The Parent Perspective Of Parental Involvement, Academic Achievement, And Latino Fathers In An Urban School

Author

Sonji L. Sayles, Prairie View A&M University

Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Discipline

Education Leadership

Abstract

In the past 50 years, a significant body of literature has confirmed the importance of parental involvement in children’s education (Gugiu et al., 2018). However, despite its significance, parental involvement is not robust in many school communities (Lawson et al., 2018). According to traditional definitions of parental involvement, parents of color tend to be less involved in their child’s school (Joseph et al., 2016). Although the literature on parental involvement and communities of color has increased, most research involves mothers. What is often overlooked is the role that fathers have in supporting their children.

The population for this study consisted of Latino fathers with more than one child in school and who had at least one child attending the school for at least two years. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select the participants. Using Epstein’s (2016) framework of parental involvement, the guiding research question was: How do Latino fathers of elementary aged students understand and make meaning of their parental involvement? Additional questions were:

(a) How do Latino fathers of elementary aged students make meaning of their culture in relation to parental involvement?

(b) How does Epstein’s (1981) model of parental involvement illuminate the role of Latino fathers in their child’s academic career?

The findings revealed three themes: Importance of Education, Value of Hard Work, and Latino Fathers and the School System. The data suggests that Latino fathers are involved in the education of their children in ways not captured by traditional definitions.

Keywords: parental involvement, Latino fathers and parental involvement, Latino families and parental involvement

Committee Chair/Advisor

Pamela Barber-Freeman

Committee Co-Chair:

Patricia Hoffman-Miller

Committee Member

William Parker

Committee Member

Lawrence Brandyburg

Publisher

Prairie View A&M University

Rights

Date of Digitization

6/05/2023

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Sayles, S. L. (2023). The Parent Perspective Of Parental Involvement, Academic Achievement, And Latino Fathers In An Urban School. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-dissertations/13