Family Involvement in Charter Elementary Schools: A Case Study Using the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Elementary Version (FIQ-E)

Abstract

Family involvement has been shown to have positive effects on the academic and socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes of school-aged children across all age ranges, but most especially among elementary-aged students. The Family Involvement Questionnaire-Elementary (FIQ-E) has been validated for use with students in grades 1-6 across public and parochial elementary schools in the US, which has been extended to primary schools in New Zealand and Belize. The FIQ-E was used in the current study in a charter elementary school in the Midwest. The participants included 40 family responses and one administrator. The results indicated there was a statistically significant difference in family involvement among students receiving ELL services. On average, participants whose students did not receive ELL services reported higher levels of total family involvement compared to those whose students did receive ELL services. Although this study sample was limited to one charter elementary school, the results were unique in that the sample occurred during a global pandemic. The results of this study support the effects of the pandemic on family involvement in schools, such that Home-Based Learning was higher than both Home-School Involvement and School-Based Learning, respectively. Implications for future research are discussed