ERIC Number: ED322643
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1990-Apr
Pages: 30
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Assessing Parents' Attitudes Toward School Effectiveness.
Melnick, Steven A.; Fiene, Richard
The relationships among parents' attitudes about school effectiveness, parent involvement, and student achievement is investigated in this study. The Parent Attitudes Toward School Effectiveness (PATSE) was administered to 4,979 parents of children in grades K4 through 5 in an urban school district, yielding a response rate of 67 percent, or a final sample of 3,328 parents. Iowa achievement test scores of a random sample of 250 children in grades 1-5 were then matched with their parents' survey responses that had been classified according to level of involvement and attitudes about school effectiveness. Findings indicate that involving parents in substantive ways in their children's schooling has a significant impact on parents' attitudes toward the school. A second finding demonstrates a direct relationship between parents' attitudes toward the school and student achievement. Although not a causal relationship, findings demonstrate that increased parent involvement not only contributes to positive school perceptions, but is also related to improved academic performance. Recommendations are made for revision of the survey instrument. A copy of the survey instrument and statistical tables are included. (13 references) (LMI)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Boston, MA, April 16-20, 1990). Portions of the appendix contain small print which may reproduce poorly.