Nancy E. Hill and Lorraine C. Taylor

Nancy E. Hill and Lorraine C. Taylor
January 1, 2004

According to Hill and Taylor (2004), parental school involvement promotes achievement by increasing social capital and social control. Social capital increases when "parental school involvement increases parents’ skills and information, which makes them better equipped to assist their children in their school-related activities" (p.162). By establishing relationships with school personnel, parents learn: (1) important information about the school’s expectations for behaviour and homework; (2) how to help with homework and (3) how to augment children’s learning at home. On the other hand, the Social Control "occurs when families and schools work together to build a consensus about appropriate behavior that can be effectively communicated to children at both home and school" (McNeal, 1999, cited in Hill and Taylor, 2004, p. 162). The factors that influence parental involvement are also explored including parents’ own experiences as students.

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Nancy E. Hill and Lorraine C. Taylor
August 1, 2004

Developing collaborations between families and schools to promote academic success has a long-standing basis in research and is the focus of numerous programs and policies. We outline some of the mechanisms through which parental school involvement affects achievement and identify how patterns and amounts of involvement vary across cultural, economic,and community contexts and across developmental levels. We propose next steps for research, focusing on the importance of considering students’ developmental stages, the context in which involvement takes place, and the multiple perspectives through which involvement may be assessed. Finally, we discuss enhancing involvement in diverse situations.

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