Ways to Improve Parent Involvement in South Monterey County

Parent involvement has a significant influence on education as it affects student academic success. This capstone project studies 19 parents who are from Hispanic/Latino backgrounds in South Monterey County and 3 teachers who either work or worked in South Monterey County. The purpose of this study is to answer the following question: “What affects parental involvement?” and “How can we improve parental involvement?” In order to find answers to these questions, I first conducted a review of the literature using peer-reviewed journals on parental involvement. As a result of my findings in the literature review, I surveyed both parents and teachers to learn more about what hinders local parents from being involved. What do they consider parent involvement to be? And what are some ways to improve parent involvement? My findings defined parent involvement as teaching manners and values, reading to children, going to parent-teacher, PTA, and ELAC meetings, and volunteering in their child’s classroom. The common barriers found to affect parent involvement are lack of transpiration, need for childcare, work demands, language barriers, and busy schedules