parental involvement and achievement outcomes in african american adolescents

Parental Involvement and Achievement Outcomes in African American AdolescentsAuthor(s): DeMarquis HayesSource: Journal of Comparative Family Studies, Vol. 43, No. 4 (2012), pp. 567-582Published by: Dr. George KurianStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23267815 .

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Parental Involvement and Achievement Outcomes in African American Adolescents

DeMarquis Hayes*

INTRODUCTION

Federal and state policies in the United States of America have elevated parental involvement in schools to a national priority in part due to the large number of failing schools and increased achievement gap between White students and African American and other ethnic minority students (Green, 2001;Lewis, James, Hancock, and Hill-Jackson, 2008). Parental involvement has consistently been associated with school success in a multitude of areas such as better achievement and behavior, lower absenteeism, and more positive attitudes toward school (Cole-Henderson, 2000; Jeynes, 2005a; Taylor, Hinton, & Wilson, 1995). Although social scientists have conducted a number of studies examining the benefits of parental involvement, several issues remain inadequately addressed, especially as it relates to African American adolescent students. The current study attempts to address some

of the questions regarding parental involvement in urban African American families with

high school adolescents. Specifically, this study examined parental ratings of a multidimensional construct of parental involvement in order to answer the following research questions: (a) are specific parental involvement behaviors better predictors of achievement outcomes in urban African American adolescents?, (b) does specific parental involvement behaviors impact the achievement outcomes of younger versus older high school adolescents differently?, and (c) does specific family demographic variables influence how parents' involvement behaviors predict the achievement outcomes of urban African American adolescents?

LIMITATIONS IN PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT RESEARCH

Research examining parental involvement continues to be burdened by the ambiguities in how this construct is defined (Falbo, Lein, & Amador, 2001). Parental involvement includes not only direct involvement in schools, such as volunteering in classrooms and attending

school parent-teacher conferences, but also indirect or hidden behaviors, such as discussing school and family issues and conveying educational expectations (Epstein & Sanders, 2002; McWayne, Hampton, Fantuzzo, Cohen, & Sekino, 2004). Despite the evidence of parental involvement being a multidimensional construct, many researchers continue to discuss either a generic global concept of parental involvement or choose to only examine one type of involvement without any consideration of the effects different parental involvement behaviors would have on student outcomes (Jeynes, 2005a; Jeynes, 2005b). The gap in the

knowledge of what kind of parental involvement is most important in the school

* Department of Educational Psychology, Matthews Hall, 304B, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle -

#311335, Denton, Texas 76203-5017 U.S.A.



568 Journal of Comparative Family Studies

achievement of urban African American students, high school adolescents in particular, prevents parents and teachers from effectively engaging in appropriate parental involvement

programs (Fan & Chen, 2001 ; Hayes & Cunningham, 2003 ; Jeynes, 2003).

Second, the majority of studies on parental involvement have generally focused on the

general population rather than on urban African American students (Jeynes, 2005b; Jeynes, 2007; Yan, 1999). Yan argues that this issue remains present even when large national data sets are examined because African American students are often compared to majority White students which in some instances has lead to a focus on risk factors rather than the positive benefits of involvement from African American families. Finally, when studies have focused on African American students they have relied primarily on underprivileged African Americans without consideration of the effects parental involvement has across various socioeconomic levels of African American families (McBride & Lin, 1996; Muller, 1998, Overstreet, Devine, Bevans, & Efreom, 2005). According to Howard and Reynolds (2008) most of the general parental involvement literature fails to fully consider not only the role of race but also class when examining parenting practices within schools. They noted that when race and class were considered, rarely were upper-class families of color considered in the analysis. Focusing entirely on economically disadvantaged African American families may create incomplete findings on the influences of parental involvement and student outcomes. Trusty (1998) found that in a nationally representative sample of adolescent students home based involvement was more highly predictive of educational expectations at lower socioeconomic levels, whereas, school-based involvement was more highly predictive at higher socioeconomic levels.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a multidimensional construct of parental involvement from the perspective of parents to illustrate how urban African American parents can engage in different behaviors in order to foster positive achievement outcomes in their high school adolescents. The current study defines parental involvement as parental attitudes and behaviors that are expressed within multiple domains to promote student achievement outcomes. The current definition places an emphasis on the notion that parental involvement does not only occur within the context of school. This is important because many parental involvement programs inappropriately focus solely on the behaviors that occur within the school domain or with school personnel which creates a limited view of parental involvement and inadvertently creates fewer opportunities for some parents to get involved with their children's education (Mannan & Blackwell, 1992; Trusty, 1999).

PARENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

The examination of parental ratings to evaluate the influence of parental involvement on adolescent outcomes has been utilized in previous research. Paulson (1994) examined parental perceptions of a multidimensional measure of parental involvement which consisted of values toward achievement, interest in schoolwork, and involvement in school functions. Achievement values refer to parents' values and attitudes about the importance of

effort and academic success. Interest in schoolwork refers to parents' involvement in their children's academic performance, such as making sure children do their homework and knowing how their children are doing in school. Involvement in school functions refers to parents' involvement in school activities, such as attending parent-teacher conferences and doing volunteer work at the school. Hierarchical multiple regression examining the relations between parenting and achievement outcomes revealed that achievement values was the

most salient parental involvement factor. Specifically, although all three involvement measures predicted higher grades for adolescents, values toward achievement consistently



Parental Involvement and Achievement Outcomes 569

predicted the greatest proportion of variance in adolescent achievement outcomes.

[n another study, Trusty (1999) examined parent and adolescent reports of parental involvement and results from factor analyses revealed four factors of parental involvement

[parent-reported home-based, student-reported home-based, parent-reported school

organization, & student-reported school-based). Home-based involvement refers to the

frequency with which parents discuss schoolwork, school activities, and school programs with their children. School-based involvement refers to the frequency in which parents participate in school events and communicate with school personnel. Results from logistic regression analysis revealed that student reports of home-based involvement had the

strongest independent effect on adolescents' educational expectations. These results

suggests that parent communication with students and support of students' educational endeavors are more important in long-term educational development than parents' direct

school involvement.

The present study builds on the work of Paulson (1994) and Trusty ( 1999) in four ways. First, the study examined a multidimensional construct of parental perceptions of parental involvement (home-based, school-based, & achievement values) in urban African American adolescents. Although the previously mentioned studies provided valuable insight into

potential forms of parental involvement with high school adolescents the results cannot be

readily generalized to African American students due to the samples consisting of majority White adolescents and parents. Second, the African American families in the current study were not all characterized as economically disadvantage which is often the case when

examining parental involvement in African American families. Next, the current study examined whether the benefits of parental involvement for urban African American students varied for younger and older adolescents. Finally, the current study examined the influence

specific family demographic variables had on parental involvement in predicting the

achievement outcomes of urban African American high school adolescents. Based on the

literature, the current study has the following hypotheses:

1. Of the three parental involvement behaviors examined m the current study, parent

perceptions of home-based involvement and achievement values are expected to be

significant predictors of achievement outcomes in urban African American adolescents.

2. Parent perceptions of achievement values will be a significant predictor ot

achievement outcomes for both younger and older urban African American adolescents.

3. Parent perceptions of home-based involvement will be a better predictor of

achievement outcomes in older urban African American adolescents than in

younger adolescents.

4. Family demographic variables are not expected to have a large impact on the

achievement outcomes of urban African American adolescents.

Participants

METHOD

The participants of the study consisted of 145 parents/guardians of urban African American

high school adolescents from two large urban southwestern and southern U.S. cities.

Seventy-two percent of the African American parents who participated in the study were

mothers. Data from the southwestern city was collected on two occasions in a large urban




school district consisting of mostly low-income minority students. The first wave of data

collection resulted in only 13 completed surveys (62% mothers). The small sample size was in part due to approval for the study being granted with only one week remaining in the academic school year. Therefore, the second wave of data collection took place during the first two days of summer school registration at one of the area high schools that had a large African American student population. This resulted in 67 completed surveys (75% mothers). Using participants from summer school registration provided an opportunity to examine involvement from parents that had adolescents' with potentially lower achievement outcomes than what would have otherwise been provided during the regular school year. Finally, data collection from the southern city took place at a large predominantly African American church with a congregation consisting of low-income to upper middle class members and consisted of 65 parents (72% mothers).

The researcher relied on a convenience sample in both cities rather than a random sample of parents in an attempt to recruit parents from various educational and economic backgrounds to allow for greater generalization of results with African American parents and adolescents who not all were considered economically disadvantaged. Table 1 provides the means, standard deviation, and descriptive information of several demographic characteristics of the parents. Thirty-six percent of the total sample completed college or graduate degrees, 46% were married, 79% worked full-time jobs, 31% had family incomes greater than $50,000, and 87% of parents believed their adolescents would complete college and or graduate/professional school. Examination of the means indicated that parents from the southern city had higher mean levels for all of the family demographic variables except educational expectations when compared to the parents in the southwestern city. However, results from Levene's Test for Equality of Variance indicated that parents from southern city

Table 1

Mean, Standard Deviation, and Descriptive Statistics for African American Parents (N = 145)

Variable School Year Summer Church Total («=13) School (n=67) (n=65) (7V=145)

Parent Education 2.54 (.97) 2.99(1.14) 3.58 (.92) 3.21 (1.08) Less than H.S. 15% 6% 1% 5% H.S. diploma 31% 31% 6% 20% Some college 39% 36% 43% 39% College degree 15% 12% 31% 21% Advanced degree 0% 15% 19% 15%

Work Status 1.31 (.95) 1.48 (.82) 1.88 (.45) 1.64 (.72) Unemployed 31% 21% 5% 14% Part-time 8% 10% 3% 7% Full-time 61% 69% 92% 79%

Marital Status 0.31 (.48) 0.39 (.49) 0.55 (.50) 0.46 (.50) Not Married 69% 61% 45% 54% Married 31% 39% 55% 46%

Family Income 1.31 (.48) 1.94 (.80) 2.14 (.81) 1.97 (.81) Low ($0-$30K) 69% 34% 26% 34% Medium ($30K-$50K) 31% 37% 34% 35% High (> $50K) 0% 29% 40% 31%



Parental Involvement and Achievement Outcomes >71

3nly had a statistically significant difference in levels of employment when compared to the Darents in the southwestern city (F(2,142)=32.10,p < .001 ).

Procedure

Parents volunteered to complete a survey that provided tamily demographic information,

issessed their level of involvement in their adolescents' lives in multiple domains, and assessed their perceptions of the achievement of their adolescents as it related to grades, school attendance, and behavior problems at school. For the first wave of data collection in the southwestern city, permission was obtained to request parental support at 3 area high schools with large African American populations. The consent form and survey were distributed through the Language Arts classes. Students were asked to take the information tiome for their parents to complete and bring them back to their teachers. Once completed surveys were returned the students would be entered into a raffle for an opportunity to win

music gift cards.

Due to the time frame in which the surveys were distributed the researcher had a low

response rate. Arrangements were made with an area principal to collect data from parents as

they registered their students for summer school. A handout explaining the study was distributed to each parent as they entered the school for registration. Surveys were provided to parents that agreed to participate in the study. A final effort to recruit participants occurred

during the summer at a large, predominantly African American church in an urban southern

:ity. Prior to services starting the congregation was informed about the study and interested

parties were asked to meet after service to complete the survey.

Measures

Achievement Values. This 8-item scale was developed by Paulson (1994) to measure

perceptions of parents' values and attitudes about the importance of effort and academic

success. Paulson's original study measured achievement values on a 5-point Likert scale

from (1) very unlikely to (5) very likely. Cronbach's alpha for parental reports of

achievement values ranged from .67 for fathers and .77 for mothers. For the current study, the 8 items that made up the achievement values subscale were reworded to allow for parents to rate their attitudes about academic success on a 5-point Likert scale from (1) strongly

disagrees to (5) strongly agree. Sample items include, "I try to get my children to do his/her

best on everything he/she does." and "Hard work is very important to me." The Cronbach

alpha for achievement values in the current study was acceptable at 0.70.

Home-Based Involvement. Parents responded to six items assessing parental perceptions of

parent-adolescent communication about school and learning. This measure was adapted from Trusty's (1999) measure of parent-reported and student-reported home-based

involvement. Results from principal components extraction and varimax rotation indicated

that the items comprising Trusty's parent-reported home-based involvement had factor

loadings ranging from .68 to .85 while items comprising the student-reported home-based

involvement had factor loadings ranging from .65 to .76. For the current study, items from

Trusty's parent-reported and student-reported home-based involvement were reworded to

allow parents to report their frequency in which they engaged in home-based involvement

activities based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from: (1) never to (5) very often. Sample items include, "Talk to your child about school experiences" and "Know how your child is

doing in school." Reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.84.



572 Journal oj Comparative Family étudies

School-Based Involvement. Parents responded to six items assessing parental perceptions of

their frequency in attending and participating in school events. This measure was adapted from Trusty's (1999) measure of parent-reported school organization and student-reported school-based involvement. Results from principal components extraction and varimax rotation indicated that the items comprising Trusty's parent-reported school organization involvement had factor loadings ranging from .60 to .80 while items comprising the student

reported school-based involvement had factor loadings ranging from .54 to .68. For the current study, items from Trusty's parent-reported school organization and student-reported school-based involvement were reworded to allow parents to report their frequency in which they engaged in school involvement activities based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from: ( 1 ) never to (5) very often. Sample items include, "Belong to PTA at your child's school" and "Volunteer at your child's school." Reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.85.

Urades. Academic achievement was measured from parental reports of what kinds of grades their children received. The measure was based on an 8-point rating scale ranging from (1) students grades were below D to (8) students grades were mostly A.

Days Missed. School absentees were measured from parental reports of how many days of

school their children missed during the school year. The measure was based on a 3-point rating scale (0 = zero days absent from school, 1 = 1-5 days absent from school, & 2 = more than 5 days absent from school).

Discipline Referrals. Negative adolescent behavior was measured from parental reports of

the number of discipline referrals their children received from school during the school year. The measure was based on a 3-point rating scale (0 = zero discipline referrals, 1 = 1-2 discipline referrals, & 2=more than 2 discipline referrals).

f amily Demographic Variables. The current study also examined key demographic variables to determine their impact on adolescent achievement outcomes. These variables included student age, parent educational level, parent employment status, marital status, and family income. Parent educational level was measured using five possible categories of sducational attainment ranging from (1) less than a high school diploma to (5) completed graduate/professional school. Parent employment status was measured using three

categories ranging from (0) unemployed to (2) employed full-time. Next, marital status was measured on a fixed choice of either not married (0) or married (1). Finally, family income was measured using three possible categories to describe the annual family income: (1) low income ($0 - $30K), (2) middle income ($30K - $50K), and (3) high income (greater than S50K).

RESULTS

Descriptive information on Study Variables

\s indicated in Table 2, several of the examined family demographic variables were significantly correlated with the three parental involvement measures. First, adolescent age lad a statistically significant negative correlation with home-based involvement (r = -.28,p < .001). Second, parent education had a statistically significant positive correlation with all ;hree parental involvement measures, achievement values (r=.23,p<.01), home-based (r= 20,p< .05), and school-based (r = .30,p < .001), specifically. Finally, marital status had a statistically significant positive correlation with school-based involvement (r=. 1 l,p < .05).




As for the outcome variables, results indicated that adolescents' grades had a statistically significant correlation with both home-based (r=.22,p < .01 ) and school-based involvement

(r = .20, p < .05). Next, results indicated a statistically significant negative correlation between home-based involvement and days missed from school (r = -.21,p < .001). Finally, discipline referrals were not significantly correlated with any of the parental involvement measures examined in the current study. Overall, as expected, correlation analysis indicated that not all of the family demographic variables were significantly related to the three involvement measures. Also, results indicated that the different parental involvement measures were not all significantly related to all three achievement outcomes.

Regression Analyses Predicting Achievement Outcomes

Three hierarchical regression analyses were examined to determine which involvement measure was the most salient predictor of adolescent outcomes (grades, days missed, &

discipline referrals). As seen in Table 3, results indicated statistically significant results for two of the three adolescent outcomes. First, hierarchical regression analysis indicated that adolescent age (#=.18, p < .05), employment status (ß= .23, p < .01), and home-based involvement (ß= .18,/? < .05) were all significant predictors of adolescents' grades. Overall, the model was statistically significant (F (8,136) = 2.91 ,p < .01, Ä2 =. 15) and accounted for 15% of the variance in the grades adolescents received. This test generated a medium effect

size, where f1 = .18, based on Cohen's (1988) suggested criteria. Effect size is a statistical

concept that measures the strength of the relationship between two variables. According to

Cohen,/2 is a measure of effect size for OLS regression where .02 is considered small,. 15 is

medium, and .35 is a large effect. These results suggest that adolescents performed better

academically when they were older, had parents that were married, and had parents that

engaged in higher levels of communication about school and learning as evident by home based involvement.

Next, hierarchical regression analysis indicated that home-based involvement (p = -21,p <

.05) was the only significant predictor of the number of days missed from school. Overall, the model was statistically significant (F(8,136) = 2.04,p < .05,i?2= .11) and accounted for 11% of the variance in the number of days adolescents missed from school. This test also

generated an effect size that approached a medium effect, where f2 = .12. These results

suggest that adolescents missed fewer days of school when parents engaged in higher levels of communication about school and learning.

Interaction between Parental Involvement and Family Demographic Variables

Two family demographic variables from the current study were examined to determine if

they moderated the relation between parental involvement and adolescents' achievement

outcomes. Adolescents' age and parent employment status were examined because these

were the only demographic variables found to significantly predict any of the three achievement outcomes in the previous analyses. In two separate analyses, age and

employment status was entered in the first step, the three parental involvement measures

were entered in the second step, and the final step included the interaction terms between the

involvement measures and adolescent age or employment status. Results indicated no

significant interactions between parental involvement and parent employment status as a

predictor of adolescent outcomes, however, significant interactions between parental involvement and adolescent age were found. Specifically, results indicated significant interactions between age and parental involvement predicted days missed from school and

discipline referrals received by adolescents. First, results indicated that when predicting




Table

2

Correlation

Coefficients,

Means,

and

Standard

Deviations

of

Examined

Variables

(N

= 145)

Variables

Mean

SD

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

1

Adolescent

Age

15.66

1.06

—

-.11

-.01

-.14

-.19a

-.10

-,28e

-.16

.11

.12

-.09

2

Parent

Education

3.21

1.08

—

.22"

.14

.46e

.23"

,20a

,30e

.11

-.17"

.10

3

Work

Status

1.64

0.72

—

.01

.17a

.08

.07

.04

.25"

-.14

.07

4

Marital

Status

0.46

0.50

—

,38e

.06

.02

,17a

-.06

-.09

.15

5

Family

Income

1.97

0.81

—

.10

.08

.10

.03

-.13

.18"

6

Achievement

Values

4.72

0.38

—

,31e

.28e

.04

-.12

-.13

7

Home-Based

Inv

4.33

0.59

—

,60e

.22"

-,27e

-.12

8

School-Based

Inv

3.29

1.02

—

.20'

-.15

-.06

9

Grades

5.22

1.47

—

-,33e

-.16

10

Days

Missed

1.03

0.59

—

.23"

11

Discipline

Referrals

0.61

0.71

—

'=p<.

05

" =p

< .01

'-p<

.001

Note:

Adolescent

age

is in years




Table 3

Regression Analysis Predicting Achievement Outcomes (N = 145)

Grades Days Missed

Variable R2 B SE B ß' R2 B SEB ß'

Step 1 .08 .05

Age .25 .12 .18' .01 .05 .02 Parent Education .03 .13 .02 -.05 .05 -.09

Work Status .46 .17 .23" -.08 .07 -.10 Marital Status -.22 .26 -.07 -.08 .11 -.07

Family Income .03 .18 .02 -.02 .07 -.02

Step 2 .15 .11 Achievement Values -.20 .33 -.05 -.03 .14 -.02 Home-Based Involvement .46 .26 .18a -.27 .11 -,27a School-Based Involvement .19 .15 .13 .04 .06 .07

Entire Model F( 8, 136) = 2.9 lb F (8, 136) = 2.04a

Standardized regression weights for the final equation after all predictors were entered. ' = p< .05 b=p< .01 °=p<.001

days missed the overall model was statistically significant (F (7, 137) = 2.22, p < .05, Rl= .10) and accounted for 10% of the variance in the number of days adolescents missed from school. This model yielded an effect that approached medium criteria, where /2 =

. 11 .The interaction between home-based involvement and adolescents' age (ß=-.24,/? < .05) was a statistically significant predictor of the number of days adolescents missed from school (Table 4). These results suggest that when parents engage in higher levels of home based involvement older adolescents miss the fewest days of school while days missed for

younger adolescents remains fairly constant (Figure 1). Table 4

Interaction between Parental Involvement and Age to

Predict Days Missed and Discipline Referrals (N = 145) Discipline Referrals Days Missed

Variable R2 B SE B ß' R2 B SEB ß'

Step 1 .02 .01

Age 0.18 0.10 0.15 -0.06 0.07 -0.08

Step 2 .07 .03

Age 0.10 0.10 0.09 -0.09 0.07 -0.11 Achievement Values 0.01 0.11 0.01 -0.06 0.07 -0.08 Home-Based Involvement -0.31 0.13 -0.25a -0.11 0.09 -0.14 School-Based Involvement 0.07 0.13 -0.05 0.06 0.08 0.08

Step 3 .10 .08

Age 0.14 0.11 0.11 -0.08 0.07 -0.10 Achievement Values 0.00 0.11 -0.00 -0.05 0.07 -0.06 Home-Based Involvement -0.28 0.13 -0.23' -0.11 0.09 -0.13 School-Based Involvement 0.08 0.13 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.09 Achievement Values x Age 0.08 0.10 0.07 0.06 0.07 0.08 Home-based x Age -0.33 0.14 -0.24' -0.23 0.10 -0.25' School-based x Age 0.10 0.12 0.08 0.21 0.08 0.25'

ñ — p < .05 =/?<.01 c =/? < .001




Figure 1. Adolescent Age Interacting with Home-Based Involvement to

Predict Days of School Missed.

Home-Based Involvement & Age Interacting to

Predict Days Missed

1.8 1.6 1.4

I 12 \

2 1 M Younger Adolescents

û

0.6

0.4

0.2

Older Adolescents

Low Home-Based High Home-Based

Next, results indicated that the when predicting adolescents' discipline referrals the overall

model was not statistically significant. However, the interaction between home-based involvement and adolescents' age (ß = -.25, p < .05) and interaction between school-based involvement and adolescents' age (ß = .25, p < .05) were both statistically significant

predictors of the discipline referrals (Table 4). This test generated a small effect size, wheref = .09. As it relates to home-based involvement, results suggest that as parents engage in

higher levels of home-based involvement older adolescents receive the fewest number of

discipline referrals while discipline referrals for younger adolescents remains fairly constant

(Figure 2). Finally, as it relates to school-based involvement, results suggest that as parents engage in higher levels of school-based involvement older adolescents receive more

discipline referrals while discipline referrals for younger adolescents remains fairly constant

(Figure 3).

DISCUSSION

The results from the present study provide important information regarding parental

perceptions of which involvement behaviors better predict achievement outcomes in African American high school adolescents, how these involvement behaviors predict different

outcomes for younger and older adolescents, and what impact various family demographic

variables have on how parental involvement predicts achievement outcomes. The initial

hypothesis (parent perceptions of home-based involvement and achievement values

expected to be significant predictors of achievement outcomes) was partially supported. Overall, results indicated that home-based involvement was the only significant predictor of achievement outcomes in this sample of African American adolescents. Parents that reported

engaging in higher levels of home-based involvement had adolescents that performed better

academically and missed fewer days of school. These results suggest that African American

parents in the current sample were more likely to promote school success in their high school




Figure 2. Adolescent Age Interacting with Home-Based Involvement to

Predict Discipline Referrals Received.

Figure 3. Adolescent Age Interacting with School-Based Involvement to

Predict Discipline Referrals Received.

School-Based Involvement & Age Interacting to

Predict Discipline Referrals 2

.a 1.8 c w E a 1.6 t cc 1.4 o c 1.2 "a k 1 5 0.8

0.6 0.4 0.2 0

-Younger Adolescents

-Older Adolescents

Low School Based H gh School Based

2

1.8

1.6

IB 1.4 V 1.2 V cc V 1 c a 0.8 ü 5 0.6

0.4

0.2

0

Home-Based Involvement & Age Interacting to

Predicting Discipline Referrals

■ Younger Adolescents

■Older Adolescents

Low Home Based High Home Based




adolescents by engaging in more frequent conversations about school and learning as

opposed to engaging in direct school involvement activities or merely having high values about academic success.

The importance of frequent communication with adolescents about school is consistent with

the work of other researchers who have reported greater benefits from parents engaging in

meaningful discussion about school with adolescents as opposed to utilizing other school directed parental involvement behaviors (Jeynes, 2005a; Trusty, 1999). Despite the

tendency for certain types of parental involvement behaviors to decline as adolescents go through high school, the current results suggests to parents that their adolescents continue to benefit from their involvement when it comes in the form of positive parent/adolescent communication. Slaughter-Defoe and Rubin (2001) explained that despite the decreasing need for adolescents to rely on parents for their school outcomes, parents continue to be

important educational role models that influence adolescents' educational goals.

Significant relations between adolescent achievement outcomes, school-based involvement, and achievement values were not found in the current study. This appears to be in stark contrast to the results of other studies indicating the positive benefits of these types of involvement behaviors. Specifically, Grolnick and Slowiaczek, (1994) indicated that school related involvement behaviors were the most salient parental involvement factor with a

group of middle school adolescents and Reynolds (1992) indicated that parental school involvement was more strongly related to African American children's academic outcomes than at-home involvement. As for achievement values, Paulson (1994) and Paulson and Sputa (1996) indicated the significance of achievement values in predicting student outcomes. The current results suggest that theoretical concepts of how various parental involvement behaviors are related to outcomes in mostly White and middle class samples or elementary age African American students may not necessarily apply to urban African American high school adolescents. Results of the current study highlight how not all forms of parental involvement lead to the same outcomes for all students across all grade levels.

Results from the current study failed to support the second hypothesis (parent perceptions of achievement values is significant predictor of achievement outcomes for younger and older

adolescents) but did support the third hypothesis (parent perceptions of home-based involvement better predictor of achievement outcomes in older urban African American adolescents). As previously stated, parental perceptions of achievement values were not a

significant predictor of achievement outcomes in general and when examining interactions

between age and parental involvement no significant results were found with achievement

values. However, the current study illustrated how older adolescents missed fewer days of

school and received fewer discipline referrals when parents engaged in higher levels of home-based involvement. Unexpectedly, school-based involvement was negatively related

to certain achievement outcomes in older but not younger adolescents. Specifically, older

adolescents that had higher levels of school-based involvement were viewed by parents as having greater behavioral problems as evident by increases in discipline referrals. On the one hand, older adolescents that had increased communication with parents about school and learning performed better in terms of attendance and behavior, but those that had parents that

were more engaged in direct school activities such as attending school meetings appeared to have more frequent discipline problems.

Overall, these results are consistent with researchers who have noted that parental involvement in and of it-self do not automatically equate positive student outcomes. Results

from the current study support the findings of Sui-Chu and Willms (1996), which suggest



Parental Involvement and Achievement Outcomes >/y

that parents of students with learning and behavioral problems engaged in significantly tiigher levels of school contact. They suggest that increased contact between parents and schools is necessary to monitor the progress of children that may be having difficulty in school. The current findings also suggest a similar pattern of parents increasing school-based involvement behaviors when their adolescents are experiencing greater behavioral problems it school.

Finally, the results of the current study provided support for the fourth hypothesis (family

demographic variables are not expected to have a large impact on the achievement outcomes of urban African American adolescents). The only demographic variable that predicted any of the achievement outcomes was parents' employment status. Parents that were more

gainfully employed had adolescents that performed better academically. These results are similar to previous studies such as Schmitt, Sacco, Ramey, Ramey, & Chan (1999) who also found evidence that increased employment status was contributed to student achievement. The current findings are important because they suggest that family demographic variables liad little impact on the achievement outcomes of African American adolescents. This

suggests that when parental involvement is taken into consideration, family demographic variables may have less of an impact on the school achievement of urban African American adolescents. Therefore, parents that focus on parental involvement, in particular home-based

involvement, can positively impact their adolescents' achievement regardless of their

demographic background.

As with any study, some limitations must be considered. First, the current study relied

strictly on parental perceptions of various involvement behaviors and student achievement outcomes. Although utilizing parent perceptions have been done in previous studies, the

accuracy of parental ratings remains a question. For example, Paulson ( 1994) questioned the

accuracy of parental ratings because adolescents' and parents' perceptions of involvement

behaviors where not always in agreement. She suggested that parent perceptions may not

always predict adolescent outcomes in the same way. In another study, Paulson and Sputa (1996) suggested that parents reported themselves to have higher levels of involvement than

did their adolescents. They suggested that although parents may perceive their parenting to be at one level, adolescents may not perceive their behavior the same way. Future studies

need to consider incorporating both adolescent and parent perceptions of involvement and

also use school records of achievement rather than self-report measures to determine if

adolescents and parents have similar perceptions of involvement behaviors and whose

perceptions are a better predictor of actual achievement.

A second limitation has to do with the participants in the current study. The current study relied on a small convenience sample from multiple data collection points. Future studies need to use a larger and random sample of African American parents to ensure a more

representative sample so results can be more easily generalized. Finally, the current study

relied on cross-sectional data at only one time point which inherently poses limitations on the

predictability of the variables of interest. Future studies need to utilize longitudinal data sets

in order to examine the impact various parenting behaviors have on the achievement

outcomes of African American high school adolescents.

Despite these potential limitations, the current study has several strengths, which provide

valuable knowledge about different parental involvement behaviors in African American

families. This is critical because some research has traditionally not viewed the behaviors of

African American parents as positively contributing to the school outcomes in their

adolescents. For example, Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch, and Darling (1992) found a




negative relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement in African

American adolescents. They concluded that involvement form African American parents were not good predictors of academic success in their adolescents. Although African American parents in Steinberg et al.,'s sample scored high on measures of parental involvement their efforts did not yield similar positive results in their students' academic achievement as was found with White parents. As stated earlier the problem arises when only one form of involvement is considered because that particular behavior although beneficial for some groups may not elicit the same level of success for other groups.

The current study aids future research with African American parents and their high school adolescents in several ways. First, it provides evidence on how specific parental involvement measures, in particular home-based involvement, predict several adolescent achievement outcomes. The majority of studies measure student achievement by student

grades but parental involvement can also play key roles in adolescents' school behavior and school attendance, which are other examples of positive achievement outcomes. Measuring multiple outcome variables is important because Epstein (1996) suggested that parental involvement does not always lead to student achievement. Researchers must look beyond

grades when examining the importance of parental involvement. Secondly, family demographic variables were found to have little impact on the achievement outcomes of urban African American adolescents. Age and parent's employment status were both significant predictors of grades but the remaining demographic variables were non significant. This is key because parents and schools can have greater confidence that if they work together to increase parental involvement, in particular home communication, then the benefits of this will go beyond the influence of family demographic variables.

In addition, the current study utilized parental ratings of involvement and this is important because most studies use student self-report data to measure parental involvement. There is

evidence suggesting students and parents have different perceptions of what activities are considered involvement and how they relate to student achievement. Examining parental ratings provides a valuable insight into what parents believe to be key behaviors in promoting learning in their high school adolescents. This provides an excellent opportunity for school personnel such as school psychologists or counselors to work with parents and

adolescents to find common ground on what behaviors both parties believe to positively impact the achievement outcomes of urban African American high school adolescents.

The take home message from the current study is that African American parents continue to

play significant roles in the school achievement of their adolescents. However, parents and school personnel must recognize the changing needs of adolescents and fit involvement

behaviors accordingly. First, parents and schools need to realize that traditional direct school involvement although important, may not be the best way for parents of urban African American adolescents to be involved. Secondly, parents must consider that although having high values about education may be important it is the parent/adolescent communication that transmits the importance of these values to adolescents. Parents of adolescents often have

limited opportunities to interact with their children at school either due to time constraints, school scheduling, or adolescent preference. Regardless, parents can take comfort in

knowing that they can continue to be positive influences in the academic outcomes of their adolescents by engaging in frequent dialogue that focuses on schooling and learning. The benefits of home-based involvement highlight the importance of daily parental involvement through communication rather than sporadic opportunities to engage in on-site school activities with high school adolescents.




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