Parental Involvement (parental + involvement)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Adolescent Mothers' Perceptions of Fathers' Parental Involvement: Satisfaction and Desire for Involvement,

FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 3 2007
Melissa J. Herzog
Abstract: Grounded in family systems and ecological theories, this study examined teenage mothers' perceptions of fathers' parental involvement and the role of teenage mothers' gatekeeping beliefs. Fathers' involvement was perceived to be greater when teenage parents were romantically involved (n = 55). When they no longer shared a romantic relationship (n = 59), mothers' satisfaction with and desire for fathers' involvement (i.e., gatekeeping beliefs) mediated the association between mothers' perceptions of developmental and contextual factors and their perceptions of fathers' involvement. Overall, the proposed developmental-contextual model was not significant for romantically involved teenage parents. Findings underscore the need to account for and incorporate issues related to relationship status, grandparent support, historical support, and maternal gatekeeping beliefs when developing programs for adolescent parents. [source]


Confidential Reproductive Health Services for Minors: The Potential Impact of Mandated Parental Involvement for Contraception

PERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 5 2004
Rachel K. Jones
CONTEXT: Recent legislative efforts to implement mandated parental involvement for minor adolescents seeking family planning services threaten the rights of adolescents younger than 18 to access reproductive health care. METHODS: State and federal laws and policies pertaining to minor adolescents' rights to access services for contraception and sexually transmitted diseases are reviewed, and research examining issues of parental involvement among adolescents using clinic-based reproductive health services is synthesized. RESULTS: Attempts to mandate parental involvement for reproductive health care often focus on contraceptive services and are typically linked to federal or state funding. Studies of teenagers using clinic-based family planning services suggest that slightly more than one-half would obtain contraceptives at family planning clinics even if parental notification were required. Mandated parental involvement for contraception would discourage few teenagers from having sex, but would likely result in more teenagers' using the least effective methods, such as withdrawal, or no method at all. Family planning clinics encourage teenagers to voluntarily talk to their parents, but relatively little information is available about the extent to which activities to promote parent-child communication have been adopted. CONCLUSIONS: Mandated parental involvement for teenagers seeking contraceptive care would likely contribute to increases in rates of teenage pregnancy. Research that will help clinics implement and improve efforts to encourage voluntary parental involvement is urgently needed. [source]


Biliteracy and Schooling in an Extended-Family Nicaraguan Immigrant Household: The Sociohistorical Construction of Parental Involvement

ANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2007
Julia Menard-Warwick
Situating parental involvement in education within a sociohistorical context, this case study of a Nicaraguan immigrant household in California contrasts the perspectives of two sisters-inlaw who shared a home and whose daughters attended the same urban elementary school. Although the two women were involved in their daughters' schooling in different ways, the article illustrates how both women drew on a variety of personal, family, and community resources to support the girls' academic success. [source]


Life with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy: child and parental perspectives and predictors of metabolic control

PEDIATRIC DIABETES, Issue 2 2001
Aristides k Maniatis
Abstract: Objective:, The purpose of this study was twofold (i): to evaluate metabolic control in patients receiving CSII therapy in a routine pediatric diabetes clinic by describing reasons for initiating therapy and daily management issues, including needle fear; and (ii) to assess the change in parental involvement and anxiety once their child initiated CSII therapy. Research design and methods: The study included 52 subjects (aged 7.6,23.6 yr) from a general pediatric diabetes clinic. Management issues were defined as diet, exercise, home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM) frequency, and self/staff assessment of needle fear. Characteristics were analyzed both according to a 0.5% change in HbA1c status (decreased vs. stable vs. increased) compared with pre-CSII therapy, and final HbA1c achieved (, 8.1 vs. > 8.1%). Results: The primary recommendation source for CSII use was most often the physician/diabetes team (48.1%), followed by a combination of the former with a personal referral source (32.7%). The most common reason (71.2%) for CSII initiation was a combination of wanting to achieve better metabolic control, dislike of insulin injections, and/or increased flexibility in daily living. Over one-quarter (26.9%) of subjects were identified as being needle-fearful, and this characteristic was predictive of final metabolic control (3/25 subjects ,,8.1% vs. 11/27 subjects >,8.1%, p =,0.03). On CSII therapy, dietary carbohydrate consistency was highly variable, and most subjects (65.3%) exclusively used an insulin to carbohydrate ratio for insulin bolus dosage calculation. The most common adjustment strategy (63.5%) for exercise was a combination of decreasing the insulin basal rate, disconnecting the pump, and/or eating extra carbohydrates. For the total cohort, the frequency of HBGM significantly increased on CSII therapy (4.31,4.85 tests/day, p =,0.02). Females did not have a significant change in HBGM frequency, while the youngest subjects had the highest HBGM frequency. Parental involvement and anxiety primarily stayed the same or decreased, regardless of the child's age (, 18 vs. > 18 yr) or metabolic control. Conclusions:, Analyses of the various characteristics identified only needle fearfulness as being predictive of poor metabolic control. Interestingly, poor control with CSII therapy did not result in a significant increase in parental involvement and/or anxiety. [source]


School,Based Early Intervention and Later Child Maltreatment in the Chicago Longitudinal Study

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2003
Arthur J. Reynolds
Investigated were the effects of participation in the Title I Child,Parent Centers (CPC) on substantiated reports of child maltreatment for 1,408 children (93% of whom are African American) in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. The CPCs provide child education and family support services in high,poverty areas. After adjusting for preprogram maltreatment and background factors, 913 preschool participants had significantly lower rates of court petitions of maltreatment by age 17 than 495 children of the same age who participated in alternative kindergarten interventions (5.0% vs. 10.5%, a 52% reduction). Participation for 4 to 6 years was significantly associated with lower rates of maltreatment (3.6% vs. 6.9%, a 33% reduction). Findings based on child protective service records (as well as combined protective service and court records) were similar. Preschool length, family risk, and school poverty were associated with lower rates of maltreatment. Parental involvement in school and school mobility were significant mediators of intervention effects. [source]


Developmental assessment of preterm infants at 2 years: validity of parent reports

DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2008
Samantha Johnson PhD CPsychol
Parental questionnaires are inexpensive alternatives to standardized testing for outcome measurement. The Parent Report of Children's Abilities has previously been revised (PARCA-R) and validated for use with very-preterm infants at 2 years of age. This study revalidated the PARCA-R for assessing cognition in a larger and more inclusive sample of preterm infants. One hundred and sixty-four children (82 males, 82 females) of <32 weeks' gestation (median 29wks, interquartile range [IQR] 28-30wks); and median birthweight 1200g (IQR 925-1463g) were evaluated using the Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development - 2nd edition (BSID-II) at 2 years' corrected age. Parents completed the PARCA-R questionnaire. Significant correlations between PARCA-R Parent Report Composite (PRC) scores and MDI scores (r=0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69-0.82, p<0.01) demonstrated concurrent validity. A receiver operating characteristic-determined PRC cut-off of <44 had optimal discriminatory power (area under curve 0.92) for identifying MDI <70, with 85% sensitivity (95% CI 0.58-0.96), 87% specificity (95% CI 0.81-0.92), 98% negative predictive value (95% CI 0.95-1), and 37% positive predictive value (95% CI 0.22-0.54). The PARCA-R has good concurrent validity and diagnostic utility for identifying cognitive delay in very-preterm infants at 2 years of age. It is useful for outcome measurement, developmental screening, and facilitating parental involvement at folow-up. [source]


Adolescent Mothers' Perceptions of Fathers' Parental Involvement: Satisfaction and Desire for Involvement,

FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 3 2007
Melissa J. Herzog
Abstract: Grounded in family systems and ecological theories, this study examined teenage mothers' perceptions of fathers' parental involvement and the role of teenage mothers' gatekeeping beliefs. Fathers' involvement was perceived to be greater when teenage parents were romantically involved (n = 55). When they no longer shared a romantic relationship (n = 59), mothers' satisfaction with and desire for fathers' involvement (i.e., gatekeeping beliefs) mediated the association between mothers' perceptions of developmental and contextual factors and their perceptions of fathers' involvement. Overall, the proposed developmental-contextual model was not significant for romantically involved teenage parents. Findings underscore the need to account for and incorporate issues related to relationship status, grandparent support, historical support, and maternal gatekeeping beliefs when developing programs for adolescent parents. [source]


What is the perceived nature of parental care and support for young people with cystic fibrosis as they enter adult health services?

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 1 2010
Nicola Iles RN MSc
Abstract The majority of those diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) now live to adulthood. In response to increased survival age, transition services have been developed to ensure smooth transfer from paediatric to adult specialist healthcare, although the majority of treatment and care continues to be delivered in the home. However, little is known about how young adults and staff conceptualise the nature of the parental role after young people have left paediatric care. The aim of this study is to explore the nature of parental support that is perceived to be available at this time. As part of a larger study of transitional care, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 young people with CF aged 13,24 years (32 with experience of transition and/or adult CF services) and 23 specialist healthcare professionals (14 working in adult care) across two CF centres in Southeast England. Interviews took place in young people's homes or within CF services, using a topic guide and were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Four domains of perceived parental support were identified by the young people interviewed, with varying degrees of continuity into adult care: (1) Providing non-clinical practical and emotional support; (2) Acting as ,troubleshooters' in times of health-related crisis; (3) Working in partnership with offspring in ongoing disease management in the home and clinic; (4) Acting as ,protectors' of their children. Young people and service staff expressed tensions in managing parental involvement in post-paediatric consultations and the degree to which parents should be aware of their offspring's deteriorating health and social concerns. Parental anxiety and over-involvement was perceived by many young people and staff as unsupportive. We suggest that although health and social care providers are mindful of the tensions that arise for those leaving paediatric services, the place of parental support in adult care is currently contentious for these ,new' ageing populations. [source]


Parenting Was for Life, Not Just for Childhood: The Role of Parents in the Married Lives of their Children in Early Modern England

HISTORY, Issue 283 2001
Elizabeth Foyster
Marriage is a false dividing line to impose on our understanding of childhood, adulthood and parenting in the past. In early modern England neither the dependency which has been associated with childhood, nor the supervision of parents in the lives of their children, ceased with wedding bells. An examination of the parent-child bond beyond marriage within the middle and upper ranks can provide new and important insights into the intergenerational relationships of the early modern past. While parents could contribute to the smooth running of their children's marriages, they could also have a role as instigators of, commentators upon, and arbitrators of the discord which could result in their children's marriages. Motives for parental involvement could be complex, but parents could share in both the sorrows and the joys of their children's marriages. The emotional and financial repercussions of marriage breakdown could have painful effects for parents as well as for the married couple. [source]


Shared minds: Effects of a mother's imitation of her child on the mother,child interaction,

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009
Wakako Sanefuji
Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have impaired social interaction right from early development. Previous studies (Dawson & Adams, 1984; Tiegerman & Primavera, 1981, 1984) have suggested that imitating children with ASD is effective in facilitating their social behaviors. The present case report, through a 6-month intervention, investigated how a home-based intervention of helping a mother imitate her 21-month-old child with ASD impacted the child's development of social communication outside the experimental settings. Our results show that the mother's imitation of her child might be associated with the development of nonverbal joint attention skills. Positive changes in the mother's emotion towards her child and the mother,child interaction also were noted and represent other important effects of parental involvement in therapeutic interventions for children with ASD. [source]


What can dropouts teach us about retention in eating disorder treatment studies?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 7 2007
Renee Rienecke Hoste PhD
Abstract Objective: To describe strategies used to retain adolescents with bulimia nervosa (BN) in a randomized clinical trial, and to compare treatment completers and dropouts on baseline demographic and symptom severity information. Method: Adolescents with BN (N = 80) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Eating Disorder Examination, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, and Beck Depression Inventory prior to beginning treatment. Results: Several strategies were used to promote treatment retention (e.g., encouraging parental involvement in treatment, prompt rescheduling of cancelled appointments). Six participants (7.50%) voluntarily dropped out of treatment and three additional participants (3.75%) were asked to terminate treatment for medical/psychiatric reasons. Compared with treatment completers, noncompleters reported significantly longer duration of illness (p < .01). Sixty-two percent of treatment completers and only 22% of dropouts were from intact families. Conclusion: Examining factors related to retention in adolescent treatment trials is important, and could be utilized to improve retention in adult studies where drop out rates are higher. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Healthcare Providers' Attitudes Toward Parent Participation in the Care of the Hospitalized Child

JOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN PEDIATRIC NURSING, Issue 3 2003
Susan Daneman BSN
ISSUES AND PURPOSE To examine healthcare providers' attitudes toward parent participation in the care of their hospitalized child. DESIGN AND METHODS In this descriptive, comparative study, 504 pediatric healthcare providers were surveyed to measure attitudes toward parent participation. RESULTS Results from 256 respondents indicated support for parent participation, but there was substantially less support for parental activities usually carried out by healthcare providers and those involving complex patient care tasks. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Although pediatric healthcare providers support parent participation, they tend to draw the line on what they believe are suitable parent activities. Newly developed pain standards and cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines incorporating parent participation have important implications for expanding the boundaries of parental involvement. [source]


Parental influences and social modelling of youth lottery participation

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2003
Jennifer R. Felsher
Abstract Objective The present study sought to investigate the relationship between perceived parental lottery involvement and the bearing this has upon youth lottery participation. Participants One thousand seventy(two youth, 10,18 years of age participated from 20 elementary and nine high schools throughout the province of Ontario, Canada. Measurements Measuring Youth Lottery Participation and Playing Behaviour Questionnaire and the DSM(IV(MR(J Revised to screen for youth pathological gambling. Findings Youth reported playing all forms of lottery tickets with 77% reporting that their parents purchase scratch tickets, lottery draws (50%), and sports tickets (23%) for them. Parental purchases of lottery tickets for their children increased by level of gambling severity. Participants with significant gambling problems perceived higher parental participation in the lottery compared to non(gamblers and social gamblers. The majority of participants reported that their parents were aware of their lottery involvement and were not afraid of getting caught purchasing lottery tickets in spite of legal prohibitions. Conclusion The results suggest youths' perception of parental involvement with the lottery plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of lottery participation for youth. Given that youth report receiving lottery tickets from their parents, it is clear that the lottery is perceived as an innocuous form of gambling. Public awareness programmes and education of this issue is critical. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Family Relationships and Adolescent Psychosocial Outcomes: Converging Findings From Eastern and Western Cultures

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 4 2004
Julia Dmitrieva
This study investigated the role of parent,adolescent relationships in mediating the association between family-related negative life events and adolescent depressive symptoms and problem behaviors among 1,696 eleventh graders from the United States (n=201), China (n=502), Korea (n=497), and Czech Republic (n=496). Results indicated that perceived parental involvement and parent,adolescent conflict mediated the link between family-related life events and adolescent depressed mood. The path from family-related life events to adolescent problem behaviors was mediated by perceived parental involvement, parent,adolescent conflict, and perceived parental sanctions of adolescent misconduct. With the exception of minor cross-cultural differences in the magnitude of associations among variables, this study revealed considerable similarity in the association of family factors with adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. The findings contribute to the growing literature on culture-general developmental processes. [source]


A School-Community Partnership for At-Risk Students in Pennsylvania

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2001
Beth McMahon
ABSTRACT: This four-year, school-community health improvement project addressed fragmentation and under-utilization of services of an at risk population in a county in central Pennsylvania. A population profile was developed that included demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral information as well as information related to liabilities and assets that affect resiliency and decrease or increase the likelihood of academic success. The profile was used in the planning and implementation of risk-reduction strategies that promote a healthy family and, in turn, a healthy community. More than 50 local, state, and national organizations as well as individuals volunteered or provided services at each school. The project produced a 22% increase in parental involvement in school activities; a 15% increase in parental involvement in educational sessions; a 22% increase in volunteers within the school; and a 75% decrease in truancy. (J Sch Health. 2001;71(2):53-55) [source]


Adolescent Obesity: Current Trends in Identification and Management

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 11 2004
M. Anette Hagarty RN
Purpose To discuss the prevalence, identification, and clinical manifestations of adolescent obesity for the advanced practice nurse in primary care. Data Sources Selected research and clinical articles. Conclusions Adolescent obesity has been historically attributed to inappropriate diet and exercise; however, recent research also attributes adolescent obesity to genetic factors and metabolic dysfunction. If left untreated, adolescent obesity may result in the metabolic complications of dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and early onset of type 2 diabetes. Implications for Practice Practitioners should focus on using the new body mass index (BMI) national guidelines for early identification of obesity. Essential to the management of this condition are education, parental involvement, behavior modification, and psychological support. [source]


Infant feeding in the neonatal unit

MATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 4 2010
Rhona J. McInnes
Abstract Infants admitted to a neonatal unit (NNU) are frequently unable to feed by breast or bottle because of ill health or prematurity. These infants require nutritional support until they can start oral feeding. Breastfeeding is advocated for these infants, and mothers are frequently encouraged to express breast milk to be fed via the enteral tube. However, by discharge, breastfeeding rates tend to be low. Oral feeding requires careful management, and although practices may vary because of clinical need, some may be informed by unit norms. There is limited evidence for effective breastfeeding support in this environment and little exploration of the effect of routine feeding decisions. This study aimed to explore feeding decisions and considered how these might affect outcomes. The staff in the two large urban NNUs who participated in the feeding decisions were interviewed and the data were analysed using a theoretical framework. Feeding decisions were made mainly by the unit staff, with limited parental involvement. Subsequent management varied, with differences being related to staff experience and beliefs, unit norms, parent's expectations and physical constraints within the unit. The staff were overtly supportive of breastfeeding, but the need to monitor and quantify milk intake may undermine breastfeeding. Furthermore, feeding breastfed infants during the mothers' absence was controversial and provoked debate. There is a need for clear guidelines and increased parental involvement in feeding decisions. Routine practices within the system may discourage mothers from initiating and persisting with breastfeeding. A change in unit culture is required to fully support the parent's feeding choices. [source]


Exploring the impact of parental involvement on student development

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 122 2008
Deborah J. Taub
This chapter considers the impact that parental involvement may have on the psychosocial development of college students. [source]


Life with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy: child and parental perspectives and predictors of metabolic control

PEDIATRIC DIABETES, Issue 2 2001
Aristides k Maniatis
Abstract: Objective:, The purpose of this study was twofold (i): to evaluate metabolic control in patients receiving CSII therapy in a routine pediatric diabetes clinic by describing reasons for initiating therapy and daily management issues, including needle fear; and (ii) to assess the change in parental involvement and anxiety once their child initiated CSII therapy. Research design and methods: The study included 52 subjects (aged 7.6,23.6 yr) from a general pediatric diabetes clinic. Management issues were defined as diet, exercise, home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM) frequency, and self/staff assessment of needle fear. Characteristics were analyzed both according to a 0.5% change in HbA1c status (decreased vs. stable vs. increased) compared with pre-CSII therapy, and final HbA1c achieved (, 8.1 vs. > 8.1%). Results: The primary recommendation source for CSII use was most often the physician/diabetes team (48.1%), followed by a combination of the former with a personal referral source (32.7%). The most common reason (71.2%) for CSII initiation was a combination of wanting to achieve better metabolic control, dislike of insulin injections, and/or increased flexibility in daily living. Over one-quarter (26.9%) of subjects were identified as being needle-fearful, and this characteristic was predictive of final metabolic control (3/25 subjects ,,8.1% vs. 11/27 subjects >,8.1%, p =,0.03). On CSII therapy, dietary carbohydrate consistency was highly variable, and most subjects (65.3%) exclusively used an insulin to carbohydrate ratio for insulin bolus dosage calculation. The most common adjustment strategy (63.5%) for exercise was a combination of decreasing the insulin basal rate, disconnecting the pump, and/or eating extra carbohydrates. For the total cohort, the frequency of HBGM significantly increased on CSII therapy (4.31,4.85 tests/day, p =,0.02). Females did not have a significant change in HBGM frequency, while the youngest subjects had the highest HBGM frequency. Parental involvement and anxiety primarily stayed the same or decreased, regardless of the child's age (, 18 vs. > 18 yr) or metabolic control. Conclusions:, Analyses of the various characteristics identified only needle fearfulness as being predictive of poor metabolic control. Interestingly, poor control with CSII therapy did not result in a significant increase in parental involvement and/or anxiety. [source]


Confidential Reproductive Health Services for Minors: The Potential Impact of Mandated Parental Involvement for Contraception

PERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 5 2004
Rachel K. Jones
CONTEXT: Recent legislative efforts to implement mandated parental involvement for minor adolescents seeking family planning services threaten the rights of adolescents younger than 18 to access reproductive health care. METHODS: State and federal laws and policies pertaining to minor adolescents' rights to access services for contraception and sexually transmitted diseases are reviewed, and research examining issues of parental involvement among adolescents using clinic-based reproductive health services is synthesized. RESULTS: Attempts to mandate parental involvement for reproductive health care often focus on contraceptive services and are typically linked to federal or state funding. Studies of teenagers using clinic-based family planning services suggest that slightly more than one-half would obtain contraceptives at family planning clinics even if parental notification were required. Mandated parental involvement for contraception would discourage few teenagers from having sex, but would likely result in more teenagers' using the least effective methods, such as withdrawal, or no method at all. Family planning clinics encourage teenagers to voluntarily talk to their parents, but relatively little information is available about the extent to which activities to promote parent-child communication have been adopted. CONCLUSIONS: Mandated parental involvement for teenagers seeking contraceptive care would likely contribute to increases in rates of teenage pregnancy. Research that will help clinics implement and improve efforts to encourage voluntary parental involvement is urgently needed. [source]


Relations of middle school students' perceptions of family and school contexts with academic achievement

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 6 2001
Gregory J. Marchant
The purposes of this study were to examine the relations of both family and school contexts on students' academic achievement and to explore the mediating effects of students' perceptions of their motivations and academic self-competence between the family and school contexts and achievement. Participants were 230 fifth- and sixth-grade students. Students' perceptions of parenting style (demandingness and responsiveness), parental involvement (parental values and involvement in school functions), teaching style (teacher control and responsiveness), and school atmosphere (school responsiveness and supportive social environment) significantly predicted their school achievement; however, students' motivations and self-competence mediated the relations between students' contexts and their academic achievement. Furthermore, parental values, teacher responsiveness, school responsiveness, and supportive social environment predicted students' motivations and academic competence above and beyond parenting style, parental involvement, and teacher control. The importance of students' supportive relationships and the internalization of the messages conveyed to them underscore the need for a contextual view by school psychologists when consulting with parents and education staff regarding achievement concerns. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]


Empowerment and State Education: Rights of Choice and Participation

THE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 6 2005
Neville Harris
Two separate discourses surround the involvement of parents in their children's education in schools. One is concerned with what is often referred to as ,parent power,' based on the conferment on parents of rights to a degree of choice and participation in respect of their children's education, a feature of legislative changes to the governance of state education that started with the Education Act 1980 and which, in part, rests on consumerist and liberal rights based notions. The other focuses on the home-school partnership ideal in which parents and schools have obligations to support each other in realising children's potential. Labour and Conservative 2005 general election campaigns included proposals to ,empower' parents. But social rights such as those in education, which are important to notions of citizenship, tend to be weak. This article concludes that over the past 25 years little power has been ceded to parents, individually or collectively, and that, in the case of rights of choice at least, any further empowerment seems unrealistic. Moreover, the principal mechanism of parental involvement, particularly since 1997, has been the enforcement of parental responsibility, a form of ,technology of citizenship'. The extent to which children hold participation and choice rights is also considered. [source]


Biliteracy and Schooling in an Extended-Family Nicaraguan Immigrant Household: The Sociohistorical Construction of Parental Involvement

ANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2007
Julia Menard-Warwick
Situating parental involvement in education within a sociohistorical context, this case study of a Nicaraguan immigrant household in California contrasts the perspectives of two sisters-inlaw who shared a home and whose daughters attended the same urban elementary school. Although the two women were involved in their daughters' schooling in different ways, the article illustrates how both women drew on a variety of personal, family, and community resources to support the girls' academic success. [source]


,I can see parents being reluctant': perceptions of parental involvement using child and family teams in schools

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2009
Jocelyn DeVance Taliaferro
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes beliefs, and perceptions of school and community personnel regarding parental involvement via the implementation of child and family team meetings. Interviews were conducted with 10 school and community personnel in a high school in a small county in the south-eastern region of the USA. Several themes emerged from the data, including the definition of parental involvement, parental work and life circumstances, and parental esteem and position within schools. Findings suggest that school and community personnel hold conflicting beliefs regarding parents' desire and ability to be involved in their children's schooling. Recommendations for social work practitioners' implementation of child and family team meetings in the school context are provided. [source]


The implications of US experiences with early childhood interventions for the UK Sure Start Programme

CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2007
R. Gray
Abstract Background, The UK Government introduced a large-scale early childhood intervention programme, Sure Start, in 1999. Sure Start is to be further expanded, to achieve national coverage. US experience is highly relevant for anticipating challenges that this expansion will raise. Methods, This is a focused, narrative review. We examine the impact, funding, quality-improvement and programme objectives of Head Start and Early Head Start programmes. Results, (1) Early childhood interventions can make a significant difference to children's life chances; (2) expansion without adequate funding threatens quality; (3) narrower objectives, which are easier to measure, can crowd out broader objectives, which are difficult to measure; (4) programmes must balance fidelity to the model and flexibility to local conditions; (5) multiple objectives may conflict; and (6) programmes may have differential impacts. We consider the implications of these findings for Sure Start, focusing on funding, quality control and parental involvement. We also consider that the potential Sure Start should offer for tackling health inequalities in early childhood and suggest ways in which this aspect of the Programme could be enhanced. Conclusion, Head Start has been dogged by concerns about quality and effectiveness. Many of these problems stemmed from an over-hasty expansion, which locked the Programme into inadequate funding and uneven project- and staff-quality. These issues have been addressed through large funding increases and more rigorous performance measures. Nevertheless, concerns about the aims of the Programme and the extent of parental involvement in management remain. Current funding for Sure Start appears to be adequate, while systematic evaluation procedures have been built in from its inception. Concerns have been raised about the implications of expansion for funding, quality and for parental involvement in management of local programmes. US experience shows that these are centrally important issues and that, if they are not addressed early on, they can take many years to rectify. [source]