Parent Involvement in US Early Childhood Education: Benefits, Limitations, and Reconceptualizations

The meanings and ways of parental involvement among low-income Filipinos

“…As such, current definitions and conceptualizations are generally premised on a very limited population. Additionally, scholars note that the predominant view of parental involvement is institution-driven in that the school mainly dictates what constitutes parental involvement (Clifford & Göncü, 2019;Clifford & Humphries, 2018;McWayne,Melzi, Schick, Kennedy, & Mundt, 2013). It is unclear if parents, especially those who do not belong to the dominant population in research, may hold unique conceptualizations of, and practices related to involvement that may not be captured by the mainstream conceptualizations.…”

“…However, in Clifford and Humphries' (2018) review of studies among low-income and ethnic minority populations in the U.S., they found that parents may not be able to participate in their children's schooling in a more traditional sense (e.g., communicating with teachers), but instead are more likely to engage in home-and communitybased activities that support children's learning (e.g., involving children in their work). Clifford and Humphries (2018)thus advocate for an expanded view of parental involvement that is conceptualized by both the home and school environments, where families' cultural values and life contexts are considered.…”

“…Another strength of this study was contributing to the recommendation of Clifford and Humphries (2018) to involve the home environment in constructing the meaning of parental involvement. By incorporating the parents' perspective, results of this study more effectively captured the parents' efforts in supporting their children, expanding the predominantly institution-based conceptualization of parental involvement.…”

A Qualitative Study on Parental Experience of Involvement in the Transition from Kindergarten to Primary School for Chinese Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…Parental involvement refers to a broad range of parenting practices to promote children’s learning and development at home and at school, including their educational beliefs, academic expectations, and various parenting behaviors (Seginer, 2006 ). Parents can be involved in their children’s education in many ways, including providing parenting support at home (e.g., assisting with homework, monitoring the completion of an assignment, managing children’s time) (Lee & Bowen, 2006 ; Clifford & Humphries, 2018 ) and participating in school activities (e.g., attending school events, volunteering, chaperoning, parent-teacher conferencing) (Barbarin et al, 2008 ; Hill & Tyson, 2009 ). An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that children with IDDs benefit from parental involvement in various developmental areas, including improved academic performance and social competence, reduced challenging behaviors, and enhanced maintenance and generalization of social skills (Brajša-Žganec et al, 2019 ; Otani, 2020 ; Yan & Hou, 2022 ).…”

Building partnerships in education through a story-tool based intervention: Parental involvement experiences among families with Roma backgrounds

“…Supported by the crucial role of parental involvement in educational outcomes (e.g., positive attitudes towards school, academic achievement), policymakers and school staff have been displaying efforts to enhance home-school relationships (e.g., literacy classes for parents; Gould, 2017 ); or interventions to increase the family’s participation in educational decision-making processes and school activities among Roma groups ( Flecha and Soler, 2013 ; Khalfaoui et al, 2020 ). However, families from ethnic marginalized communities may find it challenging to comply with traditional forms of parental involvement (e.g., home-learning supervision and monitoring; parent-teacher in-person meetings) due to acculturation hassles and setbacks ( Clifford and Humphries, 2018 ). For example, low knowledge of the school environment and poor sociocultural competencies to support their children, lack of awareness of the relevance of parental involvement, perceived discrimination, and lack of perceived parenting competencies and skills were found to affect the quality of Roma parental efforts to support children in education ( Reynolds et al, 2015 ; Hill et al, 2016 ; Clifford and Humphries, 2018 ; Day and Dotterer, 2018 ; Parsons et al, 2018 ; Sime et al, 2018 ).…”