A descriptive study of teachers' and parents' perceptions of parental involvement

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes and barriers of parental involvement as perceived by teachers and parents at an urban elementary school. This study attempted to determine if there is a difference between the perceptions of teachers and parents of students enrolled in grades first through fifth grade. Information regarding parental involvement was collected from a population of 34 teachers and the parents of 322 students. In order to thoroughly examine teachers and parents perceptions of parental involvement, this study used descriptive research and utilized the quantitative research method. Teachers and parens responded to survey questions that addressed parental involvement. This study utilized two survey instruments. The first survey, entitled School and Family Partnerships: Teacher Questionnaire, was designed to gather data about the attitudes and barriers of parental involvement as perceived by teachers. The second survey, School and Family Partnerships: Parent Questionnaire, was designed to gather data about the attitudes and barriers of parental involvement as perceived by parents. Descriptive statistics was conducted to determine if significant differences exist between parents and teachers. A total of 322 surveys were mailed to parents, and a total of 35 surveys were distributed to teachers. Of this amount, 272 parents (84%) and 34 teachers (100%) responded to the survey. Of the 272 surveys submitted by parents, 252 (78.2%) of them were usable. All 34 teacher responses were also usable. The results indicated that the two groups were not statistically different with regard to parental involvement attitudes. However, the results indicated that the two groups were statistically significantly different with regard to parental involvement barriers.