COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Patricia Miller

TITLE: INVESTIGATING PARENT AND TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND THE IMPACT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY

ABSTRACT: Parent and community involvement in education has garnered significant attention as a pivotal factor in enhancing educational outcomes and champion social improvement (Eden, Chisom, and Adeniyi, 2024). However, the Latino community is often perceived as non-existent in this area. With increases in immigration, U.S. public schools and other educational institutions are faced with an immense challenge of identifying and attempting to meet the unique needs of its mounting Latino immigrant student population to ensure the success of their students and to create a more educated and competitive workforce in America (Araque, Wiestock, Cova, and Zepeda, 2017). The objective of this qualitative study was to examine parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement practices and the impact on student achievement in the Latino community. The researcher implemented a narrative inquiry study at a PreK-5 elementary school within a small Southeast Texas school district. Through interviews, questionnaires, and conversations, the researcher hoped to challenge the assumptions underlying parents’ and teachers’ analyses of parental involvement. The population for this study consisted of parents in the Latino community and teachers of grades three through five at the chosen campus. Two sampling strategies were used to select participants: purposeful sampling and criterion sampling. Using Joyce Epstein’s conceptual framework for parental involvement, the central question was: Does parental involvement impact student achievement? Subset questions were: 1) What are the similarities and differences between parents’ and teachers’ perspectives of parental involvement in relation to parenting? 2) What are the similarities and differences between parents’ and teachers’ perspectives of parental involvement in relation to communication? 3) What are the similarities and differences between parents’ and teachers’ perspectives of parental involvement in relation to volunteering? 4) What are the similarities and differences between parents’ and teachers’ perspectives of parental involvement in relation to learning at home? 5) What are the similarities and differences between parents’ and teachers’ perspectives of parental involvement in relation to decision-making? 6) What are the similarities and differences between parents’ and teachers’ perspectives of parental involvement in relation to collaborating with the community? Using a deductive coding method, in turn, gave predetermined codes for the researcher. Themes created from the codes were: 1) impact of parental involvement, 2) support for parents, 3) building stakeholder networks, 4) parents at work in schools, 5) integrating school activities, 6) parent leaders making decisions, 7) outside services and resources through partnerships. The findings showed that the participants agreed that parental involvement does impact student achievement. Additionally, the research questions revealed more similarities than differences among participants regarding their perspectives on parental involvement. However, an examination of fathers’ perceptions was suggested for future research.

Keywords: Parental involvement, parents, teachers, perspectives, explore, Latino community, student achievement

Location Online:

Zoom Link: https://pvpanther.zoom.us/j/94358037738?pwd=pzl1fdQgztCebbLireP8nZAmqHAVbo.1

Meeting ID: 943 5803 7738

Passcode: 497774