A study of parental involvement and school climate: Perspective from the middle school
Abstract
This study examines school level differences on different dimensions of teacherrated
parent involvement and school climate while adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity,
how certified, and number of years teaching. Two hundred twenty-four elementary
teachers from existing data and 178 teachers at the middle school level provided
information on their perceptions of parent involvement and school climate. Elementary
school teachers were recruited from districts located in Texas and California. Middle
school teachers were recruited from suburban school districts located in Southeast and
Southwest Texas. Teachers rated questions on the parent involvement and school
climate surveys as either: strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. The nine
research hypotheses generated for this study were partially supported by the data. As
predicted, there was a difference between elementary and middle schools on how they
perceive school climate. The data also supported the hypothesis that both Title I and
non-Title I middle schools would find parent centers important for getting parents
involved. Experience and school level also predicted how teachers perceived school
climate. However, contrary to prediction, there were no significant differences between elementary and middle school teachers on how they perceived parent involvement.
There also were no significant differences between elementary and middle school on the
parent involvement scale when age, ethnicity, gender, school level, experience, and how
certified were used as moderating variables. The same can be said for school climate
when age, gender, ethnicity, and how certified were used as moderating variables.
Several questions were analyzed separately between Title I and non-Title I middle
schools and there were no differences for Title I status. Overall, current results indicated
similarities between elementary and middle teachers. Similarities also existed between
Title I and non-Title I middle school teachers. Explanations, implications for practice,
and future research are discussed.
Citation
Dixon, Shantina Rayford (2008). A study of parental involvement and school climate: Perspective from the middle school. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -3070.