improving parent involvement in secondary schools through ... · technology has given parents and...

JournalofLiteracyandTechnology 30Volume13,Number1:February2012ISSN:1535‐0975

Improving Parent Involvement in Secondary Schools through Communication

Technology

LauraBardroffZieger,Ed.D.

AssociateProfessorofEducationalTechnology

NewJerseyCityUniversity

JenniferTan,M.A.

PhysicsTeacher

CherryHillHighSchoolWest


Abstract

Parentalinvolvementcanhaveatremendouseffectontheacademicachievementof

students.Technologyhasgivenparentsandteacherstheopportunitytoexplorenewways

ofcommunicating.Newtechnologieshavethepowertoimprovetheparent‐teacher

relationshipbyprovidingeasy,efficient,andeffectivemethodsoftransferringinformation.

Parentsthatknowwhatisgoingonintheclassroomcanmoreeffectivelysupporttheir

childreninlearningandachievinginallaspectsoftheireducation.Specifically,overthe

pastfewyears,onlinegradebookshavebecomewidelyusedinmanyschooldistricts,giving

parentsandstudents24‐houraccesstotheirgradesandinformationaboutupcoming

assignments.Theresultsofthisstudyfoundthatifgivenaccesstoinformationthroughan

onlinegradebook,mostparentswillusetheopportunitytocommunicatetotheirchildren

abouttheirgradesandinmanycases,willpromptcommunicationwithateacheraswell.

Nearlyallparentssurveyedhadusedtheonlinegradebookandmostparentsusedthe

onlinegradebooksystematleastweekly.Simplyhavingaccesstoandusinganonline

gradebookchangedthenatureandfrequencyofcommunicationbetweenparentsand

teachers.


Parental involvement can have a tremendous effect on the academic achievement of

students. The importance of communication between parents and teachers has been studied and

stressed for many years as shown by research conducted decades ago by Bronfenbrenner (1979).

Bronfenbrenner found that as schools have become larger and further away from neighborhoods

where the students are living, they have become “alien” to the students and parents. Teachers in

schools are also often well-educated and do not live in the communities that they work,

increasing the need for meaningful and frequent communication. He states that:

Theschoolhasbecome,overthepasttwodecades,oneofthemostpotent

breedinggroundsofalienationinAmericansociety.Inmyview,itisthe

alienationthatunderliestheprogressivedeclineinachievementtestscores

thathasbeenrecordedoverthepastdozenyearsbothforthecollegebound

andforthegeneralpopulationofstudentsattheelementaryandsecondary

levels.(p.848)

FanandChen(2001)foundacorrelationof30%whenstudyingthelinkbetween

parentalinvolvementandacademicachievement.Epstein(2008)foundsimilarresultsthat

showed“morestudentsearnhighergradesinEnglishandmath,improvetheirreadingand

writingskills,completemorecoursecredits,sethigheraspirations,havebetterattendance,

cometoclassmorepreparedtolearn,andhavefewerbehaviorproblems…”whenparents

areinvolved(p.10).Ferrara(2009)foundthatthemostoftenreasonforlackofparental

involvementwas“parents’workschedulesorothereventspreventedparentsfrom

participating”(p.134).

Unfortunately,communicationinitiatedbyteachersusuallyoccursonlywhenthe

teacherfeelsthereisadifficultywithastudent.Blackerby(2005)foundthatteacherswill


findthetimetocommunicatewithparentsofstudentsthathaveanacademicorbehavior

planinplace,buttherestoftheparentsareoftennotcontactedandwithoutaschool‐wide

plantoreachtheseparents,“schoolsmayunintentionallyisolatethestudents’parents”(p.

6).Ferrera(2009)discussedsimilarideasinherstudythatparentstendedtobereluctant

tocallschools,butwouldcall“moreofteniftheirchildrenwereintroubleoffailingtheir

subjects”(p.133).

Technologyhasgivenparentsandteacherstheopportunitytoexplorenewwaysof

communicating.Newtechnologieshavethepowertobettertheparent‐teacher

relationshipbyprovidingeasy,efficient,andeffectivemethodsoftransferringinformation

(Lunts,2003).Parentsthatknowwhatisgoingonintheclassroomcanmoreeffectively

supporttheirchildreninlearningandachievinginallaspectsoftheireducation.

Themajorityofthecommunicationthatteachersandparentstypicallyengageinis

purelyinformational,suchasthereportingofgradesorattendance.Traditionallyteachers

providefourmarkingperiodgradesperyeartoparents;occasionallyaninterimisalso

providedatahalfwaypointineachmarkingperiod.Currentmethodsofprintingpaper

copiesandmailingeachhome(orsendingitwiththestudentandhopingthatitreaches

parents)isbothexpensiveanduntimelybecauseoncetheinformationreachesaparent,it

iscommonlytwoweeksoldandnolongerrelevant.Overthepastfewyears,online

gradebookshavebecomewidelyusedinmanyschooldistricts,givingparentsandstudents

24‐houraccesstotheirgradesandinformationaboutupcomingassignments.Parentsare

nolongerleftinthedarkabouttheirstudents’grades,onlytobesurprisedeighttimesa

yearwheninterimsandreportcardsaresenthome.


Digital Communication

Onlinegradebookshaveavarietyoffeaturesdependingonthesystem,butall

systemsallowteacherstocreateassignmentsthathavedistinctdatesforwhenan

assignmentwasassignedanddue.Theinformationthattheteacherinputsistransmitted

totheparentandstudentsogradescanbeseeninrealtime,eliminatingthedelayin

informationthatapaperreportcardcansometimeshave.Beverlypointsoutthat“paper

reportcardstakeaweekto10‐daystoprocessandmail…andreportcards[can]

mysteriously‘disappear’inthemail”(2003,p.16).Theonlinegradebooksystemalso

allowsforeasyandaccuratecalculationswithinthesystemthatteachersdonothavetoset

upontheirown.Thesoftwareprovidesoptionsforcalculatingwithpoints,percentages,or

acombinationofboth.

Parentsandstudentscaneasilytrackandinterprettheinformationinagradebook.

Forexample,theycanseeifastudentinaclassisdoingpoorlybecauseheorshedoesnot

completehomeworkorbecauseheorshestruggleswithassessments.Thesetwo

situationscouldamounttothesamepoorgradebutwouldrequirecompletelydifferent

strategiesforobtaininganimprovedgrade.Beingabletoseetheactualgradebookwith

differentassignmentsandgradesallowsforclarityforbothstudentsandparents;aletter

gradeattheendofamarkingperiodgiveslittleinformation,withvirtuallynowayto

improvethegradeonceithasbeenrecorded.

Whileonlinegradebooksprovideasubstantialamountofpreviouslyunavailable

insightintotheclassroomforparents,gradesinagradebookaresimplyanumerical

representationofthestudent.Whilethereareoptionsinthegradebookforadding

commentsforeachassignment,muchmoreinformationaboutthestudentshouldbe


communicatedtotheparents.Furthermore,anonlinegradebookisonlyaone‐way

communicationtoolwhereallinformationisprovidedbytheteacherandparentscanonly

receivethisinformationandinterpretitontheirown.Beverly(2003)stressesthatparents

shouldnotuseanonlinegradebooktospyontheirchildren,butrather,shoulduseitto

opencommunicationwithchildrenaboutwhathappensinschool.

Theoptionforcommunicationfromschooltohomeisemail,andconveniently,

emailhasbecomeaubiquitouspartofnearlyeveryone’sliveswherevirtuallyeveryonehas

anemailaddressorcancreateoneforfree.Emailcanopenupthetwo‐wayconversation

betweenparentsandteachersthatneedstooccurformanystudentstosucceed.Teachers

canuseemailinavarietyofwaysthatrangefromgeneralgroupemailsthatsimplyinform

theparentsaboutgeneralactivitiesintheclassroomtopersonalemailsaboutaspecific

studentonaweeklybasis.Nearlyallschooldistrictsprovideemailaddressesforteachers

tobeusedprofessionallysothatteachersdonotneedtouseapersonalemailaddressand

theemailaddresscanbepostedonaschoolwebsitetobeeasilyfound.DavenportandEib

(2004)pointoutthatemailscanbetranslatedintovirtuallyanylanguagethroughthe

internetforstudentsandparentsthatareEnglishlanguagelearnerstoreachagroupthatis

mostoftenleftoutofschooltohomecommunication.

Anotherbenefittoemailisitsasynchronousnaturewhichallowsforparentsand

teacherstocommunicatewithouthavingtobeavailableatthesametime.Parentsand

teacherscanoftenmisseachothers’telephonecallsforseveraldaysbeforegettinga

chancetotalktoeachother,whichcanbecomeuselesswithtime‐sensitiveinformation.

Bothparentsandteacherscanbecomefrustratedandgiveuponcommunicating.Lunts

saysthatemailcanbeasolutiontothisproblem:


Wellorganized,emailmessagessentbytheschoolorateachercanreacha

vastnumberofparents.Parentscanalsorespondataconvenienttime,not

necessarilywhentheschooloperates.Ifparentsfindthattheirmessagesare

readandrespondedtoinatimelymanner,theymightchoosetousethistype

ofcommunicationmorefrequently.(2003,p.4)

Thompson(2008)studiedthecharacteristicsofemailsbetweenparentsand

teachersincludingcommontopicsandthefrequencyofemails.Themostcommontopic,by

far,wasgradesandhowstudentscouldimprove.Thompsonexplains,“Parentsand

teachersindicatedthatemailsworkedmosteffectivelytocommunicateaboutgrades

becausethemessagesinvolvedsimple,concreteinformation”(2008,p.208).Atopic

discussedrelativelylesswasthebehaviorofstudentsandThompsonfoundthat“teachers

wereextremelyhesitanttouseemailtocommunicateaboutstudentbehaviorbecauseof

thesensitiveandsometimescomplexnatureofthiscommunication”(2008,p209).Minor

infractionswereoftenreportedinemailsuchasusingacellphoneduringclasswhichis

againsttheschoolrules,butformoreseriousissuesbothparentsandteacherspreferred

oralcommunication“tobetterregularthetoneofthediscussionandtoelaborateonmore

complexissues”(2008,pg209).Thebiggestexceptiontothisiswhenabehaviorissueshas

alreadybeendiscussedorallyandemailisusedtosimplyfollowuponongoingbehavior.

Unfortunately,therearealsomanycomplaintsaboutemailasaformof

communication.Theasynchronousnatureofemailcanbebothitsbestandworstquality

becausesomeconversationsaboutstudentssimplyneedquickinteractionandfeedback

thatcanonlybefoundinasynchronousconversation.Lunts(2003)providesasolutionto

thisproblemthatbothsolvestheproblemoftheasynchronicityofemailandthedifficultly


ofhavingparentsandteachersinthesameplaceatthesametimetohaveafacetoface

discussion.Shesuggeststheuseofchatroomsthroughaschool/classroomwebsitewhich

alsoallowsadiscussionof“many‐to‐many”atdesignatedtimesduringamonth.

Evenwithasynchronousformofcommunicationlikechatrooms,thereisstill

communicationthatcanbelostwhentheconversationisnotfacetoface.Whenthe

internetwasfirstbecomingpopularasaformofcommunicationWilkinsonandBuboltz

(1998)foundthatsocialcuesthatwerenormalpartsofface‐to‐facecommunicationsuchas

facialexpressions,gestures,andtoneofvoice,werenotabletobeconveyedthroughemail

andotherelectronicmedia.

Parental Involvement

RogersandWright(2008)foundthatthemainreasonsthatparentsdidnotuse

technologytocommunicatewithschoolswasthattheyeitherdidnothavethetechnology

athomeortheydidnothavetheskillsneededtousethetechnologytocommunicate.

Whiletherearemanyprogramsinplacetohelpputcomputersandappropriatetraining

intoschools,withoutthesameprogramstohelpparentsandfamiliesathome,technology‐

basedcommunicationwillneverbeabletoexpandandbecomeeffective.AsRogersand

Wrightpointout,“technologyhasbeenheraldedasatoolthatcanprovidenewavenuesfor

communication,butstudiesshowthatparentsandteachersarenotembracingthem”

(2008,p.4‐5).

Emailoronlinegradebooksprovideinstantfeedbacktoparentsif,andonlyif,both

teachersandparentsareproactiveintheirusageofthesetechnologies.Accordingtothe

U.S.CensusBureau(2009),76.7%ofhouseholdshaveaccesstointernetasofOctober

2009,ascomparedtoonly41.5%in2000.Furthermore,WellsandLewis(2006)found


that94%ofpublicschoolshadinternetaccessin2005aftersteadyincreasesoverthepast

tenyears.Themajorityofbothteachersandparentsareabletopartakeinsomeformof

computer‐mediatedcommunication(CMC)ifonlytoreceivethesameinformationthey

wouldhaveinatraditionalway,withasubstantiallylowercostandmoretimeliness.

AccordingtoresearchconductedbyRogersandWright(2008),parentsand

teacherssometimesfeltthattheothershouldbedoingmoretoopenthelinesof

communicationandthatthey,themselveswerereachingouttotheother.Thisapparent

disconnectcouldcomefromthefactthatteachersstronglyprefertouseemailfor

communicationwhileparentspreferaphonecall,newsletter,ornote.

AndersonandMinke(2007)conductedastudytoanalyzethenatureofparents’

involvementintheirchildren’seducation.Theycategorizedinvolvementintotwo

categories:involvementathome,suchashelpingwithhomework,orinvolvementat

school,suchasattendingmeetingsattheschool.Theyfoundthat“parentsmakeaninitial

decisiontobeinvolvedintheirchildren’seducationaccordingtotheirbeliefs(i.e.,role

construction,senseofefficacy)andthegeneralopportunitiesanddemandsfor

involvementfromtheschoolandtheirchildren”(2008,p.312).Theydefinerole

constructiontomeanwhatparentsfeeltheyareexpectedtodoasaparentfortheir

childrenandthesenseofefficacyastheparents’beliefthatwhattheydowillhavea

positiveeffectontheirchildren’slearning.

Usingtheseparameters,AndersonandMinke(2007)foundthatwhenparentsare

specificallyinvitedtoparticipateinanyschool‐relatedactivity,theirperceptionoftheir

roleintheeducationoftheirchildchangesbothatschoolandathome.Theyfeelthatthey

nowhaveaneffectontheirchild’slearningandwillstrivetoparticipateinapositiveway.


ThoughAndersonandMinkewerenotabletodeterminedirectcausation,thecorrelationis

enoughtowarrantmoreresearch.

Walker,Wilkins,Dallaire,Sandler,andHoover‐Dempsey(2005)foundthatthe

perceptionofaninvitationcanbejustasimportantastheinvitationitself.Iftheschoolis

ableto“conveytotheparentthathisorherinvolvementiswelcomeandusefulin

supportingstudentlearningandsuccess”thenthiswill“influenceparent’sdecisionsto

becomeinvolved”(2005,p.94).Emailandothertechnology‐basedcommunicationsuchas

aschoolwebsitecanbeaneasyandeffectivewaytoreachouttoparents.Eventaking

somethingthatistraditionallynottechnology‐basedsuchasanewsletterthatissenthome

withthestudentstotheparentscanbemadeintosomethingelectronictohelpensurethat

parentsactuallyreceivetheinformationandcanbeeasilytranslatedforparentsthatdonot

speakEnglishasaprimarylanguage.

RogersandWright(2008)pointoutthatasstudentsgrowolder,parentsmustmake

thesametransitionsthattheirstudentsmustfromelementaryschoolwherecontactis

limitedtoasingleteacherwhoreallyknowsthestudenttomiddleschoolwherethereare

nowseveralteachersthatonlyinteractwiththestudentforashortamountoftimeinthe

day.Demandsincreaseforbothparentsandteachersanditbecomesevenmoreimportant

foroneofthemtoinitiatecontact.CMCallowsparentstosendasingleemailtoallofthe

student’steacherstoaskhowtheirstudentisdoinginsteadofattemptingtocalleach

teacherseparately.Ofcoursethereverseisalsotrueforateacheriftheteachercan

determineaneasyandeffectivewaytogatheremailaddressesfromparentsearlyinthe

year.


AndersonandMinke(2007)foundthatparentalinvolvementisdefineddifferently

byparentsandteachers.Teacherstendtodefineparentalinvolvementasactualcontact,

whetheritbeface‐to‐faceortechnology‐based,becausetheyareabletoacknowledgeit.

However,parentalinvolvementcanalsobeunknowntoteachers,becauseittakesplacein

thehome.Parentswhohavedifficultworkschedulesmaynotseemasinvolvedsincethey

arenotabletoattendeventslikeback‐to‐schoolnight,butinrealitycouldbeinvolvedwith

helpingstudentswithschoolworkathome.

Parentswhoactivelyusetheonlinegradebooktomonitortheirstudent’sacademic

progressmaynotoftencontactteachersbecausetheyfeelthattheyalreadyhaveallthe

informationthattheyrequire.Unfortunately,thislackofcommunicationbetweenparents

andteachersmaybeperceivedasalackofinvolvementbyteacherswhentherealityisthat

theyaresimplyunawareofit.Thereversecanalsobetrue,whereteachersfeelthat

becausetheyarepostingtheirgradesonlinethatfurthercommunicationmaynotbe

necessary.

Case Study Discussion

Acasestudywasconductedtocomparethedifferenceinparentresponseto

traditionalmethodsofcommunicationandtoelectronicmethodsofcommunication.

Participantsincludedparentswhohaveachildinthe9thgrade.Theresearcherssoughtto

determineifelectroniccommunicationincreasesparentalinvolvementand,ifso,why.

Parentswereaskedtoparticipateinasurveyabouttheiruseofadistrictonlinegradebook.

Asurveywassenttoapproximately400parentsofstudentsinthe9thgradeofa

singlesuburbanhighschool.Therearenearly1600studentsenrolledinthehighschool

with15.5%ofthestudentsenrolledinfreeorreducedlunch.Parentsofstudentsinthe9th


gradeweremailedasurveyabouttheiruseoftheonlinegradebooksystem.Theprimary

purposeofthesurveywastodetermineifparentshadinitiatedcontactandcommunicated

withateacherbecauseofinformationthatwaspostedontheonlinegradebook.The

natureofthesurveyalsoallowedawiderangeofdatatobegatheredaboutrelatedtopics,

suchashowparentschoosetocommunicatewithteachersandifparentswereawareofall

ofthefeaturesoftheonlinegradebooksystem.

Theresponsestothesurveyweredesignedtodetermineifparentsknowaboutthe

onlinegradebooksystemandwhatreasonstheremaybeforparentstonotusethesystem.

Theremainderofthedatacollectedfromthesurveyallowedtheresearcherstodetermine

ifparentinvolvementhasincreasedfromtheonlinegradebooksystem.

Theresearchersmailed395surveysandreceived89responses(23%),48(54%)

fromparentsorguardiansofamalestudentand41(46%)fromparentsorguardiansofa

femalestudent.Eighteen(20%)oftheresponseswerefromsingle‐parentfamilies,while

71(80%)oftheresponseswerefromdouble‐parentfamilies.Thisisfairlyconsistentwith

theknowndemographicsoftheschoolpopulation.Themajorityoffamilies,72(83%),had

beenlivinginthedistrictforfourormoreyearsandbecausetheonlinegradebooksystem

becamefullyoperationalthreeyearsprior,mostrespondentswouldhaveexperiencedthe

schooldistrictwithoutthistechnologyforatleastoneyear.

The results of the survey showed that the majority of respondents 70 (85%) use email as

their primary form of communication with teachers, with a small percentage still using the

telephone, 7 (9%). One of the respondents did comment that he or she preferred to use the

telephone but primarily used email at the request of teachers.


Anoverwhelmingnumber,87(98%)oftherespondentsknewabouttheonline

gradebooksystem.Outofthe87respondentsthatwereawareoftheonlinegradebook

system,80(90%)hadloggedontothesystembefore.Outofallninerespondentsthathad

notloggedonbefore,5(56%)saidthattheydidnotfeeltheneedtousetheonline

gradebooksystem,2(22%)didnotknowhowtologontothesystem,1(11%)didnothave

ausernameorpassword,and1(11%)didnothaveachancetologonyet.Noneofthe

responsesstatedthattheydidnothaveconsistentaccesstotheinternet.

Parentsorguardianswhohadusedtheonlinegradebooksystemwerethenasked

aboutthefrequencyoftheiruseandhowtheirusemayhaveaffectedtheircommunication

withteachers.Sixty‐fivepercentofparentsorguardianslogintotheonlinegradebook

systemdailyorweekly,outofthe80thathaveeverloggedin.Table1indicatesthe

reportedaverageusage.

Table 1: Reported Use of Online Gradebook System

Daily Weekly Biweekly Monthly Rarely

20 32 8 11 9

25% 40% 10% 14% 11%

Parents were asked if a poor grade or a “missing” on an assignment had ever prompted

them to contact the teacher. To this question, 58% responded that they had, while 42%

responded that they had not. The respondents that reported contacting a teacher about a poor

grade were asked about the frequency of contact because of the poor grade. Out of the parents or

guardians that had contacted a teacher regarding a poor grade on an assignment, 73% stated that

they only contacted the teacher if the student’s overall grade was poor, while 13% stated that


they only contacted the teacher if the poor grade was on a major assignment. Finally, 15% stated

that they contacted the teacher every time there was a poor grade posted.

Anotherimportantfeatureoftheonlinegradebooksystemisthatparentscansign

upfor“missingassignment”alertsthatautomaticallysendanemailtotheparentifan

assignmentismarkedmissing.Parentswereaskediftheywereawareofthisfeatureandif

so,iftheyusedit.Table2indicatesthatthemajorityofparentswereunawareofthis

feature.Table3demonstratesthatparents,whoareawareofthefeature,generallyuseit.

Table 2: Are Parents or Guardians Aware of the Missing Assignment Alert?

Yes No

30 52

37% 63%

Table 3: Do Parents or Guardians Use the Missing Assignment Alert Feature?

Yes No

22 7

76% 24%

Comparingthedatabygender,theresearcherscanmakecomparisonsintheuseof

theonlinegradebookandsubsequentcontactwithteachers.Figure1showsthatparents

orguardiansofmalestudentsweremorelikelytochecktheonlinegradebooksystemmore

frequentlywith69%respondingthattheycheckedatleastweekly,whileonly60%of

parentsorguardiansoffemalestudentsdidso.


Figure 1: Comparing frequency of gradebook use by parents and guardians based on

gender of student

Thistrendcontinuedasparentsorguardianswereaskediftheycontactedteachers

aboutgradespostedonline.Abouthalfofparentsorguardiansoffemalestudentshad

contactedateacher,while65%ofparentsorguardiansofmalestudentshad.Figure2

showsthatparentsorguardianswithamalestudentweremorelikelytocontactthe

teacheraboutapoorgrade.

Figure 2. Comparing parent or guardian contact based on gender of student

Male, 33% Male, 36%

Male, 9% Male, 11% Male, 11%

Female, 14%

Female, 46%

Female, 11%Female, 17%

Female, 11%

Daily Weekly Biweekly Monthly Rarely

Frequency

Per

cen

tage

Male, 65%

Male, 35%

Female, 49%

Female, 51%

Yes No

Per

cen

tag

e


Finally,Figure3showsthatoutofparentsorguardiansthatknowaboutthe

“missingassignment”alert,93%ofparentsorguardiansofmalestudentsusedthefeature,

whileonly57%ofparentsorguardiansoffemalestudentsdid.Thisclearlyshowsatrend

ofparentalinvolvementbasedonthegenderofthestudent.Furtherstudyiswarrantedin

thisarea.

Figure 3. Comparing the use of the missing assignment alert based on gender of student

Will Parent Involvement Increase with Digital Communication?

Ifparentsareawareofandusetheonlinegradebooksystem,theyhaveincreased

involvementintheirchildren’slearningimmediately.Loggingintothesystemaffords

parentsanopportunitytoaccessgradesthatwerepreviouslyonlyavailablefourtimesa

yearwithareportcard.Sixty‐fivepercentofparentswhousetheonlinegradebooksystem

logondailyorweekly.Withabout40‐weeksinanaverageschoolyear,thiseffectively

increasesthefrequencyofgradeaccessten‐fold.Evenifparentsdonotusethis

informationtocontactateacher,simplyknowinginformationabouttheirchildren’sgrades

allowsmoreactiveinvolvementinthestudents’academics.Thompson(2008)alsofound

thatthefactthatstudentsknowthattheirparentshaveeasyaccesstotheirgrades,

Male, 93%

Male, 7%

Female, 57%

Female, 43%

Yes No

Per

centa

ge


whetheritbethroughanonlinegradebooksystemoremailsbetweenparentsand

teachers,candrasticallyimprovetheireffortinschool.

Onlinegradebooksalsoallowforbetterunderstandingofhowanoverallgradeis

earnedoverthecourseofamarkingperiodorentireschoolyear.Traditionalreportcards

onlyshowfinalaverages,buttheydonotshowspecificstrengthsandweaknessesofa

student.AstudentearningaCinaclasscouldbeastudentthatdoeswellonquizzesand

testsinclassbutdoesnotcompleteanyworkoutsideorschool.Likewise,astudentcould

dopoorlyonquizzesandtests,butearnaCfromotherworkfortheclass.Bothofthese

studentswouldneedtofocusonvastlydifferentskillstoimprovetheirgrades,butwith

onlyalettergrade,aparentorstudentwouldnotbeabletodeterminewhatneedstobe

done.Whilethisisnotguaranteed,aparentwhohasaccesstothisinformationcouldbe

morelikelytostartaconversationwithhisorherchildaboutacademics.

Theonlinegradebooksystemalsohasafeaturethatautomaticallysendsanemail

notificationtoparentswhenanassignmentismarkedasmissingbyateacher.Simply

usingthisfeatureshowsanincreaseinparentinvolvementbecauseitautomatically

reachesouttotheparent.Asurprisinglylargepercentage,63%ofparentsorguardians,

arenotawareofthe“missingassignment”alertfeature,butoutoftheparentsorguardians

whoareawareofit,76%,usethefeature.Thisleadstheresearcherstobelievethatif

parentswereawareofthe“missingassignment”alertfeature,mostwoulduseit.

Will Digital Communication Such as an Online Gradebook Prompt Parents to Initiate

Communication with Teachers?


Theresearchersfoundthat58%ofparentswhousetheonlinegradebooksystem

havecontactedateacherbecauseofagradethatwasposted.Thisshowsthatifparentsare

givenaccesstotheinformation,manyofthemwilluseittoinitiatecontactwithateacher.

Benoit(2008)foundsimilarinformationinherstudywhereparentswhoweresent

progressreportsfeltmoreinvolvedwiththeirchild’sacademicsandwould,therefore,be

morelikelytoinitiateandcontinueconversationswithteachers.

Oftheparentswhohadcontactedateacherbecauseofagradethatwasposted,15%

oftheseparentscontactedtheteachereverytimeapoorgradewaspostedand13%

contactedtheteacherifthepoorgradewasamajorassignment,showingadefinite

increaseinparent‐teachercommunication.Eventheremaining73%whoonlycontacteda

teacherifanoverallgradewaspoorcommunicatedwithteachersmoreoftenthanthey

wouldhaveifthisinformationhadnotbeenavailable.Thompson(2008)foundthatgrades

werethemostcommonreasonthatparentsemailedateacher.Thiscorrelatestothe

informationcollectedbytheresearchers;parentswerepromptedtocontactateacher

becauseoftheinformationtheywereabletofindthroughtheonlinegradebooksystem.

Thompson(2008)alsofoundthatparentstendedtoinitiatecommunicationwith

teachersbecausetheywereresponsibleforfewerchildren.Thoughtheyrecognizedthatit

wasunreasonableforateachertocontacteveryparentforeverypoorormissing

assignment,theydidwishthatteacherswouldinitiatecontactmoreoften.Similarly,the

researcherfoundthattheonlinegradebookallowsforthatinformationtobeavailabletoa

parent,essentiallyinitiatingaconversation.

Which Form of Communication is Most Preferred by Parents?


Anoverwhelming85%ofparentsrespondedthatemailisthemostcommonmethod

ofcommunicationusedtocontactteachers.Withfreeandeasilyavailableemailservices,

thisisnotasurprise,especiallybecauseteachersareprovidedwithanemailaddress

throughtheschooldistrict.Thisallowsforbothparentsandteacherstocommunicateat

anytimeofdaywithoutteachershavingtogiveapersonalphonenumbertostudentsor

parents.

Manyparentsmayuseemailprimarilybecausetheypreferit,buttheresearchers

foundthatseveralparentsspecifiedonthesurveythattheypreferredatelephonecall,but

theyusedemailbecauseitwastheteacher’spreference.Furthermore,teachersmaynot

haveexplicitlystatedthatemailwaspreferred,butparentsfoundabetterandfaster

responsetoanemailbecauseeachpartycouldrespondwhentheyhadthetime.Also,ifa

parentwasalreadyonlinetocheckthegrades,thenitwouldbeeasiertosimplyemailthe

teacherthantofindthetelephoneextensionandleaveamessage.Thiscoincideswiththe

studyconductedbyRogersandWright(2008).Theyfoundthatnearlyallteachers

preferredemail,whilemostparentspreferredmoretraditionalmethodsofcommunication

becausetheyseemedtobemorepersonal.

Are Parents Aware of the Online Gradebook System and if so, What Other Factors Might

Deter Them from Using It?

Ninety‐eightpercentofparentswhorespondedtothesurveywereawareofthe

onlinegradebooksystem,whichwasexpectedastheonlinegradebookhasbeeninusefor

twoschoolyears.Butoutofthat98%,8%hadneverloggedintothesystem.Themost

commonreasonfornotusingtheonlinegradebooksystemwasthatparentsdidnotfeel

theneedtouseitbecausetheytrustedtheirchildandfeltthatitwastheirchild’s


responsibilitytokeeptrackofhisorhergrades.Oneparticipantevenstatedthat“IfIam

alwayscheckinguptoseeifmychilddidhis/herwork,he/shewon’tlearnresponsibilityor

consequence.”Thompson(2008)foundthatwhilemoststudentshadanegativeviewof

communicationbetweenparentsandteachers,theoneswhohadapositiveresponseoften

didbecauseitpassedtheburdenofresponsibilitytotheparent.

Thesecondmostcommonresponsewasthattheparentdidnotknowhowtolog

ontothesystemordidnothaveausernameorpassword.Thisshowsabreakdowninthe

communicationprocessfromtheschooltothehome.Whileitispossiblethattheschool

inadvertentlymissedtheseparticularfamilieswhensendinghomeinformation,itismore

likelythattheinformationwassomehowlost,intercepted,ormisunderstoodbytheparent.

Finally,noparentsrespondedthattheydidnothaveconsistentaccesstointernet.

Whilethisdoesnotmeanthateveryfamilyhasconsistentaccesstotheinternetinthe

entireschooldistrict,itissafetoassumetheresponsestothesurveyarearepresentation

ofthedistrictandthatthepercentageoffamilieswithoutinternetisrelativelylow.Thisis

incontrasttowhatRogersandWright(2008)foundintheirstudy.Theyfoundthat

parentswerenotusingtechnologybasedmethodsofcommunicationbecausetheydidnot

haveaccesstotheinternet.Thiscanbeexplainedbythedifferenceinsocio‐economic

statusofthefamiliessurveyedforeachstudy.

Summary

Thepurposeofthisstudywastodeterminetheeffectsoftheonlinegradebook

systemoncommunicationbetweenparentsorguardiansandteachers.Theinherent

natureoftheonlinegradebooksystemleadsitselftoopeningconversationswithinthe

familyaboutacademicsandhasbeenshowntoextendthatconversationtotheschoolas


well.Whilesomeparentsstillelecttonotusethetechnologythatisbeingofferedtothem,

theparentswhodohaveincreasedcommunicationwithteachersandhavealsobecome

moreinvolvedintheirchild’seducation.Notallparentsareawareofallofthefeaturesof

theonlinegradebooksystemsuchasthe“missingassignment”alert,butmostwhodo

knowaboutituseit.

Aftercompletingthestudy,theresearchersproposethefollowing

recommendations:

ForAdministrators

o Providemoreprofessionaldevelopmentthroughouttheentireyearwhen

implementingnewtechnologysoteachershaveanopportunitytolearnhowto

usethesystemovertime

o Provideparentswithworkshopstoassisttheminusingtheonlinegradebook

systemandthefeaturesitoffers.

o Createschool‐widestandardsforgradeandassignmentpostingandusingthe

onlinegradebooktocreateuniformityandcommonexpectation.

ForTeachers

o Usetheonlinegradebookconsistentlyandcommunicatehabitstoparentssuch

asalwaysupdatingthegradesatcertaintimeintervals.

o Donotreplaceeffectivecommunicationwiththeonlinegradebook;rather,useit

toenhancecommunication.

o Encourageparentsandstudentstochecktheonlinegradebookfrequentlyby

providingincentivessuchasextracredit.


o Updatetheonlinegradebooktoreflectpresentandfutureassignments,notjust

gradedassignments,soitcanbeusedtoplanahead.

Ifparentssimplylogintotheonlinegradebooksystem,thentheyhavealready

increasedtheirinvolvementintheirchild’slearning.Havingtheinformationreadily

availableisthefirstmotivatortoopeningdiscussionbothathomeandschool.The

researchersfoundthatmorethanhalfoftheparents,ifgivenaccesstoacademic

information,willinitiatecommunicationwithateacher,thoughtheamountof

communicationvariedquiteabit.Similartotheinformationfoundinpreviousstudies,

parentspreferredonlinecommunicationforstraightforwardinformation,suchasgrades

butcontinuedtoprefermorepersonalmethodsofcommunicationforsensitiveissues,such

asbehaviororlearningissues.

52

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