Interactive Homework for Increasing Parent Involvement and Student Reading Achievement

Childhood Education, Fall 2004 by Battle-Bailey, Lora

Although many researchers report that parental involvement will increase a child's academic achievement (Cooper, Jackson, Nye, & Lindsay, 2001; Epstein, 1994; McCarthey, 2000; Snow, 1999), little research focuses on how parental involvement efforts can be focused to improve parental interactions with students during completion of homework. Yet research indicates that parental interaction during the completion of homework is an important factor for improving parental involvement, thereby improving the home-school connection (Barbour, 1998; Comer & Haynes, 1991; Cooper et al., 2001; Epstein, 1994; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001; McCarthey, 2000; Segel, 1990; Snow, 1999; Swick & Graves, 1993; Taylor & Dorsey-Gaines, 1988). Despite the fact that parents indicate that they want to be involved in their children's schoolwork and researchers recommend such parental involvement, a concomitant increase in children's achievement has not been forthcoming (Epstein, 1994; McCarthey, 2000). In light of this phenomenon, it is important to recognize the variables that keep parents from being more involved in their children's schoolwork. This article will describe Interactive Reading Homework (IRH), a concept I developed during the course of my dissertation study (Bailey, 2002) as a means of increasing parental involvement and student achievement.

For the scope of this review of research, IRH is homework that requires parents to 1) listen to and discuss reading vocabulary lists with students, 2) listen to students' reading while serving as tutors, 3) participate in parent/student discussions related to stories that are instigated by inferential questioning, 4) complete a parental behavior checklist regarding the degree of their involvement in the completion of the IRH assignment, and 5) assemble a reading project intricately related to the reading selection. IRH assignments require students to 1) read and discuss reading vocabulary lists with a parent; 2) read to a parent; 3) participate in a parent/student discussion related to the story, instigated by inferential questioning; and 4) write journal entries to reflect on parent/student discussions (Bailey, 2002).

When designing IRH, the teacher should strive to connect the classroom activities to real-world activities related to children's home lives, thus making schoolwork more meaningful and relevant (Auerbach, 1989). Since they complete home learning assignments away from the teacher's supervision, homework affords students the opportunity to exercise self-direction about when and how to do an assignment, or even whether or not to do an assignment. Through IRH assignments, teachers can encourage parent and sibling participation and create stronger home-school connections (Cooper et al., 2001). Parental interest in an assignment will influence their participation and whether or not students are likely to benefit academically from the assignment. To motivate parental involvement, teachers should structure IRH to facilitate completion, promote self-directedness/self-management, and reflect a diverse population of students.

Using Homework To Improve Home-School Connections and Parental Involvement

Homework is necessary for students' optimal learning (Auerbach, 1989; Barbour, 1998; Cooper et al., 2001; Fagella, 1990; McCarthey, 2000; Ratnesar, 1999; Snow, 1999; Worrell, Gabelko, Roth, & Samuels, 1999). Research-based recommendations for homework assignments can improve parental involvement and thus strengthen home-school connections. This section will address strategies for teachers that will facilitate these home-school connections.

Home literacy bags can be an excellent way to encourage parents to participate in their children's education (Barbour, 1998). At one early childhood center that was being observed, three teachers participated in the development of these bags, which contained various books and homework activities that children and parents could interact with at home. Parents' feedback indicated that the bags' contents encouraged them to read to their children and to realize how their involvement, or lack thereof, affected their children's literacy. Teachers of low-income students should use strategies that allow students to connect their home experiences to their textual reading in school, such as making inferences from reading selections (McCarthey, 1994, 1995). These strategies can include sending books home every night for children and parents to read, and encouraging families to talk about the books after their reading sessions, using natural conversations, and then taking notes on the conversations. The notes should be given to the teacher; these can be compiled in a class library. This strategy has been successfully used to make connections between the child's schoolwork and his school life (Shockley, Michalove, & Allen, 1995).

Fostering social interactions is crucial for developing an understanding of reading activities. Teachers must encourage parents/families to discuss reading materials and reading-related activities with extended family members or friends. Families' willingness to discuss their reading is often used to predict how motivated the family or child will be to continue family reading activities (Alvermann & Guthrie, 1993).