Internet Facilitates Parental Involvement in K-12 Schools

1
The Internet and Improved Communication

• Facilitating Parental Involvement

2
Is the Internet helping parents?

• Parental involvement improves academic
  performance
• Pressures on parents are pushing in the wrong
  direction
• Schools investments in Internet enables changes
• Home access to the Internet is high and continues
  to increase
• Schools content owners can now publish on the
  Internet
• Possible school initiatives to improve parental
  involvement by improving communication using the
  Internet

3
Parental involvement improves academic
performance

• Student performance, measured by state criteria
  testing, improves
• When parents are involved
• in school activities,
• in homework,
• in reading, etc.
• When parents are empowered
• informed of school issues,
• helping make school decisions,
• participating in
• local voting,
• boards,
• committees, etc.
• (Griffith, 1996)

4
Pressures on parents are pushing in the wrong
direction

• Factors related to parental involvement
• family economics,
• parental education,
• parental time constraints,
• a sense of disenfranchisement
• Pressures on parents
• 26 of Ohios families are headed by a single
  parent (time and economics)
• Ohios employment slightly less than national
  average, and likely to lag for the next few years
• time constraints on dual income parents
• (Beck, 1999)
• (Federal Reserve Bank Cleveland, 2005)

5
Schools investments in Internet enables changes
Technology Expendituresby Category (National 2000-2001) Technology Expendituresby Category (National 2000-2001)
Networks 1.2 Billion
Hardware 2.0 Billion
Internet Services 700 Million
Software 500 Million
Service / Support 500 Million
Supplies 200 Million
Peripherals 200 Million
Professional Development 200 Million
Computer Training 100 Million
Other 200 Million
5.8 B

• Steady spending increases in technology within
  schools 93 through 03
• Near universal Internet access now available from
  school buildings
• Near universal access available for teachers,
  staff, and students within schools
• Such access allows schools to use the Internet in
  new ways to accomplish the teaching mission
• (Angelo, 2002)

6
Home access to the Internet

• Home computer ownership surpasses 80 nationally
• Home Internet access above 70
• Significant differences in both computer
  ownership and Internet access by
• Income levels
• Metropolitan non-metropolitan
• Age
• Education level
• Note Many parents have access to Internet from
  work

Factor Home Internet Access
Household Income lt 30K 50 30-75K 63 gt 75K 87
Metro / Non-Metro Metro 75 Non-Metro 65
Age lt 65 72 65 53
Head of Household Education Level lt High School 18 High School 44 College 83
7
Schools content owners publishing on the
Internet

• Internet Web sites have evolved past unchanging
  web pages
• Many schools still using old methods, with a
  webmaster responsible for all pages
• The people within a school that have content
  can now publish
• Teachers syllabus, work plan, weekly
  assignments, resources
• Administrators calendars, events, closings,
  meetings
• Coaches training schedules, teams, scores
• Boards, Committees, Boosters, Alum groups,

8
School initiatives

• Schools are now in a position to effect changes
  in parental involvement and empowerment
• Improve communication to inform and engage
  parents
• Internet communication
• from teachers with parents provides information
  needed to help their children
• from administrators with parents provides
  information needed to be empowered and engaged in
  the school

9
School initiatives

• Surveys
• National, or even State Internet usage data may
  not reflect local conditions
• If Internet not presently used determine
  appetite in community by surveying home access,
  usefulness, and desire
• If Internet being used determine which features
  used and not what additional information
  desired, what can be done better. Specifically
  teacher publishing, attendance and grades, school
  issues
• Review technology readiness
• Web Server, Web Software, network, training, web
  site, graphics, navigation, help desk and support
  services
• Buy pieces and manage internally, use a service,
  or combination

10
School initiatives (Continued)

• In-Service sessions
• Teacher to teacher sharing sessions - what things
  are being done that work well? what more can be
  tried? review feedback from surveys
• Training sessions or reviews
• Build and encourage a culture of communication
  within the community
• School personnel, parents, taxpayers, etc.

11
School initiatives

• Communication requires a two-way effort
• Often have to listen as much as publish
• Benefits are multiple to parents, to teachers,
  to schools
• . and to students

12
School Progress Checklist

• Parents Internet capabilities have been recently
  surveyed
• School web infrastructure (web server, Internet
  connection, software, training, help desk, web
  site) are all in place and current
• Regular communication to parents informs them
  about the web site and encourages use
• Teachers, coaches, administrators, and other
  content owners within the school know about,
  are trained on, and use the web publishing tool
  (s)
• Grades, attendance, and other grade-book type
  information is available to parents through the
  Internet
• A Culture of Communication is encouraged within
  the school by the Superintendent, the Treasurer,
  the Boards, Principals, and other staff
• Regular sharing sessions are conducted which
  allow teachers to share what works, and what
  doesnt
• Feedback from parents is sought after and
  addressed with both a response and an action if
  appropriate

13
References

• Angelo, J. M. (2002). K-12 market trends.
  District Administration, 38(4), 16. Retrieved
  February 16, 2005, from Academic Search Premier
  database http//search.epnet.com/login.asp?direct
  truedbaphan6997592
• Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2004). Kids count
  2004 data book online. Retrieved February 24,
  2005, from http//www.aecf.org/kidscount/databook/
  and http//www.aecf.org/cgi-bin/kc.cgi?actionpro
  fileareaOhio
• Beck, L. G. (1999). Parental involvement in
  site-based management Lessons from one site.
  International Journal of Leadership in Education,
  2(2), 81-102. Retrieved February 16, 2005, from
  Academic Search Premier database
  http//search.epnet.com/login.asp?directtruedba
  phan3859954
• Crespin, T. R., Austin, J. T. (2002). Computer
  technology applications in industrial and
  organizational psychology. CyberPsychology
  Behavior, 5, 279-293. Retrieved February 16,
  2005, from Academic Search Premier database
  http//search.epnet.com/login.asp?directtruedba
  phan7303526

14
References

• Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. (2005).
  Economic trends. Research Department of the
  Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. (ISSN
  0748-2922). Retrieved February 23, 2005, from
  http//www.clevelandfed.org/Research/ET2005/0205/t
  rends.pdf
• Griffith, J. (1996). Relation of parental
  involvement, empowerment, and school traits to
  academic performance. Journal of Educational
  Research, 90(1), 33-42. Retrieved February 16,
  2005, from Academic Search Premier database
  http//search.epnet.com/login.aspx?directtruedb
  aphan9611251616
• Mills, B. F., Whitacre, B. E. (2003).
  Understanding the non-metropolitan-metropolitan
  digital divide. Growth Change, 34, 219-244.
  Retrieved February 16, 2005, from Academic Search
  Premier database http//search.epnet.com/login.as
  p?directtruedbaphan10531631

15
References

• Woodard, E. H., Gridina, N. (2000). Media in the
  home (Survey Series No. 7). The Annenberg Public
  Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
  Retrieved February 24, 2005, fromhttp//www.annen
  bergpublicpolicycenter.org/05_media_developing_chi
  ld/mediasurvey/survey7.pdf
• Quang, D. T., Lee, S., Khoi, S. (1996). Ethnic
  and gender differences in parental expectations
  and life stress. Child Adolescent Social Work
  Journal, 13, 515-526. Retrieved February 16,
  2005, from Academic Search Premier database
  http//search.epnet.com/login.asp?directtruedba
  phan9706245167