In 1980, Phi Delta Kappa released a landmark report that revealed that parental representation served as a significant factor in obtaining positive outcomes in urban schools. Urban schools are the houses of education for 43% of the minority population.
Children who live in urban areas are more likely to attend schools with high concentrations of students from poor families. School’s districts have struggled with limited success to meet the needs of urban students particularly poor minority children with special needs.
Yet, since the Phi Delta Kappa report, other researchers have also reported that children whose parents are involved in their schooling can significantly increase their academic achievement and cognitive development (Turnbull & Turnbull, 1997). Additionally, parental school involvement can positively impact parent-child relationships through the parents’ participation in their child’s activities (Hollifield, 1995).
Student behavior is also positively affected when parents are involved. A study conducted by Nweze (1993) revealed that students’ appropriate school behavior increased when parents were involved in the discipline process, were made aware of their roles in the educational process, and were encouraged to participate in their child’s educational process.
Frazier (1997) also found a significant inverse correlation between parent involvement and suspension levels-namely, when the level of parental involvement increased, the number of student suspensions decreased. This is particularly important for African American students who are more likely to be suspended, expelled, or placed in serious emotionally disturbances special education classrooms than any other ethnic group (Russo & Talbert-Johnson, 1997).
