Research in Parental Involvement : Methods and Strategies for Education and Psychology

This book examines the process of conducting research on parental involvement in an effort to promote academic achievement across all school levels, income levels, and racial lines, theories, and research. Latunde explores the policies that have emerged to support the role of families and home-school collaboration in the education of youth, and evidence supporting home school collaboration and the need for parental involvement to improve student outcomes. She defines parental research and its role in our understanding of parental involvement and student outcomes and examines federal and state mandates for parental involvement and shares specific parental involvement resources. The nuances in parental involvement are critical to understanding the roles family play in the academic achievement youth, and how schools may partner with parents for success. Contents 5 List of Figures 7 List of Tables 8 Part I: Setting the Stage for Success 9 Chapter 1: Introduction: Setting the Stage for Success 10 A Definition of Research and Its Importance 12 Research Increases Our Knowledge 13 Research Improves Practice 14 Research to Practice Gap 15 Types of Parental Involvement 15 A Definition of Parental Involvement and Its Importance 16 Parental Involvement Preferences 18 Parental Involvement Improves Schools and Communities 19 Parental Involvement is the Law 20 State Responsibilities 23 Reflective Questions 23 Resources for Parents 24 U.S. Department of Education 24 References 25 Part II: Designing the Project 28 Chapter 2: Research Needs and Questions 29 Introduction 29 Designing the Project 29 Your Concept 30 Support for Your Project Process 30 Starting Points 31 Purpose of Research Questions 32 A Topic 32 Approaches to Identifying Questions 35 Formulating a Hypothesis 37 Purpose of Your Study 37 Questions and Methods 38 Connecting Research with Need 39 Feasibility Considerations 40 Reflective Questions 41 Action Items 41 References 41 Chapter 3: Frameworks and Models 43 Introduction 43 Importance of Frameworks 44 Purpose of the Framework 45 Approach to Frameworks 46 Models for Parental Involvement 47 Comer School Development Model (SDP) 48 Mechanisms for SDP 49 Principles of SDP 49 Evidence Supporting the SDP Model 50 Underutilized Models & Frameworks 57 Reflective Questions 59 Action Items 59 References 60 Chapter 4: Literature Reviews 62 Literature Review Defined 62 Purpose of the Literature Review 63 Approach to a Literature Review 65 Search Terms 66 Where to Look 66 How to Look 68 What to Look For 71 Making Sense of the Literature 73 Evaluating the Literature 74 Writing Your Literature Review 75 Organization of the Paper 76 Reflective Questions 79 Action Items 79 References 80 Part III: Choosing the Research Methodology 81 Chapter 5: Quantitative Research Methods 82 Introduction 82 Quantitative Data Banks 83 Converting Non-Quantitative Data 86 Assumptions 86 Conducting a Meta-Analysis 87 Questions of Impact 90 Evaluation and Quantitative Research 91 When Advocacy Research Is Needed? 94 Reflective Questions 97 Action Items 97 References 97 Chapter 6: Qualitative Research Methods 99 Definitions 100 Types of Qualitative Research Used in Parental Involvement 101 Assumptions in Qualitative Research 103 Approaches to Data 105 Using Theories in Qualitative Research 109 Strengths of Qualitative Research 111 Limitations of Qualitative Research 112 Reflective Questions 113 Action Items 113 References 113 Chapter 7: Mixed Methods 115 Introduction 115 Definitions 116 Purposes 116 Strengths of Mixed Methods 116 Limitations of a Mixed Methods Approach 117 Approaches to Mixed Methods 117 Examples of Mixed Methods in Parental Involvement 119 Case Studies 119 Surveys 122 Interviewing 122 Focus Groups 123 Questionnaires 124 Developing Questions for Your Mixed Method Study 125 Reflective Questions 128 Action Items 128 References 129 Part IV: Performing the Research 131 Chapter 8: Selecting Research Participants 132 Introduction 132 Strategies for Locating Samples 133 Use of Samples 135 Sample Size 136 Inclusion Criteria 137 Research Ethics 138 Conflict of Interests 140 Confidentiality 141 Privacy 142 Reflections 143 Action Items 143 References 144 Chapter 9: Data Collection 145 Definitions 146 Data and Collection Procedures 146 Sampling 146 Ethics 148 Research with Minors 150 Qualitative Data Collection Strategies 150 Technology and Data Collection 150 Trusted and Tried Methods for Data Collection 151 Considerations 152 Quantitative Data Collection Strategies 152 Observations 152 Experiments and Data Collection 154 Questionnaires 155 Organizing Your Data 155 Ethical Use of Data 157 Reflective Questions 158 Action Items 158 References 159 Chapter 10: Data Analysis 160 Introduction 160 Defining Data Analysis 161 Considerations 161 Skills 161 Planning for Biases 163 Types of Bias 163 Sample Bias 163 Bias in Measures 164 Interview Bias 164 Data Collection Bias 165 Bias in the Literature 165 Bias in Inferences and Conclusions 166 Determining Significance 166 Accurate Analysis 167 Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis 168 Quantitative Data Analysis 169 Longitudinal Data Analysis 171 Reflective Questions 173 Action Items 173 References 173 Chapter 11: Sharing Your Findings 175 Introduction 175 Peer Review Process 176 Peer-Reviewed Presentations 176 Submitting a Proposal 177 Making the Most of Your Time at the Conference 180 Sharing Your Work in Peer-Reviewed Publications 180 Publishing Opportunities 182 Non-Peer-Reviewed Presentations 183 Presenting in Schools 183 Sharing Your Work on the Internet 186 Future Directions for Research 187 Reflective Questions 189 Action Items 189 References 190 Index 191 Front Matter....Pages i-ix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction: Setting the Stage for Success....Pages 3-20 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 Research Needs and Questions....Pages 23-36 Frameworks and Models....Pages 37-55 Literature Reviews....Pages 57-75 Front Matter....Pages 77-77 Quantitative Research Methods....Pages 79-95 Qualitative Research Methods....Pages 97-112 Mixed Methods....Pages 113-128 Front Matter....Pages 129-129 Selecting Research Participants....Pages 131-143 Data Collection....Pages 145-159 Data Analysis....Pages 161-175 Sharing Your Findings....Pages 177-192 Back Matter....Pages 193-199