The effectiveness of Family Science and Technology Workshops on parental involvement, student achievement, and student curiosity

The literature suggests that parental involvement in schools results in positive changes in students and that schools need to provide opportunities for parents to share in the learning process. Workshops are an effective method of engaging parents in the education of their children. This dissertation studies the effects of voluntary Family Science and Technology Workshops on elementary children\u27s science interest and achievement, as well as on parents\u27 collaboration in their child\u27s education. The study involved 35 second and third-grade students and their parents who volunteered to participate. The parental volunteers were randomly assigned to either the control group (children attending the workshops without a parent) or the treatment group (children attending the workshops with a parent). The study was conducted in the Fall of 1995 over a four-week period. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine the effects of the workshops on children\u27s science achievement and science curiosity, as well as on parents\u27 involvement with their child\u27s education. The study revealed that there was no significant statistical difference at the.05 level between the treatment/control groups in children\u27s science achievement or science curiosity, or in parent\u27s involvement with their children\u27s education. However, the study did focus parental attention on effective education and points the way to more extensive research in this critical learning area. This dual study, that is, the effects of teaching basic technology to young students with the support of their parents, reflects the focus of the Salve Regina University Ph.D. program in which technology is examined in its effects on humans. In essence, this program investigates what it means to be human in an age of advanced technology