Prospects for enabling middle school student success: families as stakeholders

Educators, government officials, and other stakeholders of schools have an interest in whether family involvement affects the academic achievement of students. While some research has shown that children whose parents are involved in their education from early childhood perform academically better than do children whose parents are less involved, other research did not find a strong correlation between the amount or type of parental involvement and student achievement, suggesting that parent involvement may not be enough to close the achievement gap and race-based opportunity gap in U.S. schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 motivated educators not only to improve the quality of instruction, but also to (a) partner with parents and families to create programs and opportunities that allow parents to become more involved in schools and (b) encourage parents to have a role in school and district decision making. These strategies result in stronger school-family partnerships. The purpose of this study was to identify factors at the middle school and district level that promote or impede effective partnerships between home and school. This research study took a qualitative approach and was conducted as a multi-perspective case study. The study used social ecology theory to analyzed family and educator roles and expectations by. Four overarching themes emerged: family involvement, communication, family role in student achievement, and educator role in student achievement. Findings revealed that the family role needs consistent communication between home and school for united adult expectations. Despite varying research perspectives on the relationship between school and families, isolating the factors of research-based family involvement programs that have affected students' academic achievement can ultimately provide educators and families with tools to support this work in urban middle schools.