community Journal, 16(2), 27-46. Hawes, C., & Plourde, L. (2005). Parental involvement and its influences in the reading achievement of 6th grade students. Reading Improvement, 42(1), 47-57. Hong, E. (2001). Homework style, homework environment, and academic achievement. Learning Environments Research, 4(1), 7-23. Hoover-Dempsey, K., Walker J., Jones, K., Reed, R. (2002). Teachers involving parents (TIP): results of an in-service teacher education program for enhancing parental involvement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(2002) 843-867. Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., Battiato, A.C., Walker, J.T., Reed, R.P., Delong, J.M., & Jones, K.P. (2001). Parental involvement in homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 195-209. Jeynes, W. (2011). Parental involvement research: moving to the next level. School Community Journal, 21(1), 9-18. Joe, E., & Davis J. (2009). Parental influence, school readiness and early academic achievement of african american boys. Journal of Negro Education, 78(3), 260-276. McCoach, B., Goldstein, J., Behuniak, P., Reis, S., Black, A., Sullivan, E., & Rambo, K. (2010). Examining the unexpected: outlier analyses of factors affecting student achievement. Journal of Advanced Academics, 21(3), 426-468. Mccollough, C., & Ramirez, O. (2010). Connecting math and science to home, school and community through preservice teacher education. Academic Leadership, 8 (2), 1-11. Padak, N., & Rasinski, T. (2006). Home-school partnerships in literacy education: from rhetoric to reality. Reading Teacher, 60(3), 292-296. Ray, K., & Smith, M. (2010). The kindergarten child: what teacher administrators need to know to promote academic success in all children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(1), 5-18. Senechal, M., & Lefebvre, J. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children’s reading skill: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73(2), 445-461. Walberg, H. & Paik, S.J. (1997). Home environments for learning. Psychology and educational practice, 356-368. Xu, M., Kushner Benson,S., Mudrey-Camino, R., & Steiner, R. (2010). The relationship between parental involvement, self-regulated learning, and reading achievement of fifth graders: a path analysis using the ECLS-K database. Social Psychology of Education, 13(2), 237-269. Zaoura, A., Aubrey, C. (2010). Home-school relationships: valuable or problematic? International Journal of Learning, 17(4), 391-407.

12. Appendix AConsent forms November 29, 2011 Dear Parent/Guardian, I am currently a graduate student at Brooklyn College. I am presently in the process of completing an action research project as one of my graduation requirements. I would like to invite you and your child to participate in a research study that I will be conducting this school year. I am requesting your permission to gather data and include this information in my project. If you and your child decide to participate, you may be required to complete questionnaires, surveys, and academic activities. I can assure you that this additional work is not time consuming. My goal is to learn more about the impact of parental involvement and student success in reading. Please keep in mind that any information that is obtained in this will remain confidential. All participants will be kept anonymous. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at BM0427@bcmail.brooklyn.cuny.edu . Thanks in advance for your cooperation and support. Sincerely, Ms. M. Bailey I _________________________ (parent/legal guardian) of______________________ have read and understand the information provided above.  I willingly agree to participate with my child in this research project.  I do not wish to participate with my child in this research project. Parent/legal guardian signature __________________________________ Date___________________ Child signature __________________________________ Date ___________________

13. Consent FORMS CON’D November 29, 2011 Dear Administrator, I am currently completing my graduate program at Brooklyn College. This semester I have been asked to conduct an action research project within my classroom. My research project is focused on learning more about the impact of parental involvement and student success in reading. I will be sending home a letter asking for permission. Once I receive permission from the participants, I will begin to gather data. The children and their parents who decide to participate will be given surveys, questionnaires and academic activities to be completed at home. In order to insure privacy, the actual names of the individuals who participate in my research will not be used. This survey will not affect my duties as a professional. Instead, I will use the information to help me in my future teaching endeavors. I am asking for your consent to conduct the survey within our school. Thanks in advance for your support in this effort. Sincerely, Ms. M. Bailey I am fully aware that a research project will be conducted within the school. Principal/Assistant principal signature _________________________________________