Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1999

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Education

Major Professor

Russell L. French

Committee Members

Don Dickinson, John Ray, Ed Roeske

Abstract

Radio was used to increase parental involvement in the education of their children. The purpose of this study was to test the level of interest and action exhibited by parents when presented with parenting tips via local radio. Topics for the radio program resulted from a review of the literature. A different segment was broadcast daily for six weeks. Each segment contained one or two specific suggestions made to parents on ways to become involved with their children's learning experience. A random sample of 63 students was chosen from three grade levels (kindergarten, second and fourth grades) at one elementary school. The school had an enrollment of 287 and was located in a rural Appalachian county in Tennessee. To promote the program, flyers and bulletins were sent home to parents via students, and a 30-second promotion tape was broadcast twice daily. Two methods of data collection were used, telephone interviews with students' parents who listened and survey of teachers of the students whose parents listened. Twenty-five percent of parents interviewed (16 of 63) reported listening to part(s) of the radio program. Of the listening parents, 87.5 percent (14 of the 16 who listened) reported trying one or more of the suggestions offered. All parents (100%) who tried suggestions reported observing positive changes in their children's behavior. A combined total of 41 suggestions were tried, and positive changes in children's behavior were reported by parents for all suggestion tried. A survey of teachers of the students whose parents listened revealed that teachers also observed changes in the students' behavior. Over eighty-seven percent (87.5%) of teachers reported observing positive changes in students' behavior that were similar to the changes observed by parents. Of the 14 students whose teachers were surveyed, teachers reported observing positive behavioral changes for 13 of the 14. More kindergartners' parents listened and took action than did parents of second or fourth graders. Kindergartners' parents made up 43.8 percent of the listening group and 42.9 percent of the group that took action. Not only did parents report positive changes in their children's behavior, several parents reported that they also had experienced a positive change in behavior. Parents expressed a preference of topics. The topic most frequently listened to was "Discipline." Parents of students in the sample group listened to a combined total of 29 "Discipline segments" and tried 17 of the suggestions offered. The radio program was broadcast at 9:20 a.m. resulting in 27 (S=63) of the non-listening parents reporting that they were at work and could not listen. Contains 230 references.

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