Numerous researchers have found a relationship between parental involvement and measurable gains in student academic achievement. Parental involvement contributes to the overall school-community relationship as well as the child's specific learning (Pena 42). It is the purpose of this essay to discuss the effects of the parental involvement in terms of three family structures·the dual two-parent family, the single parent family, and the father's involvement.
Study after study shows that the stable two-parent family is the ideal crucible for a child's future educational achievement (Hou and Ram 309). The family which has financial and emotional resources to devote to the nurturing upbringing of the child is the type of family that is able to devote engaged parenting, investments of time and attention, and genuine interest in the child's educational achievements. These are the families who are likely to be involved at school and at home, setting a positive example in terms of modeling interest in the community and interest in intellectual and cultural activities (Jones et al 197).
Simple economics are a strong factor. If both parents are in the home, the family is likely to have greater economic resources. Their basic needs are met and there is more to devote to the child in terms of encouragement in the area of schooling. During one year, the poverty rate for families headed by only a mother was 39.2 percent compared with only 7.8 percent for families with both parents present (Carlson and Mclanahan 1). As more families are made up of two parents who work, the economic resources increase, and both parents are likely to take an interest in the child's success at school (Ortiz 132). Intact families are more likely to produce children, which are free from behavior problems, children who are able to function well in the academic, emotional, and behavioral arenas (Hou and Ram 309).
There has been a great deal of research sho...