Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1987

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

Raymond P. Lorion

Committee Members

Robert F. Kronick, Richard Saudergas, Robert G. Wahler, J. Albert Wiberly

Abstract

This study had two objectives. First, it indicated the need for a systematic approach to investigating parent-school relationships (PSRs) by a) identifying the "PSR Domain" as one of several key domains in educational research, b) describing a systematic empirical approach to studying the PSR infra-structure and investigating the impact of PSRs upon other educational domains, and c) examining the historical, conceptual and scientific roots of PSRs.

The second objective was to apply this PSR framework in field research by a) examining whether any home-based variables could be used to identify communicatively at-risk parents at kindergarten entry, and b) determining the relative influence of parents' perceptions of home-school communications upon classroom academic and social adjustments at the end of the kindergarten year.

Extensive questionnaires were completed by the parents and teachers of a socio-economically stratified sample of 297 kindergarten pupils in a medium-sized city at the beginning and end of a single kindergarten year. Data were collected in three areas: 1) parent perceptions of home-school communications, 2) family status and family risk variables (e.g. pupil gestation, family size, educational attitudes), and 3) pupil performance.

Results indicated that home-based predictors, such as parent attitudes toward schools and mothers' educational attainments, accounted for significant proportions of variance in parents' home-school communication predispositions at kindergarten entry, and that different aspects of home-school communication were associated with different predictor variables. Results indicated further that home-school communication variables .op influenced social more than academic adjustment, and that changes in parent perceptions of home-school communications during the school year were as important as beginning-of-year perceptions in predicting pupil performance.

These findings suggest that parents' home-school communication expectations do not derive solely from school inputs, and that communicatively at-risk parents could be identified at kindergarten entry and targeted for specific family-focused communication initiatives to be delineated in future research. The impact of such a proactive communication strategy upon children's social support systems was discussed. Also, since changes in parents' communication perceptions impacted pupil outcomes, appropriate school efforts to improve parent-school relationships should be considered worthwhile.

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