This paper examines the motivational factors that influence parents' decisions to become involved in the children's education by testing the first level of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model of the parental involvement process. It suggests that the following constructs are key to understanding parents' involvement decisions: (1) parental role construction frames what parents believe they are supposed to do with respect to their children's education; (2) parents' sense of efficacy for helping the child succeed in school defines how effective parents believe they can be in influencing their child's educational outcomes; and (3) parents' perceptions of general invitations, opportunities, and demands for involvement from the school shape parents' beliefs about the school's expectations for their involvement. The study tests the utility of these constructs in predicting parents' involvement activities. The results provide empirical confirmation of the theoretical prediction that role construction, efficacy, and perception of teacher invitations influence parents' involvement decisions. Post hoc analyses suggested that parental role construction appears to be a mechanism through which efficacy influences parent involvement activities. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications for improving parent-school partnerships. (Contains 2 figures, 2 tables, and 48 references.) (JDM)