Parent Involvement and Student Academic Performance

Parent Involvement and Student Academic Performance: A Multiple Mediational Analysis David R. Topor, Susan P. Keane, Terri L. Shelton, and Susan D. Calkins Numerous studies have shown a clear positive relationship between the involvement of a parent in a child's education, and the academic performance of the child. This particular study seeks to explore the mechanisms of the said association. On that front, only two potential mechanisms are taken into consideration.

These, according to the authors, include; 1) the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the student, and 2) the child's perception of cognitive competence. A total of one hundred and fifty eight 7-year-olds participated in this study. The sample also included their teachers and mothers.

It is important to note that data was in this case sourced from three key centers; the child, their mothers, and teachers -- with the gathering of data from the first two centers taking place during two laboratory visits, and from the teacher taking place during a single school visit. When it comes to data collection, this study made use of structured techniques.

The approaches used were observation and the utilization of questionnaires, with teachers in the latter case completing a questionnaire packet that included not only the child's academic performance in the classroom but also a measure of the involvement of the parent. The study results indicate that over and above the intelligence of a child, there is indeed a significant statistical connection or affiliation between the academic performance of a child and parental involvement.

In the authors' own words, "findings from the present study demonstrated that increased parental involvement, defined as the teacher's perception of the positive attitude parents have toward their child's education, teacher, and school, was significantly related to increased academic performance, measured by both a standardized achievement test and teacher ratings of a child's classroom academic performance." Section 2: Critical Analysis of the Article It is important to note that the findings of this present study does generate a number of opportunities for future research.

To begin with there is need for a more critical assessment of the various approaches and methods that promote achievement -- particularly in middle school. A study of this nature would be particularly necessary as it has been shown that academic performance during this stage suffers as a result of the various transitional changes taking place in the child's life at the developmental, familial, and even school contexts. The present study could also inform the expansion of focus into community engagement.

This is to say that future studies could look into how communities, schools, as well as families collaborate to improve learning outcomes. In this case, findings could be of great relevance in urban educational reform. There are several threats to the validity of this study. According to Given (2008, p. 341), bias, in qualitative research, "involves influences that compromise accurate sampling, data collection, data interpretation, and the reporting of findings." One could be questionnaire bias.

It should be noted that the respondent's answers could in some instances be influenced by biased questions. Bias could arise from misunderstood questions or even the order of questions (i.e. asking specific questions before general questions; or aided questions before unaided questions). It is not clear from the procedures how the questionnaire -- particularly on parent involvement - was structured. The validity of this study could also be undermined by a biased sample.

This is more so the case if the fifty eight 7-year-olds who participated in this study were not truly representative of the interest group. The screening and selection methodologies are not clearly highlighted. The researchers should have made use of random sampling in an attempt to minimize sample bias. The utilization of standardized achievement test scores as a measure of the academic performance of a child is, however, laudable. This is particularly the case given.