Middle School Parent Involvement: Perceptions in Two South Carolina School Districts

Abstract

This study was created to explore the parent involvement perceptions of teachers and parents of middle school students in two South Carolina districts. The study is grounded in Epstein et al.’s (2019) theory of overlapping spheres and six typologies of parent involvement. An exploratory mixed methods study was used to gather research. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to determine the perceptions of teachers and parents at five different sites. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test reliability, and a MANOVA test was used to test for mean differences of dependent variables. Univariate ANOVA tests were used to further explore differences in quantitative data. Qualitative data were coded to determine themes and opinions of stakeholders. Student achievement data were analyzed, and all data were triangulated to determine correlations. The findings showed that all six typologies had significant differences in responses from parents and teachers. Qualitative data further showed that parents and teachers had similar opinions regarding some typologies of parent involvement and differing opinions with others. After triangulating data, a detailed discussion of the findings found specific relationships. Recommendations for practice and future studies were reported

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