Parent Involvement: The Key to Student Success

The increasing high failure and dropout rate amongst students of varied backgrounds has unfortunately become a consistent pattern that has entrenched itself in education. By teaching sophomores I have noticed that one of the concerns in this at-risk demographic group is that some of them struggle with identity during this in-between stage of their high school years. They lack a sense of where they belong, a perceived dwindling support system, as well as the continued difficulty adjusting to the pace and workload needed to graduate. Motivating factors are often not identified or utilized leading them to detrimental results. A common result of this is apathy, continued failure, and the most unfortunate side effect of dropping out. My research looks to identify strategies and activities that will increase parental involvement which will lead to a decrease in academic failures for the at-risk student.  

Supporting the need for an action research on this topic is evident based on empirical data on failure and dropout/retention rates within the sophomore class "at risk" populace. A research of the past three sophomore classes based on the "at-risk" demographic population from my high schools AEIS report gives a baseline of data from which to move forward on improving the success rate of students. I then identified at-risk population on my TAC (Teacher Access Center) role for the incoming sophomore class and Schoolnet which is our districts site that provides student data that can be disaggregated based on every AEIS category. I interviewed the individual students in all my World History classes that were identified as falling within the requirements of my research.  Next action of my research was to distribute questionnaires addressing school policy, instruction, homework, activities, discipline, parent involvement, and teacher communication, to parents and relevant teachers of the students on my roster identified under any of the “at-risk” demographics. Of the remaining actions is to research assessment data from unit tests as well as grade checks quarterly to keep track of student success or lack thereof. Throughout the process is to continually research and implement best practices for effective parental involvement strategies to improve at risk passing and graduation rates.

My objective is to determine the factors that encourage/discourage parental involvement and the affect they have on pass/fail rates for students who are classified under any demographically at risk category. Identify the programs that are most likely to succeed in increasing parental involvement and student success on our campus.

I had no doubt as to the topic of my research since this has been an issue that is at the forefront of discussion during faculty meetings and the driving force behind weekly PLC’s.  My beliefs were corroborated during my initial conference with my site supervisor. They were not only positive but supportive as we constructively examined my proposed action research plan.  By actively involving my site supervisor in the process since the development I received support with each action step in addition to ideas of how to accomplish them individually.  He helped me identify alternative resources that would better suit my research needs as well as those that would be more readily available. It’s evident that our school is at an impasse on how to positively impact the at-risk demographic population. Even though there may not be one clear cut way my research will attempt to reveal the effect that parent involvement will have on the student’s achievement. The only revision suggested was to amend an action step to include the intended process of increasing parent involvement, communication, and participation through a class website and student on-line portfolio.   

       

Once my topic was identified and approved articulating my vision will be relatively easy considering that this is a topic I am passionate about. Initial communication as stated in the needs assessment will come through interviews and questionnaires. Communicating, articulating, and refining my vision with all stakeholders is then continued through utilizing the blog created for my project as well as a new and innovative educational site Edmodo. Each site has become more and more prevalent in educational leadership not only because our society is adapting to the age of technology, but it provides two-way communication for professionals who are constantly being pulled in several directions. Both the blog and Edmodo provide convenience in the decision-making process, an avenue to reflect, which helps evaluate the decisions and sustains the learning that occurred, and a forum to share my findings with any stakeholders who are also in the business of improving student achievement. 

     

Given that this project did not require many resources other than time to develop a questionnaire, interviews, and research all organization was established during the initial outline for my plan of action. This topic which will look to improve the success of students that are considered to be at risk has at its foundation a priority on student learning. In regards to their safety the identity of each student is kept anonymous unless otherwise given permission.

Lastly in regards to Managing Operations and Responding to Community Interest and Needs these are processes where additional data is being collected and will be analyzed and submitted later.

Catsambis, S., Garland, J.E., (1997). Parental involvement in students education during middle school and high school. Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk (CRESPAR). Report number 18.

Cavazos, J., Braley, R., Slate, J.R. (2008). Parental involvement and perceived at risk student performance: views from predominantly Hispanic parents. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 3.

Davis, D. (2000). Supporting parent, family, and community involvement in your school. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.

Innerebner, A.M. (2010). Characteristics of effective parental involvement in middle school education and recommendations for increasing parental involvement. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in education, Northern Michigan University.

Mulkana, A.J., Hopper, P.G. PhD., Jayroe, T. PhD. (2010). School success for at risk students. Schooling, 1.

Vandergrift, J.A., Greene, A.L. (1992). Rethinking parent involvement. Educational Leadership, Building a community for learning, 50, 57-59.

Action Research Progress Report

My action research appears for the most part to be on track as designed although some of the actions have and are requiring a little more time to complete. It’s hard to account for or adequately apply enough time needed especially when coaching and team leader responsibilities have shaved away crucial time in an already full daily schedule. Of the eight steps in the process I have completed three of them,  and working on completing two others while the other three are steps that will take the entire year in order to acquire the appropriate data. I have met with my site supervisor and administrative team to discuss implementation of action research and I have identified the at-risk population on my role for the incoming sophomore class and interviewed individual students in all my world history classes. I am currently researching data on dropout and retention rates for the past three sophomore classes in regards to at-risk demographic population. Additionally I’m developing the questionnaire to address the various areas regarding the factors that encourage/discourage parental involvement and the affect they have on pass/fail rates for students who are classified under any demographically at risk category. Once completed the questionnaire will be distributed to parents and relevant teachers of the students on my roster identified under any of  the “at-risk” demographics. Researching effective parental involvement strategies is a step I still need to complete. Steps that will be ongoing throughout the year will be tracking assessment data from unit, quarter, and semester tests as well as grade checks quarterly.  At regular intervals throughout the year I will meet with my at risk sophomores to gauge their sense of success in relation to the parents involvement.

Action Research Plan

Action Research Plan

Goal:  To determine the factors that encourage/discourage parental involvement and the affect they have on pass/fail rates for students who are classified under any demographically at risk category. Identify the programs that are most likely to succeed in increasing parental involvement and student success on our campus.

                                                                                                 

Action step(s)	Person(s) responsible	Timeline: start/end	Needed resources	Evaluation
Meet with site supervisor and administrative team to discuss implementation of action research	Terrence Drain and Michael Bennett On Site Supervisor	August 2012 October 2012	Meeting time and space	Reflection and suggestions from leadership team
Research data on dropout and retention rates for the past three sophomore classes in regards to at-risk demographic population	Terrence Drain	August 2012 September 2012	Database access from campus leadership	Site supervisor recommendations on plans-of-action
Interview individual students in all my World History classes	Terrence Drain and Michael Bennett On Site Supervisor	August 29 2012 – August 31 2012	Desks, meeting area, interview questions	Discuss with site supervisor the results and illicit recommendations
Identify at-risk population on my role for the incoming sophomore class	Terrence Drain	August 2012 September 2012	Database access from campus leadership	Discuss list with teachers and request qualitative info on student progress
Meet with at-risk sophomores during administrative period regularly	Terrence Drain Students and Parents	August 2012 – March 2013	Meeting space and times Principal permission	Student/Parent/Teacher feedback via survey or testimonials
Distribute questionnaire addressing school policy, instruction, homework, activities, discipline, parent involvement, and teacher communication, to parents and relevant teachers of the students on my roster identified under any of  the  “at-risk” demographics	Terrence Drain	August 2012 – October 2012	Develop questionnaire, avenues for disbursement and retrieval	Discuss with site supervisor the results and illicit recommendations
Research effective parental involvement strategies	Terrence Drain	September 2012 November 2012	Internet Professional journals District administrators	Data/testimonials from research on program effectiveness
Research assessment data from unit tests as well as grade checks quarterly	Terrence Drain	August 2012 – April 2013	Test data from districts Schoolnet software Qualitative data from teachers	Track CUA data over the course of the year noting improvements to student success as it relates to level of  parental involvement

Week 2 Reflections on Real Life Research Action Examples

During the videos that discussed Action Research Lessons from Scholar Practitiners each of the scholars placed heavy importance on the review of data when looking at areas where students are struggling to intervene and implement change on student learning. They also recommended for future leaders to read research in their area of interest. There is an enormous of information and research already conducted by others who have struggled with the same issues. It was also suggested to conduct an action research over what you want to know as it applies to student learning. You will be more interested, focused on the outcome, and the students most of all will benefit from your research.

Also, Dr. Jenkins outlined the 4 elements to an effective purpose for an action research project. The purpose: 1) is clearly defined, 2)focused, 3)reasonable/feasible, and 4) ethical. Above all choose something that you will be interested in.
Lastly, the Dana text suggests that qualitative research questions typically come from "real world" observations and dilemmas or from one's own experiences.These "wonderings" that initiate most action research investigations usually come from one of nine "areas of passion". The nine passion sources are: 1) staff development, 2) curriculum development, 3) individual teachers, 4) individual students, 5) school community and culture, 6) leadership, 7) management, 8) school performance, and 9) social justice.

Ways to Use Blogs as an Educational Leader

Educational leaders can use blogs to post and share their thoughts and insights on issues or recognize achievements with staff, students, and parents. Leaders can pose questions and elicit responses from staff, students, and parents as an avenue for gaining insight into future action research ideas. The leader could also write a daily journal of school happenings as a model of head learner that’s being a part of rather than apart from the learning process.  Either way blogs are a good source to store thoughts and share them with others then receive feedback in the effort to “gain deeper insights into your practice as an administrator.

Action Research

Action research, also referred to as teacher inquiry and administrative inquiry, is a third option in educational research that “highlights the role practitioner’s play as knowledge generators,” to facilitate change in the effort of campus improvement. Even though the varied terms are comparatively new to educational research that would lead educators to believe it to be just another educational fad their ideas and roles are not. Action research enables principals to improve their schools from the inside out as opposed to the traditional research approach of outside in. Ultimately, campus improvement paves the way for student achievement. The two previous paradigms in traditional research served as the fundamental way to improve schools for many years, and these findings were at the hands primarily of university researchers. The problem was that "process-product" research and "qualitative" research had a major flaw. A severe disconnect existed because the problems and solutions offered in traditional research were conducted and formulated outside of the school and expected to be implemented without question. Action research alleviates this disconnect because the campus administrator or teacher is actively engaged in the action research. They are the people who best know the pulse of the school, and thus they best know what problems need attention. Much like a doctor, the principal or teacher uses data to diagnose the problem, makes a diagnosis, uses his/her expertise to determine a path of improvement, takes action, and preserves maintenance plan implementation.
Action research has the intended goal of creating a pathway for change. It has several benefits, which makes it an inevitable part and mainstay of the future for administrators. First, the research and knowledge gained is founded from actual educational experience. This helps because the researchers are investigating concerns from their own building, thus increasing the motivation for all practitioners and collaborators. Administrators also place themselves in a positive light amongst his/her peers and staff members as an action researcher. As the head learner, willing to dirty-up the hands, the principal displays role-model tendencies that students and adults should use for ideal behavior. Another benefit is that teachers, as vital contributors of the action research process, reduce their own isolation while self-evaluating the best practices they promote in the classroom. All of these attributes promote why action research is rapidly becoming a concrete pillar for campus improvement.