Is it effective to use websites in getting parents involved in education?

Parental involvement is an emerging issue in education. Many research studies show that when parents are interested in science and involved in science activities, their children’s performance in science increases. According to these research studies, many science educators are concerned with how to improve parents’ engagement in learning science. At the international science competition, U.S.A ranked lower than many Asian countries including Korea, Japan, and Taiwan (TIMSS, 1997). According to the report of TIMSS (2001), US eighth-graders performed slightly above the international average of 38 nations in science. In the 1995 study, US eighth-graders had tested above the international average in science, compared to students in 41 participating countries. Direct comparisons of international standing cannot be made between the two years because the list of participating countries is not identical. In fact, the data shows no absolute improvement in performance of US eighth-graders between 1995 and 1999, in science. To improve students’ performance in science, not only teachers at school but also parents at home must be engaged in science education.