Families and Schools

Abstract

This study examined European American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American parental involvement and their children’s high school completion. An examination of how different family structures have an influence on a student’s education was conducted. This study used the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) of 1988 and utilized a hierarchical linear model (HLM) for the statistical analysis. Social capital theory and a family ecological approach were used as the theoretical foundations. The findings demonstrated that different types of parental involvement were importantin a student’s highschool completion, dependingon ethnicity. Schoolinvolvement was not significant in influencingthe level of parental involvement and the relation to high school completion. Future research should focus on understandingthe ways in which a stronger relationshipbetween families and educational systems could be developed.