Mapping Parental Involvement and Engagement: A Text Network Analysis of U.S. School District Handbooks

• In Event: Investment, Inputs and Hoarding: The Role of Parents and Families on Status and Achievement

Abstract

Prior research on parental involvement often overlooks the institutional frameworks shaping it. This study maps the institutional scripts embedded in U.S. public school district parental handbooks. Drawing on organizational theory, we treat handbooks as artifacts that mediate isomorphic pressures and local adaptation. A semantic network analysis of tables of contents from a national subsample of K-12 district handbooks yields a 762-node network that clusters policy themes into governance, procedural compliance, student protections, and logistical supports. Results reveal shared core modules alongside state-specific framings. For example, California situates sexual harassment within equity discourses, whereas Wisconsin folds it into routine operations. Findings illuminate how engagement policies are bureaucratized and highlight implications for equity and future qualitative inquiry.

Authors

• Angran Li, New York University - Shanghai

• Zixi Chen, NYU Shanghai

• Jiuyu Chen, Columbia University