Parental involvement: beyond demographics

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss the definition and the parameters of parental involvement. It looks at the psychological aspect of the term (i.e. from the point of view of the individual parent) while it recognizes the importance of the sociological factors that contribute to its development (the teachers’ resistance, the school climate, the societal demands and expectations). The paper tries to answer questions such as: what is involvement, who gets involved and why, how can involvement be encouraged? The main argument of this paper, based on empirical evidence, is that demographic characteristics (gender, educational level, socio-economic status) could facilitate or hinder involvement, but they are not the only ones. Beliefs and attitudes could also play either role. This is hopeful because, unlike demographics, beliefs are changeable. Intervention programs that aim at the strengthening of parental involvement could take advantage of existing knowledge on attitude change.