Parents' Approaches to Parental Engagement in Adolescence

• In Event: 65.081 - Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: 65.081-5 - Division E: Human Development Session 2

Abstract

Previous research established the academic and developmental effects of parental involvement at all levels of education, however parents are challenged to adjust the nature of their involvement as children enter adolescence. To understand how parents cope with this difficult task, we conducted a grounded theory study focusing on parents' approaches to parental involvement in their children's education at the high school level. Based on analysis of interviews with 18 parents of adolescents from a successful urban high school with a diverse student body, our results show that parents engage in various—sometimes inconsistent—kinds of involvement and that their approaches to involvement do not show a clear pattern. These findings have implications for adolescent development and for future research.

Authors

• Sebnem Cilesiz, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Katie Gaebel, Oregon State University