Parental involvement in schools : Parent and teacher perceptions of roles, efficacy, and opportunities

This study examined perceptions of roles, efficacy, and opportunities for parental involvement in schools among 558 parents and 142 teachers in six elementary, middle, and high schools. Parents and teachers completed parallel forms of a questionnaire that included ratings of preferred involvement by parents in 25 roles, perceptions of parents' effectiveness in enhancing children's school performance through each role, and ratings of the extent to which 16 potential barriers minimize opportunities for parents' participation in school activities. Factor analysis determined that parent-involvement activities can be grouped into two broad types of involvement roles: (a) roles in which parents have direct contact or involvement with their child, and (b) roles in which involvement is indirect, with less direct benefit specifically for their child. Overall, teachers rated parents as being more effective in helping children through their participation in activities than did parents themselves. Teachers also reported that parents have more barriers and fewer opportunities for involvement than parents actually reported. Consistent with current research, information-gathering and communication between parents and teachers regarding individual preferences, perceived effectiveness, and barriers to involvement are discussed as important prerequisites for establishing effective homeschool partnerships.