DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction
The purpose of this study was to research the expectations of 12 parents and three principals in regard to parent-school relationships and parental involvement in three urban Catholic high schools. Many urban Catholic schools are faced with the threat of closure due to financial hardships, but because these schools have proven successful for the students, they provide a vital resource to the community (Bryk et al., 1993; Greeley, 2002; Higareda et al., 2011; James, 2007; Litton et al., 2010). This study did not directly explore possible financial solutions, but focused instead on the parents, who are the stakeholders in the Catholic schools and in their children’s education. Achieving parent satisfaction requires that administrators understand the parents’ expectations concerning ways in which they want to be supported. Most importantly, it is fundamental for the schools and parents to understand how their relationship contributes to the success of the student. An additional component that contributes to the students’ success is parental involvement, which was the main focus of this study (Bauch & Goldring, 1995; Jeynes, 2008; Ramirez, 2006). To fully understand parental involvement and the parent-school relationship within the Catholic schools, this study considered components of the Catholic school mission as they pertained to the parents and how principals realized the mission within their schools. Finally, this study examined how both parents and
environment and the parents’ own experiences. The four research questions in this study were the following:
1. What expectations do parents of urban Catholic high school students have of the school in terms of parent-school relationships?
2. What expectations do parents of urban Catholic high school students have of themselves in terms of parental involvement?
a. How do they put these expectations into practice?
3. What expectations do administrators of urban Catholic high schools have of the school in terms of parent-school relationships?
a. How do they put these expectations into practice?
4. What expectations do administrators of urban Catholic high schools have of parents in terms of parental involvement?
The data from the questions were collected through the parent and principal interviews, and evidence of how the expectations were actualized was collected through school handbooks, office visits, and observations of parent-school meetings and events. Typological and inductive analyses were conducted, followed by a process of axial coding for relationships among the emerging patterns. The findings were then coded with the following four patterns: (a) the underlying child-centered mission that guides the roles and relationships, (b) the parents’ role in supporting the student, (c) the parent- school relationship created to support the student, and (d) the principals’ role in creating a trusting environment that promotes parental involvement.
Through analyzing the data and their patterns, it became evident that the parents’ and principals’ expectations were interconnected by their common goal of supporting the students’ success and shared their expectations of mutual responsibilities. Figure 1 demonstrated the three key roles of the parents, schools, and students that lead to the students’ success and the overlapping responsibilities of the actors in this relationship. However, this study is limited to the roles of the parents and the principals. The research questions are answered in detail through the discussion of the four patterns in Chapter 4.
This chapter discusses the findings of this study in relation to the patterns that emerged, which were guided by the literature review, including Epstein’s (2001) six types of parental involvement, Barton et al.’s (2004) ecologies of parental engagement, the components of social capital as they pertained to trust and relationships, and the Catholic school mission. Discussion of the findings is divided into the following three sections: (a) the school culture, climate, and organizational structure that promote the relationship; (b) the two theoretical frameworks of parental involvement and engagement; and (c) the significance of the five components of the Catholic school mission within these findings.
This chapter also presents implications for Catholic schools and the field of education. Finally, this chapter discusses recommendations for further research in the areas of parental involvement and promoting a culture of trust.
Discussion of Findings
The findings will be discussed in the three areas previously mentioned but utilizing the following abbreviated titles: (a) the school culture, climate, and
organizational structure (b) the two theoretical frameworks of parental involvement; and (c) the significance of the Catholic school mission.
The School Culture, Climate, and Organizational Structure
The school culture, climate, and organizational structure are three key factors that affect the quality of the parent-school relationship, the expectations of the roles, and how parents choose to become involved (Barton et al., 2004; Henderson et al., 2007; Owens & Valesky, 2011; Mapp, 2003). Parent and principal participants in this study addressed these key factors in terms of the elements of respect, a welcoming environment, and communication. They discussed how beneficial these elements were in supporting parents, encouraging involvement, and strengthening the parent-school relationship. The first element—respect—is part of the school culture, which includes the beliefs, values, and attitudes encouraged by the school. The second element—the welcoming
environment—is part of the school culture and climate, which encompasses how both the parents and the school perceive the overall environment. The final element—
communication—is part of the organizational structure, which was the most common factor that the parents and the principals stressed in supporting a successful parent-school relationship (Owens & Valesky, 2011).
The parents referred to respect in terms of the school culture and as an essential element in the parent-school relationship. They spoke of the respect the principals showed them and most of them felt the teachers were also respectful, except Sydney (Parent, SF), who stated adamantly that teachers should show respect by acknowledging parents. Jasmine (Parent, OLP) considered the positive attitudes of the principal, staff,
and teachers to be a sign of a respectful school culture. In addition, the nonpretentious manner of the principal made her feel respected and comfortable about approaching him. She described this atmosphere in which the principal and teachers were welcoming, saying, “they make us feel at home” (Jasmine, Parent, OLP). This culture of respect by teachers, staff, and principals had a positive impact on the parent-school relationship.
The principals referred to the second element, the welcoming environment, in terms of the school’s culture and climate. They described the culture and climate as welcoming, familial, and focused on the students’ academic and spiritual growth. They purposefully developed this cultural framework to be consistent with the Catholic school mission. Principal Fawkes (SF) found that he had to change the culture of St. Francis when he arrived because some of the teachers had assumed an antagonistic attitude toward the students, which in turn caused the parents to perceive the climate as negative. In order for the culture to change, he said, “There was some healing that had to take place.” He needed the teachers to shift from an “us against them” culture to one of leadership, learning, and love. After the school culture changed to focus on the student, the parents perceived the environment as more caring and welcoming. The school had room for growth, however, as Sydney (Parent SF) pointed out, a few of the teachers needed to show more respect and improve their communication with the parents.
Principal Campos (GS) promoted Good Shepherd’s culture of shared beliefs in family and in the students’ academic and spiritual success. He promoted this culture with the parents during the Open House, the family-school mass, and at Back-To-School Night, and he encouraged the teachers to support the parents in understanding how to use
the online grading system. He realized that teachers, staff, and parents needed to be reminded of the school culture that valued each student as part of the Good Shepherd family, even when that student experienced setbacks and difficulties.
At Good Shepherd, Catherine (Parent, GS) referenced the need for teachers to be reminded of this culture of caring and the student-centered mission. She stated that teachers should remember that they were at the school because of the desire to help the children learn. For those teachers who had forgotten, she reminded them to “go back to your roots” (Catherine, Parent, GS). However, she did not understand the culture of tolerance that Principal Campos (GS) was promoting. She voiced concern that allowing students with problems to remain at the school was a poor reflection on the school’s reputation, and she perceived this as a lack of leadership on the principal’s part.
Within each school, different perceptions of the school culture and climate were found along with differences in the attributes given the most importance. Lupe (Parent, GS) attributed the family culture of the school to the parents and proudly told me that “parents are unity” and that they had created the family atmosphere. The three parent participants at St. Francis were happy with the existing amount of respect and
communication, but Sydney (Parent, SF) had a different experience and perceived the climate to be very different than the others. One parent at Good Shepherd was concerned that the culture had a more concentrated focus on football and its fund-raisers, whereas another parent at the same school perceived that there was more focus on soccer.
The final element—communication—was listed by parents as integral in supporting an effective parent-school relationship, their involvement in the school, and
their role in their children’s educational process. Communication is part of the organizational structure of the school and the principal participants acknowledged its importance as they continuously searched for new methods, such as technology, to improve communication. This finding is consistent with Dauber and Epstein’s (2001) research in urban elementary and middle schools, which showed that the school’s efforts to communicate with parents and provide information was a factor in determining the level of parental involvement. As students became more independent in high school, the parents saw information as an essential avenue to stay involved in their child’s education.
Principals discussed the use of e-mails and phone blasts to allow access to the current information. Good Shepherd and Our Lady of Peace provided computers in the school entryway for parents and students to access. In addition, the schools made use of traditional forms such as monthly mailings and flyers sent through the students. The schools provided calendars and handbooks for parents, supplied additional information, and posted online grading on the websites.
Parents mentioned the importance of actually attending the parent-school meetings and considered attendance a form of involvement and communication. The parents at Our Lady of Peace were the most emphatic about the meetings, partially due to their need to understand the school system. All of the parent participants at Our Lady of Peace had immigrated to the United States and stressed a greater need to understand the American school system. Meeting attendance, although limited in mutual collaboration, was a form of mutual involvement by both actors and an opportunity for schools to reinforce the culture and climate they wanted to preserve. At these meetings, it was
critical for schools to demonstrate a welcoming, respectful environment. At the Back- To-School Night, teachers were introduced, but little was discussed about the parent- teacher relationship and avenues for communication.
In summary, these findings demonstrate the importance of building a structure of culture, climate, and organization that is based on respect, promotes a welcoming
environment, and supports communication.
The Two Theoretical Frameworks of Parental Involvement
The two theoretical frameworks that guided this study were Epstein’s (2001) six types of parental involvement and Barton et al.’s (2004) ecologies of parental
engagement. The findings are discussed in this section in terms of these two frameworks.
Six types of parental involvement. Epstein (2001) built her six types of parental
involvement framework on the concept of mutual responsibilities and the overlapping roles of parents and school. This study’s findings reflected Epstein’s framework, which demonstrated the intersecting roles and responsibilities of parents and schools. Epstein’s framework (2001) illustrated that the parent-school relationship was built on three interconnected and overlapping spheres of influence, which consisted of family, school, and community. The findings in this study reflected Epstein’s “overlapping spheres,” as the parents and principals spoke of their expectations of their mutual roles and
responsibilities. The findings also showed the interconnected nature of the parent-school relationship with a strong focus on the student, as depicted in Figure 1.
Parent and principal participants spoke of the mutual responsibilities required to support the student, which is consistent with the theory of shared responsibilities
described by Epstein (2001). To highlight the shared roles and responsibilities, Epstein referenced the term parent-school partnership (Epstein, 2001). The partnership
represented a bond between parents and schools, where mutual support is provided to promote student success.
As evidenced by their frequent references to shared responsibilities, the parents in this study identified with the parent-school partnership concept. However, they did not expect that the partnership should be an equal one, as Dolores (Parent, GS) specifically mentioned. She felt that the term partnership alluded to an unrealistic representation of mutual decision-making. Although the parents deferred decision-making mostly to the schools, they still wanted to have their complaints taken seriously. They viewed their main responsibility in the partnership as supporting the school and being a part of their child’s education. They expected that the school would assume responsibility for the curriculum, and provide information about the student’s progress, the college application process, and school activities. These findings suggested that parents in the study viewed the parent-school relationship more as an alliance where the parents and the school worked together for the benefit of the children. In this alliance, each actor assumed responsibilities as defined by their roles and individual expectations of how best to support the student. A balance between mutual responsibilities and individual roles exists but needs to be addressed in further studies. Wanat (2010) questioned how to create such an effectual balance and hypothesized that it required respect for each other and a recognition of the individual talents and expertise to support the students’