ABSTRACT
Parental involvement is widely regarded as a fundamental contributor to children’s school success and long-term educational achievement. Although psychological theory and conventional wisdom have always regarded the family as essential in shaping children’s development, empirical validation regarding the impact of specific types of parent involvement in children’s education has emerged only recently. Furthermore, few studies have examined the long-term impact of parent involvement on children’s outcomes. However, enhancing parental involvement is integral to many educational programs and policies as illustrated by the following trends:
Parental involvement is a major element of school-wide reforms such as Schools of the 21st Century (Finn-Stevenson & Zigler, 1999), the School Development Program (Comer, Haynes, Joyner, & Ben-Avie, 1996) and the charter school movement, as well as new governance arrangements that give parents greater input in decision making.
Since the beginning of Head Start in 1965, parental involvement has been an essential component of early childhood programs for disadvantaged children. The emphasis on providing comprehensive family services and strengthening family-community partnerships has expanded to Title I, IDEA, and state-run early childhood programs, which now total more than $20 billion in government funding annually (see Zigler, Gilliam, & Jones, 2006).
Stand-alone family support interventions have increased in popularity in schools and communities. These include Even Start (U.S. Department of Education, 1993), Early Head Start (Love et al., 2005), Family Resource Centers (Waddell, Shannon, & Durr, 2001), Parents as Teachers (Wagner & Clayton, 1999), and home visitation and parenting education programs (Sweet & Appelbaum, 2004).
