Effect of School-Initiated Parent Outreach Activities on Parent Involvement in School Events

Abstract

Parent involvement is a cornerstone of special education policy and best practice. Parents of students with disabilities participate in school events in a manner similar to parents of students without disabilities, and the benefits of parent involvement are widely recognized for all students. Recent legislation and federal funding opportunities have targeted parent outreach programs as an area of improvement for schools. Using data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study, this study examined the effect of school-initiated parent outreach activities on parent involvement in school. Parents reported greater involvement in schools that offered a greater number of outreach activities. Parent involvement was lower for older students, non-Caucasian students, students from non-two-parent households, and students from lower income households, and these lower participation rates were not differentially higher in schools that offered a greater number of parent outreach activities. Patterns and trends of parent involvement and school-initiated outreach programs are discussed, with suggestions for practitioners and future research.

“When everything changes:” Parent perspectives on the challenges of accessing care for a child with a disability

“…When schools offer outreach programs specific to parents of children with disabilities, parents are more likely to become actively engaged in the educational process of their child. 18 Further, collaborations between local nonprofits and schools could lead to improvements in transition planning. Finally, schools should be encouraged to partner with local businesses to explore supportive employment opportunities for youth.…”

Family Background and Parent–School Interactions in Parent Involvement for At-Risk Preschool Children With Disabilities

“…Research on children with disabilities suggests similar trends in associations between parental background characteristics and parents’ involvement in children’s education, though these studies largely focus on specific groups (e.g., students with autism) and/or older, elementary-age students. Among elementary students with disabilities, research suggests lower levels of school-based PI among non-White parents (Frew, Zhou, Duran, Kwok, & Benz, 2013) and lower rates of participation in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings for parents with lower levels of education (Jones & Gansle, 2010). Parents’ school-based involvement also appears to be more frequent among higher versus lower socioeconomic status (SES) families as well as married or cohabitating versus single parents (Frew et al, 2013).…”

Barriers and Facilitators to School-Based Parent Involvement for Parents of Urban Public Middle School Students

“…The impact of school and developmental transitions on parent involvement is compounded by a multitude of school and parent factors that serve as barriers to middle school parent involvement (e.g., Eccles & Harold, 1993 ; Gonzalez-DeHass & Willems, 2003 ; Kim, 2009 ). African American parents with low incomes and low educational attainment face considerable parent involvement barriers ( Halle, Kurtz-Costes, & Mahoney, 1997 ; Koonce & Harper, 2005 ; Trotman, 2001 ; Williams & Sanchez, 2013 ), and may experience these barriers to a greater extent than more advantaged parents or White parents do ( Frew, Zhou, Duran, Kwok, & Benz, 2012 ; Griffith, 1998 ). In the current study, we identify barriers to middle school parent involvement among a sample of predominately African American parents with low incomes and low levels of educational attainment whose children attend urban public middle schools.…”