Strategies to foster equal access to a quality education: parental involvement and its effect on education

This participant-observer case study researched the supports and strategies a teacher could implement in the classroom to encourage parental involvement in their children's educations. These strategies and supports included invitations to school events such as assemblies, craft nights, and literacy nights, two parent-teacher interviews, extra parent contact through email, telephone calls, notes, and a weekly parent communication book. The study compared the amount of parental involvement students experienced during the study period with the students' levels of achievement on reading and writing assessments. Data were collected through the use of several different documents, including parent communication books, a parent contact log, parent communication questionnaires, reading assessments, and writing assessments. The results of this study suggest the classroom supports and strategies implemented to encourage parental involvement positively affected students' academic achievement. --P. ii.