Dr Graham Daniel Dr Cen Wang Email [email protected]

School of Teacher Education

Dr Graham DanielDr Cen Wang

Email [email protected]


Parent involvement Promotes student academic achievement

(Meta-analyses)•d = .35 (Jeynes, 2012)•d = .49 (Hattie, 2015) (based on 195

studies)

Hattie estimates that for SD = 1 is equivalent to advancing learners' achievement by one year, or improving the rate of learning by 50% (Hattie, 2015)


An integrated review of recent Australian parent engagement researchThis paper is founded on three central beliefs:

• Parental engagement promotes improved schooling outcomes fro students (Borgonovi & Montt, 2012; Emerson, Fear, Fox & Sanders, 2012; Wilder, 2013).

• How PE improves student outcomes may (or may not) differ between particular contexts.

• There is a need, therefore, to base Australian policies and practices on Australian evidence to ensure relevancy and effectiveness in our context.


Why an Australian literature?

Woodrow, Somerville, Naidoo, & Power (2016) noted that in relation to parent engagement

“…the research literature base in Australia is small and emergent…” (p. 1)


Why an Australian literature?

• One of the four “Key areas” or “pillars” of the Australian Government Students First reform agenda (DET, 2013)

• Most parent engagement research has been conducted in the United States and Britain (Borgonovi & Montt, 2012; p. 13)


Why an Australian literature?• Policy differences (e.g., NCLB; Specialist

support in schools; Support programs)• Culture and history of parent involvement

differs (e.g. PTA’s in United States)


The need for quantitative research

The OECD (2012) noted• “Few studies…analyse parental involvement in a

cross-national perspective and few evaluate a wide array of forms of involvement” (Borgonovvi & Montt, 2012, p. 3).

The Australian Evidence for Learning site notes that • “…high quality evaluations of specific parental

involvement programs in Australia are rare, and new studies in this area would be valuable” (Evidence for Learning, 2017).


The focus…This presentation reviews recent research in relation to school-based parent involvement

• “practices on the part of parents that require their making actual contact with schools”. (Pomeranz, Moorman & Litwack, 2007, p. 374).

Our aim is to bring together current qualitative and quantitative research to contribute to our understanding of the Australian experience of Parent Engagement in their children's education.


Why school-based involvement?

• When parents take the time to meet their child’s teachers, or when they volunteer for activities at school, they signal to their children that they value education (OECD, 2012, p. 39).

• Effective parent and family engagement in education is more than just participation in school meetings and helping with fundraising, it is actively engaging with your child’s learning, both at home and at school (DET, 2017).


School-based parent involvement and children's learning

Daniel, Wang & Berthelsen (2016)•Data from the K-Cohort of LSAC •Wave 2 data (children in Grade 1 in 2006)•Wave 3 data (children in Grade 3 in 2008)•n = 2616 (48.5% female)


Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)Australian Children

• Australian Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)

• Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS)• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Statistically powerful methodology• Randomly selected sample of children, stratified on state or territory of

residence, and broadly representative of the Australian population for sex, cultural background and socioeconomic status for children of a similar age (Gray & Smart, 2008)

• Commencing with Wave 1 in 2004, LSAC gathers data from a B-Cohort of children aged 3 - 15 months (n = 5112), and a K- Cohort (4 ½ to 5) (n = 4991).

• Data collected every two years• Linked to other government data such as NAPLAN and Medicare


Daniel, Wang & Berthelsen (2016)


Analysis


Daniel, Wang & Berthelsen (2016)• “This study identifies positive associations

between school-based parent involvement and student SRL in the early years of schooling, and the role of SRL in mediating the relationship between school-based parent involvement and student reading and numeracy achievement”

(Daniel, Wang & Berthelsen, 2016, p. 174)

• Importantly, the patterns remained similar when we controlled of home-based and community-based parent involvement activity.


School-based parent involvement reduces over time

Participation in School-based parent involvement activities (Types of activities per school term)

Daniel, G. R. (2015). Patterns of parent involvement: A longitudinal analysis of family-school partnerships in the early years of school in Australia. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(1), 119-128.


Barriers

International research has identified a range of barriers that might prevent parents from school-based involvement• Personal barriers• Social barriers• Practical barriers

(See for example: Feiler, 2009; Hornby & Lafaele, 2011; Williams & Sanchez, 2011).


Barriers – Australian research

Woodrow et al., (2016) identified barriers that can restrict the involvement of families from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds in Australian schools under the headings of:

•Communication issues •Family pressures/incapacities •School pressures •Lack of specialist knowledge in relation

to specific cohorts


Barriers – Australian researchSome of these are particular or nuanced to the

Australian policy and social environment• Mixed messages and unclear policy expectations of staff• Fear of DoCs involvement • Lack of specialist knowledge in relation to specific cohorts

• Lack of cultural capital, lack of common language (CALD cohort)

• Lack of cultural knowledge, loss of cultural authority (Aboriginal cohort)

• Lack of specialist help and educator knowledge (special needs cohort).


Teacher outreach

Figure 1. Mean rating out of three for teacher outreach by demographic group

Daniel, G. R. (2016). Parents’ experiences of teacher outreach in the early years of schooling. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(4), 559-569.


Teacher communication

LSAC K Cohort, Parents experiences of teacher outreach practices.(Daniel, in process)


Capacity buildingA survey of 35 teacher educators with responsibilities of addressing

parent engagement as part of their teaching, and representing 15 Universities across Australia by Saltmarsh, Barr and Chapman (2015) concluded:

• “…there is insufficient continuity to ensure that all beginning teachers have a thorough understanding of how to work effectively with parents” (p. 69).

• “…over half the participant in our study referred to the way parent-school engagement is addressed in their programme using terms such as “oblique”, “inferred”, “incidental”, “ad hoc” and “added on” (p. 80).

• Parent engagement “appears less consistently” in primary and secondary school teacher preparation than in early childhood teacher education (p. 79).


Australian research - Early career teachersIn Australia, many early career teachers

report they do not feel well prepared for this role (McKenzie et al., 2014).


School leadership and parent involvement

Study by Barr and Saltmarsh (2014) involving focus group discussions with 175 NSW parents • Highlighted parents’ perceptions of the crucial

role of the School Principal in setting the tone and building relationships with parents in order to facilitate parental involvement in the school.


Parental motivationParent engagement by school type and reason for choice

(Daniel, Wang, Murray & Harrison (in press) Reasons for school choice in LSAC (n = 3,752)


Parent engagement by school type and reason for choiceResults indicate the role of personal commitment (buy-in or sense of

belonging) in enhancing parent engagement.

Fig 1.4. Parent involvement by reason for school choice (ANOVA controlling for type of school). (Daniel, Wang, Murray & Harrison (in press)


ImplicationsLike international experience, Australian parents

reduce their involvement in school-based partnership activities as children move through the early years of schooling

Yet early school-based parent engagement is linked to improved self-regulated learning behaviours, an important individual factor in supporting school success (Bodovski & Youn, 2011; Pintrich, 2000; Pintrich & deGroot, 1990; Xu et al., 2010; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1988).


ImplicationsBarriers• A range of barriers, some with specific nuances in

Australia, restrict or prevent parents from being involved, particularly in relation to families from minority and marginalised backgrounds (Woodrow, et al., 2016).

• In Australia this includes a reduction in parents experiences of teacher outreach (Daniel, 2015).

• And differences in the leadership of school principals (Barr & Saltmarsh, 2014)


ImplicationsTeacher education and professional development

• Importance of professional development for school staff and inclusion of parent involvement theory and strategy development in pre-service teacher education courses• Teachers and school leaders report involving parents

as one of the three biggest challenges in their professional roles (Metlife, 2009, 2013).

• In Australia, many early career teachers report they do not feel well prepared for this role (McKenzie et al., 2014).

• Teacher preparation for parent engagement in Australia is currently inconsistent (Saltmarsh, Barr & Chapman, 2015)


ImplicationsIn improving our practices of parent engagement,

in order to enhance students’ schooling outcomes, it is important to be aware of equity issues that arise as children from families from minority and marginalised backgrounds, or those who experience barriers to their engagement are not further disadvantaged (Daniel, 2011).


ReferencesBarr, J. & Saltmarsh, S. (2014). “It all comes down to the leadership”: The role of the school principal in

fostering parent-school engagement. Educational Management & Leadership, 42(4), 491-505.Bodovski, K. and M. J. Youn (2011). "The long term effects of early acquired skills and behaviors on

young children's achievement in literacy and mathematics." Journal of Early Childhood Research 9(1): 4-19.

Borgonovi, F., & Montt, G. (2012). Parental Involvement in Selected PISA Countries and Economies OECD Education Working Papers, No. 73: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Daniel, G. R. (2016). Parents’ experiences of teacher outreach in the early years of schooling. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(4), 559-569.

Daniel, G. R. (2015). Patterns of parent involvement: A longitudinal analysis of family-school partnerships in the early years of school in Australia. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(1), 119-128.

Daniel, G. R. (2011) Family-school partnerships: towards sustainable pedagogical practice, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39:2, 165-176.

Daniel, G. R., Wang, C., & Berthelsen, D. (2016). Early school-based parent involvement, students’ self-regulated learning and academic achievement among Australian primary school children: A longitudinal study. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 168-177.


ReferencesDaniel, G. R., Wang, C., Murray, E., & Harrison, L. J. (in press). School choice and parent involvement

among Australian children starting school. In S. Dockett, W. Griebel, and B. Perry (Eds.), Families and the Transition to School. London: Springer.

DET. (2017) Students First - Engaging parents in education. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Accessed 31st May, 2017 from, https://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/engaging-parents-education)

DET. (2013). Students first. Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Emerson, L., Fear, J., Fox, S., & Sanders, E. (2012). Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research. A report by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. Canberra: Family-School and Community Partnerships Bureau.

Evidence for Learning (2017). The toolkit - Parental Involvement.http://www.evidenceforlearning.org.au/toolkit/parental-involvement/

Feiler, A. (2009). Engaging ‘hard to reach’ parents: teacher-parent collaboration to promote children’s learning. West Sussex, UK: Wiley.

Gray, M. and D. Smart (2008). "Growing up in Australian: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children is now walking and talking." Family Matters 79: 5-13.


ReferencesHarris, A. and J. Goodall (2008). "Do parents know they matter." Educational Research 50(3): 277-289.Hattie, J. (2015). The applicability of Visible Learning to higher education. Scholarship of Teaching and

Learning in Psychology, 1(1), 79.Hornby, G., & Lafaele, R. (2011). Barriers to parent involvement in education: An explanatory model.

Educational Review, 63, 37–52.Jeynes, W. (2012). A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Different Types of Parental Involvement

Programs for Urban Students. Urban Education, 47(4), 706-742. McKenzie, P., Rowley, G., Weldon, P., Murphy, M. and McMillan, J. (2014), Staff in Australia’s Schools

2013: Main Report of the Survey, Canberra: Department of Education. Metlife. (2013). The Metlife survey of the American teacher: Challenges for school leadership. New

York: Metlife Inc.OECD (2012), “Get Involved at School because You Want to, Not because You Have to”, in Let's Read

Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education, OECD Publishing, Paris.Pintrich, P. R. (2000). The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. R.

Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 451–502). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Pintrich, P. R. and E. V. De Groot (1990). "Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance." Journal of Educational Psychology 82(1): 33.


ReferencesPomeranz, E. M., Moorman, E. A., & Litwack, D. D. (2007). The how, whom and why of parents

involvement in children's academic lives: More is not always better. Review of Educational Research, 77(3), 373-410.

Saltmarsh, S., Barr, J. & Chapman, A. (2015). "Preparing for parents: how Australian teacher education is addressing the question of parent-school engagement." Asia Pacific Journal of Education 35(1): 69-84.

Wilder, S. (2013). Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: a meta-synthesis. Educational Review, 66(3), 377-397. doi: 10.1080/00131911.2013.780009

Williams, T. T., & Sanchez, B. S. (2011). Identifying and decreasing barriers to parent involvement for inner-city parents. Youth & Society, 45, 54–74.

Woodrow, C., Somerville, M., Naidoo, L., & Power, K. (2016). Researching parent engagement.ACT: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

Xu, M., Kushner Benson, S. N., Mudrey-Camino, R., & Steiner, R. P. (2010). The relationship between parental involvement, self-regulated learning, and reading achievement of fifth graders: a path analysis using the ECLS-K database. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 13(2), 237-269. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11218-009-9104-4.

Zimmerman, B. J., & Martinez-Pons, M. (1988). Construct validation of a strategy model of student self-regulated learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(3), 284–290.

Dr Graham Daniel Dr Cen Wang Email [email protected]

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