The Relationship Between Student Perceptions of Parental Involvement and Grade Eight Reading and Math Achievement in a Rural Georgia Middle School

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between students\u27 perceptions of parental involvement and grade 8 reading and math achievement as measured by the Georgia Criterion Reference Competency Test (CRCT). This study relied on a theoretical framework developed by Epstein (1987). This framework includes a six-part categorization of parent involvement typologies (Type 1—parenting, Type 2—communication, Type 3—volunteering, Type 4—learning at home, Type 5—decision-making, and Type 6—collaborating), which were used as the basis for data collection and analysis. The High School and Family Partnerships: Questionnaires for Teachers, Parents, and Students were developed by Epstein and Salinas (1993) for the purpose of profiling parental involvement behaviors in schools. Section three of The Survey of Students in Grades 9-12 was distributed to randomly selected students. The population associated with this study included grade eight middle school students from the Burke County School District in east-central Georgia. At the time of this study, total district enrollment was 4,425 with 362 grade eight students. The variables of this study included parental involvement typology, student achievement, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. A correlational design was utilized to analyze the necessary data. Data collected from 123 surveys matched with student achievement scores were analyzed by Pearson\u27s product moment correlation. A 95% Confidence Interval was established and two-tailed tests of significance were performed in order to make appropriate generalizations to the population associated with this study. For the purpose of this study N = 123, a = 0.05, df = 121, and rCRITICAL = 0.195. No significant relationship was found between student perceptions of parental involvement typologies and reading and math achievement. However, significant relationships were found between non-economically disadvantaged students perceptions of their parents’ Type 4, 5, and 6 typologies and reading achievement; between non-economically disadvantaged students perceptions of their parents Type 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 typologies and math achievement; and between Caucasian students perceptions of their parents Type 3 and 5 typologies and math achievement