Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

Natalie C Dunn
Western Oregon University

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

Introduction
Within the culture of each school, there is a need to engage not only
the student but also the parents and guardians. Parents are a key
ingredient in a schools culture for success and will influence their own
students. They are able to become leaders and key advocates for
teachers and administrators within their own community. Most K-12
school programs attempt to enhance, schedule, promote, and
encourage parental involvement. Ask any school administrators:
many believe that student success is cultivated with parental
involvement within the school culture. When parents have high levels
of involvement with teachers and other parents, they are likely to be
better informed about their childrens schooling experience, future
ambitions, course selections, and hobbies, which gives them more
opportunities to assist their children and provide financial and social
support (Schneider and Stevenson, 1999). The goal is to engage the
parent and thus improve the concept of school for the student. Each
school is working towards that goal. It goes beyond the cookie sales,
athletic events, and parent conference night. A school can be enriched
by the experiences and input from the parent.
With the growth and expansion of technology within grades K-12,
fostering parental involvement has become more difficult and is often
left behind. In addition, school district policies intended to reduce

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

inappropriate relationships and cyber bullying have created an

overused system of communication between the parent and teacher.
This has in part, reduced parental involvement within the school and
creating a virtual relationship instead of a real one. Protective
measures have also saturated school communications between
students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Parents have constant
reminders through automated phone calls, official school emails, snail
mail, and now new Facebook and Twitter posting.
There is hope in various web tools and new strategies that fall
within the school district policies. Technology cannot be used as
substitute; however, it can compliment ongoing opportunities to
cultivate parental involvement and thus improving student
achievement. Various studies have identified the correlation between
parental involvement and student academic achievement. Students
are made accountable for their actions and entire school family
(parents, administrators, and teachers) are committed to their success.
(Ivy Academia, 2008)
This paper first defines parental involvement, provides current
strategies for web tools available for parent-teacher communication,
and finally theorizes the need for strategies that promote parental
advocacy. By nurturing parental advocacy through technology, it will
enhance the parental involvement and thus lead to student
achievement.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

Defining Parental Involvement

With the integration of technology, parental involvement has
shifted to a virtual one. Parental involvement is one topic that is
consistently researched and evaluated. A simple definition of parental
involvement is parents actively participating in their students
academic journey at the educational institution. There are numerous
activities a parent can be involved in that are categorized as
participatory. Educational researchers focused evaluation of an
individual schools effectiveness through participants of the school
district: administration officials and personnel, students, community,
and finally parents or guardians. Each group is then placed in
categories involving various backgrounds: race, ethnicity, cultural,
socioeconomic, class, first generation, ESOL, Special Education, and
others.
According to Jill Bloom (1992) parental involvement can be
defined in the critical levels: (1) involvement with their own childs
education, (2) participation in school life, and (3) advocacy.
When thinking of each of these elements, there are clear defining
activities that can be further cultivated through various web tools and
applications:
(1)Involving with their own childs education which involves
parents monitoring childs progress and assisting the student
with homework

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

(2)Volunteering with field trips, assisting with disseminating

school information through the schools website
(3)Initiating, implementing, and mobilizing information for other
parents through web tools
A stronger culture of school success is the result when there is an
active engaged group of parents. When parents are engaged, school
seems to be a higher priority for students. Homework gets completed
on time. Students are more prepared for tests. They are more active in
extracurricular and the community. (Cooper, 2014) Previous research
identifies parental involvement as a determining factor of student
success. Another researcher JL Epstein developed and described six
types of parental involvement.

Epstein defines parental involvement

as any act or action taken by a parent or guardian in an effort to

assist, monitor, or improve his/her student in academic achievement.
(Epstein et al, 2002)
For the purpose of this paper, three types of parental
involvement have demonstrated the need for further study and focus
to improve parental involvement in K-12 schools. First,
communication: Two way communicating activities keeps families
informed about the involved in school programs. Second,
volunteering: activities that facilitate volunteerism. And finally,
decision making: this area should reinforce the voice of the parent
with developing, designing, reviewing and improving school policies.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

These studies concluded that because of these weaken connections
and influences between the school and parents, there is a need for a
bridging of ties to allow information and other resources (Ellison,

2014). Technology through specific tools and applications can connect

parents to the school. Parents must be informed and educated on the
tools available for their involvement and engagement. Parents when
involved in their students education through monitoring have been
reviewed through previous research studies. Parents are able to review
and navigate teachers websites for specific assignment information
through long-term calendars viewable online.
As society recognizes the need to help parents with the difficult
responsibility of educating their children, partnerships between parents
and school personnel can assist in the overall growth of the school.
Specific school strategies in communication, volunteering, and
decision-making will promote parental involvement.

In these three

areas, research reviews student success through parental involvement

in monitoring the students progress. (Machen, Wilson, and Notar,
2005)

Technology is seen as a reinforcing connector that constructs

new area and ultimately improves academic achievement. If web

tools used by parents limits their opportunities for involvement, how
can technology initiate opportunities for parents to work as decision
makers in encouraging student success. The main issue is limiting
access of technology or student information that requires further study.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

School districts policies are limiting the access of technology and thus
reducing promoting student success. Web tools used that promote
advocacy for the parent are not being promoted or created to engage
the parent.

Web-Based Communication Tools:

In the past schools used a variety of methods for communicating
school activities and encouraging parental involvement, these
traditional methods included progress reports and newsletters. All of
these methods were based on the resources available at the time and
were dominated by the use of paper.

One of the first areas that

embraced technology involved student data storage. The use of

technology in education has been introduced through academic
support systems, classroom instructions, sharing and distributing
information through websites and email. Other tools have been used
as technology innovation was introduced to the education system.
Educators welcomed new opportunities to incorporate technology into
their schools. Technology will rein enforce existing connections and
constructs new ones. (Childrens Partnership, 2010) Administrators
needed to continue to evaluate the specific needs within their own
systems to determine where technology could improve or assist.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

Parental Involvement is one of last arenas where web-based tools and

applications are influencing the school culture. Currently, Web-Based
Communication tools are used to allow parents to have a dialog with a
teacher via virtual tools.
There are various web tools and applications available for
parents.

Student Information Management Systems (SIMS), Student

Management systems (SMS), Campus Management Systems (CMS),

Student Records Systems (SRS) and School Management Systems
(SMS) are programs that enable teachers and other school personnel to
manage student demographics, scheduling, course selections, grades,
test history, attendance, course history, and discipline. First, student
information systems are designed as large databases of information
that would include students grades, attendance, and other educational
data demographics that shared through the students academic career.
Advances in technology have reduced the amount of paper folders that
once were transported from school to school. Student information
such as immunization, health records, and birth certificates, along with
emergency contact information are stored in these large databases.
A student information system is a multifunctional computer
application used to manage student data. Parents and other
caregivers are updated on the students progress. In the Salem-Keizer
School District, Synergy is used. Synergy ParentVUE is a parental
portal tool to help families stay informed about their students

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

progress. Parents are able to sign in with their an unique ID and

Password combination.

This tool can be used to access your

students grades, attendance information, and also to communicate

with teachers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Students will have
access to the same information using Synergy StudentVUE. In
addition, school counselors, graduation coaches, and other classified
staff members are able to notate specific student non-disciplinary
concerns in the database.

Teachers are able to design, calculate,

and display student-grading systems. Parents are able to gain access

to their students day-to-day progress in specific classes. Parents and
teacher are also able to communicate and share feedback.

Most schools rely on sharing information through paper letters,

automated phone calls, newsletters, and websites. These methods
are one way communication and considered as traditional forms of
communication.
Computer-medicated communication (CMC) allows parents to send a
single email to all the students teachers to ask how their student is
doing instead of attempting to call each teacher. One example of a
CMC web tool is Remind.com. Remind 101 is a mobile platform that
enables teachers to send reminders to students and parents via text
and email. Students and parents are encouraged to register through a
private communications monitored network. Groups can be structure

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Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

based on specific grade levels, activities, and other group types.
Messages are formulated and then submitted for distribution.

Volunteer Tools
There are various web tools available to encourage, manage, and
organize volunteer opportunities for parents.

This area as describe by

both Epstein and Bloom is limited through one-way communication and

needs to strategies to encourage two-way interaction. In order to
engage parents, the relationship between the school and parents must
be a partnership.

This partnership approach emphasizes joint

planning, goal setting, defining roles, and developing instructional

support efforts. Parents apply through online volunteer applications
that involve criminal background checks. Once approved, parents are
assigned to specific projects or groups such as athletics, band, or other
extra curricular activities. School officials have various methods to
advertise volunteer opportunities for school functions such as dances,
athletic events, and other support roles.

Again Computer-mediated

communication (CMC) tools are utilized to engage the parent and

remind of specific activities or events at the school.

The challenge

with this use of technology is allowing it is become overused.

Parents

will reluctantly continue to volunteer after their student leaves that

specific school. As an alternative, parents would have the option out
feature through Remind.com to receive specific messages that from

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Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

the school. This is a challenge throughout the country. However,
school administrators will be criticized for either the over or lack of
communication to parents.
Decision-Making

With the recent changes in mobile technology and the introduction to

tools such as Facebook, podcasts, blogging, and other web tools, the
education influencers whether teachers and administrators attempt to
integrate this new technology with the hopes of improving parental
improvement.

Researchers began to develop case studies to

determine the effectiveness of technology on communication between

the educators and parents. They examined the number of students
engaged in the use of technology and teachers began developing
Facebook pages, Wiki pages, podcasting, and video sharing. However,
it is clear by re-examining the elements from Bloom on parental
involvement, parental advocacy is missing from the technological
boom.
In advocacy, parents are defined as the decision-maker and
functions as part of the administrative structure. The importance of
communication between parents and teachers has been stressed in
multiple studies. However, it is clear that educators tend to focus
less on parenting and more on formal acts of parental involvement that
are initiated by the school. (Brown, 1989)

Instructional interactions

are areas where parents have the ability to be informed by teachers

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

12

and the school using methods such as newsletters and parental

organizations.

Specific strategies should be utilized to build a

structure around the parent. However, the structure will need to

include the parent in the discussion and allow parents to also evaluate
their own functions within each school culture. It will not happen
unless parents know the difference that they can make and unless
schools actively reinforce that all parents matter. (Harris & Goodall,
2008) Technology can incorporate the parent advocacy involves the
interaction of the parent. Through advocacy, a parent will go beyond
any cookie sale or attending any school function. They will become a
functional influence of the school culture.
According to a research report by Halsey (2005), the challenge
for parental involvement is basic and simple. Parents are unable to
identify how to become involved with the school. This gap between
parental involvement and inactiveness could easily be bridged through
the use of technology. Examples provided through Blooms research
involves being a physically present through school councils, steering
committees. These functions initiate, implement and monitor basic
changes in school structure. These strategies would create a positive
atmosphere because the school would involve parents in realistic and
workable ways. (Machen, Wilson, and Notar, 2005) Technology is
able to create an environment that disseminates information to parents
and then the information must motivate the parent to become

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

13

involved. Other researchers provide specific practices to allow

parental involvement that will lead to advocacy. These practices are
based on (a) giving parents specific information about what they an do
to be involved, (b) providing specific information on the general effects
of their involvement on student learning, and (c) enlisting parents for
specific activities that influence student learning. (Hoover-Dempsey
and Sandler, 1995)
Technology is the catalyst that can initiate this movement
towards more parental involvement through advocacy. Here are some
suggestions to specifically promote advocacy through web tools or
applications at your school:
1. Create parent created content
In order to facilitate this form of advocacy, a school must
cultivate parental support and allow parent-created content. Parentcreated content could be created through online school newsletter,
highlighting specific volunteers, or volunteers writing specific articles
for the school functions from their perspective. (Cooper, 5) If parents
are volunteering in the school, an e-article titled why I volunteer
along with a photograph that is published on the school website.
2. Educate Parents and offer workshops in technology:
Schools will need to incorporate workshops that engage the
parent through technology and serve to increate the parents ability to
be aware of their childs academic potential and aspirations.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

14

According to a study conducted in 2008, it found the main reasons that

parents were unable to use technology to communicate with school
was due to a lack of skills to use technology or access to specific tools
(Zieger & Tan 2012).
Monthly workshops should be scheduled to assist parental usage
various student information systems and also sharing specific web
tools used in the school by teachers. By promoting and training all
stakeholders about student information systems with a specific school,
there will be an increase in parental involvement and engagement in
the students academic career. Educating parents on various tools
that tech forward teachers are currently using will allow them to gain
an understanding of the school curriculum, teachers assignments, and
also how the school is preparing the student the next steps.
There are specific web tools that parents must be able to
navigate and gain a basic understanding. This training must be school
sponsored and focused over time to develop partnerships between
administration and parents.
3. Embrace Mobile Technology and Messaging:
Allowing parents to join school mobile messaging services such
as Remind.com. School administration can create specific messaging
and monitoring opportunities to send specific topics to parents.
According to some researchers, 78 percent of teens ages 12 to 17
have access to a cell phone. Text messaging tends to be the quickest

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Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

and most effective way to communicate with teens.

About 72

percent of teens use text messages and average text-messaging teen

send and receives 50 texts each day. On the flip side, more than 30
percent of parents surveyed stated that mobile devices could increase
student engagement in school through Project Tomorrow in 2010 (The
Childrens Partnership, 2010).
Mobile messaging can allow a short message to a specific
audience. Parents would be able to enroll in a mobile messaging
program similar to remind.com. Messaging could be managed by a
specific parental group to allow specific messages on topics such as
school events and activities.
4. Include Technology usage in Parental Surveys
Each school conducts surveys to evaluate the school functions
and parents are asked specific questions. Specific questions could be
formatted to determine mobile technology, website usage, and other
forms of communication strategies. This strategy would gain access to
a specific audience of engage parent and questions tailored to
determine their specific engagement level School activities could
then be added to the calendar to encourage more parental
involvement. As an example, school may need to create workshops or
student tutoring programs on Saturdays. Enrollment of these types of
workshops can be advertised and coordinated through web tools such
as Google Docs.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

16

Conclusion:
Parental involvement effectiveness is linked to improve academic
achievement for the student. Technology is a powerful tool to assist
schools with cultivating and disseminating information to the parents.
However, parental involvement must include parents voices at the
collective table. Technology cannot only used by teachers and school
administration to collect, evaluate, and share student information.
This creates a one-way communication method and over time will
become ineffective. There must be partnership approach that involves
joint planning, goal setting, and defining roles with in each stakeholder
group. Two-way communication web tools and use of the strategies
above is a starting point. All stakeholders must also evaluate and
research trends that are easily available to students, parents, and
teachers.

As one researcher concluded: There is no magic bullet;

each school armed with results from research, should design its own
plan (Brough &Irvin, 2001). By assisting parents with becoming more
involved and exposed to current web tools available, a school will
cultivate not only advocacy but also efficacy.

Defining Parental Involvement in a Digital Age

17

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