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Examining a Brief Measure of Parent Involvement in Children’s Education

  • Special Topic: School Psychologists Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Children & Youth — Part II
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Abstract

The current study is a preliminary investigation of the psychometric properties of a brief seven-item Parent Involvement Survey (PIS) as developed by the researcher, that could potentially be used in schools. In an effort to test for construct validity, the relation of the PIS to elementary-aged students’ receptive vocabulary skills and four familial factors (family functioning and resiliency, social support, concrete support, and nurturing and attachment) was examined. The sample included 182 parents that completed the PIS, which was available in English and Spanish. Approximately 60% of the parents completed the Spanish version and 40% completed the English version. Additionally, there were 102 preschool and kindergarten children whose receptive vocabulary was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (PPVT-4). A series of exploratory factor analyses on the PIS indicated a one-factor solution with five items to be the best model fit for the observed data. The final, five-item PIS assessed parents’ current levels of values, school-, and home-based involvement in their children’s education. Bivariate correlations indicated that three familial factors were significantly related to the PIS, and parent involvement was significantly related to student receptive vocabulary scores on the PPVT-4. The findings of this study provide preliminary evidence supporting the psychometric properties of the PIS and its relation with academic outcomes and familial factors. Implications are discussed regarding how school psychologists can use this brief parent involvement measure in practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, Bldg. 275, Room 2102, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-9490, USA

    Won-Fong K. Lau

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Correspondence to Won-Fong K. Lau.

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Lau, WF.K. Examining a Brief Measure of Parent Involvement in Children’s Education. Contemp School Psychol 17, 11–21 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340985

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