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16 J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 17 (1989)
Low-Income Parents' Attitudes toward Parent Involvement in Education

handle is hein.journals/jrlsasw16 and id is 411 raw text is: Low-Income Parents' Attitudes
toward Parent Involvement in Education*
NANCY FEYL CHAVKIN
Southwest Texas State University
Richter Institute of Social Work
DAVID L. WILLIAMS, JR.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin, Texas
Using data from 978 parents who indicated their family income level
on a descriptive survey about attitudes toward parent involvement in
education, this article reports on comparisons among low-income, mid-
dle-income, and high-income parents. Despite some differences among
the groups, the results clearly dispute any idea that low-income parents
lack interest in their children's education. The authors provide recom-
mendations of key strategies that social workers can use to facilitate
effective involvement of low-income parents in their children's education.
Recent research has made an overwhelming case for parent
involvement in children's education. The evidence that parent
involvement improves student achievement is now incontrov-
ertible; numerous studies point to parent involvement as a key
determinant of children's success in school (Bloom, 1985; Clark,
1983; Dombusch and Ritter, 1988; Henderson, 1987; Kagan, 1984).
In fact, in an overview of 29 controlled studies, Walbert
(1984) found the 'alterable curriculum of the home' is twice as
predictive of academic learning as is family socioeconomic sta-
tus. Although the average effect was twice as predictive as so-
cioeconomic status, some parent involvement programs had
effects 10 times as large.
Organized efforts to involve low-income parents in their
*This study was supported by grant NIE-400-83-0007 from the National In-
stitute of Education (NIE), Department of Education. The opinions expressed
do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the NIE, and no official
endorsement by the Institute should be inferred.

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