Book Description

The literature overwhelmingly supports the benefits of education. Nevertheless, the reality of the modern education system is that all students do not have an equal chance of attaining the education that has so much transformative power. A significant achievement gap between minority and low-income students and their European-American and more affluent peers continues to produce inequalities in the educational and life course outcomes for minority and low-income students throughout the United States. In an effort to address these inequities, federal initiatives have emphasized the role of parents in the education of their children and have included parents in nearly every policy initiative aimed at improving academic achievement for the past 50 years. Even though parent involvement has received tremendous support, there is limited evidence on the specific dimensions of parent involvement that impact academic achievement, the impact of parent involvement on diverse groups, and the impact of parent involvement on the achievement gap. This study utilized the ecological systems theory and Epstein's Theory of Overlapping Spheres to examine the relationship between parent involvement and academic achievement on racially diverse kindergarteners (N=13,655). This study utilized hierarchical linear modeling and data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K). The dataset was selected because it collects information on parent involvement and academic achievement variables, while the overwhelming majority of datasets focus exclusively on one set of variables. This study found that parent involvement has a tremendous positive impact on both reading and math achievement, but fell short of supporting the notion that all forms of parent involvement are beneficial. Furthermore, this study found significant differences in the relationship between parent involvement and academic achievement by race. After more than a half-century recognizing the importance of parent involvement, we are still at the beginning stages of truly understanding how to unlock the full potential of parent involvement on academic achievement for all learners. This dissertation is a call to all educators, policymakers, and researchers to unlock the full potential of parent involvement to raise academic achievement for all students, with a special emphasis on mitigating the inequities throughout the education system.