Parents’ Involvement in their Children’s Education: The Value of Parental Perceptions in Public Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gather data from public school parents that would contribute to the understanding of parental involvement with school choice for their children and of parental involvement with educational organizations. We employed a case study approach as the methodological basis for eliciting 22 multi-racial parents perceptions’ about school climate and their child’s school choice. Our comprehensive in-depth semi-structured interviews, field notes, observations, and documents data collection process incorporated feedback from potential respondents from the outset of the design process to enhance data quality. Verbatim transcripts and documents were analyzed using a content and thematic analysis approach. Four over-arching themes were identified; (i) factors that parents value in schools, (ii) concerns about other school choices, (iii) the features and programs that appeal to parents, and (iv) parental perceptions of the chosen school. The findings of this study revealed that parents choose schools for their children for the following reasons. The children were better served, the programs and features offered by schools appealed to most participants, the schools had strong academic programs, a proper school climate and culture were present, the setting embraced diversity and multicultural atmospheres, a safe and secure place was present, and instruction was focused on a small and caring environment.