1. Parental Involvement
Implications for Teachers,
Administrators and
Policymakers
Contributed by: Caroline Hagenbuch

2. Evidence-Based
“Parent involvement initiatives that build
on the components of effective
programs meet with noteworthy
success, and positive effects include
both higher levels of student
achievement and greater motivation and
interest in learning” (Samuels & Farstrup,
2011, p. 417).

3. But what about those programs that
are unsuccessful?
 Despite meeting many characteristics, in some
cases, programs may prove ineffective.
 One such program mentioned in the text is Even
Start, which, despite parent-child activities that
supported literacy in a variety of ways, surveys
showed a lack of intensive focus on parent-child
literacy focus.
 In short, this section offers a warning: “The task of
developing and implementing productive parent
involvement programs is complex and
multifaceted. Implementations that sample many
different activities without sufficient intensity on
those that support the desired outcomes invite
failure” (p.418).

4. Guidelines to promote effectiveness:
 A program must….
 Understand the parent involvement process –
parents’ motivation for involvement, as well as
awareness of types of involvement (such as
communication, supporting school work or
conveying values).
 Be knowledgeable about the mechanisms of
involvement (encouragement, modeling,
reinforcement, instruction).
 Address overall student achievement through self-
efficacy, self-motivation, and/or ways to relate to
teachers.
 Include exemplary outreach programs.
 Be attentive to the multi-facets of productive reading
interactions.

5. To be effective, a program must also:
 Understand short and long term effects of focal
activities (for example, reading aloud to children
in early childhood will support language,
vocabulary and concept knowledge that will in
turn support reading comprehension later).
 Embed literacy events in engaging, high-quality
texts and in activities with a strong social context.
 Build new knowledge based on parents’ prior
knowledge.
 Provide professional development to teachers
implementing these programs.
 Provide strong guidance for parents (including
modeling and explanation).

6. In summary
 This section clearly defines the need for effective
programs that help form a bond between home
and school. Parents play a pivotal role in the lives
and education of their children; therefore, it is
crucial that teachers work to create strong
communication between home and school.
Through many of the effective practices noted in
this section, teachers and parents are able to
form a partnership to provide key support and
modeling in an effort to make students better
readers and writers.