Epstein’s Typology

McNeal’s (2012) claim reminds us that much of the research is geared toward parent involvement during the elementary years. Elementary students naturally need more support due to age and correlating development. The natural setting in elementary schools allows for more parent involvement in plays, parties, field trips, and fund-raising, which are usually volunteer

involvement model details how the spheres of influence and six parenting categories affect involvement. Figure 3 depicts how school, family, and community all influence the outcome of a child.

Figure 3. School, family, community creating overlapping spheres of influence

In essence, family, community, and school are integral parts of the support system for students. Epstein labels this model the spheres of influence. The benefit of these three spheres overlapping impacts students. High-quality communication between all spheres “gives a consistent message to students regarding the importance of school and helps youngsters succeed in school and later in life” (Epstein, 1995, p.82).

Because the term, parent involvement, is broad, it can be challenging to clearly define what activities fall into the realm of parent involvement. Volunteering is one way parents get involved. However, other activities such as assisting with homework or studying can also be a way for parents to get involved. Parent involvement does not just occur at school; involvement can take place at home. A partnership between home and school is best when supporting a child. Support is also best when extended in to the community. Epstein’s spheres of influence are valuable, because they give a more definitive way collaboration can be done in a successful partnership. In addition, there are internal and external components to this model. Epstein (1995)

Child

School

Community

Family

explained that the external model allows for some school, family, and community practices to be conducted separately and some to be conducted together. All of these practices support a

student’s learning. “The internal model, which is an interaction among the spheres, shows the complexity and essential interpersonal relations and patterns of influence that occur between school, family and the community” (Epstein, 1995, p.82). It must be noted the student is always in the center as he or she plays the most important role in the educational process. Desandles (2001) describes Epstein’s model as a reciprocal relationship among teachers, families, and students in which the students are active agents in the school-family relationship.

Characteristics indicative of the overlapping spheres of influence are seen throughout a school. The characteristics are experienced daily and schools are “family friendly,” which means they take into account the realities of family life such as working parents (Epstein, 1995). In order for school, parent, and communities to work together schools will have programs in place to create practices that meet the individual needs of the entire school community. Because programs are developed based on the needs of the school community, these programs can look different from site to site. Parent involvement can occur in various ways. To better define parent involvement, Epstein (1995) also created a framework of six major types of parent involvement that allow students at the elementary, middle, and high school level to be successful because school, family, and community work together. This framework advocates for teachers and schools to involve parents. Schools may determine to emphasize one type of involvement more than another based on the desired practices of the teachers and the culture of the school.

Table 1 details each of Epstein’s parenting categories and indicates the types of practices that fall into each category as defined by Parent Education Bridge for Student Achievement

Table 1. Description of Epstein's typology

Categories Exemplary Practices

Parenting  Assist with parenting and child rearing skills

 Assist with understanding child development

 Set home conditions that support children at various stages

 Assist school with understanding families

Communicating  Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-home and home-school communication

Volunteering  Consider recruitment methods, parent’s work schedules, and training to include families as volunteers

 Involve families in the audiences to support students and school programs

Learning at Home  Involve families in the learning process at home

 Develop homework, extension into curriculum and activities that include parents

Decision Making  Include parents in the governance of the school

 Promote advocacy and participation on committees, teams, and parent organizations

Collaborating with Community

 Coordinate community resources to support families

 Provide service to families through local agencies and businesses

Through the use of Epstein’s typology model, researchers can determine parent involvement in schools and determine strengths and areas to improve. Benefits such as increased student achievement, fewer behavior issues, and less truancy are experienced within the school community. Ingram, Wolfe, and Lieberman (2007) used Epstein’s typologies to investigate elements of parent involvement and children’s academic achievement at the elementary level. Epstein’s typology measured the types of involvement prevalent at high achieving, low socio- economic schools. Results indicated parents most often participated in two of the six categories, parenting and learning, at home. Further investigation found barriers to the remaining four types of parent involvement. For example, barriers to volunteering included working parents’

schedules, the inability to contribute to fundraising, or language barriers. Lack of participation in the decision-making process can be due to a parent’s belief that he or she is less educated than teachers and has little to no knowledge to contribute. A parent’s belief that he or she is unable to contribute to the decision-making process directly relates back to Badura’s social cognitive theory. When parents lack self-efficacy, they are less likely to participate in their child’s education. Strengthening activities within the parenting and learning at home categories may directly impact student achievement in a positive manner. However, teachers should also begin to understand the culture of the school community to enhance parent involvement in the remaining four typologies.

Additionally, Barge and Loges (2003) used the framework to determine if parent, student, and teachers’ perceptions of parent involvement were similar. This study was done at the middle level. Although all groups believed parent involvement was important to a student’s academic success, people within the group viewed involvement differently. Parents believed extended communication into the community (support agencies, extracurricular activities, and community organizations) was important to support students. Teachers and students believed communication directly with the student was most important and rarely mentioned the need for parents to extend communication into the community in order to help support his or her child. Developing programs to close the gap between parent, teacher, and student perceptions of parent involvement will enhance the school community.

Research indicates parent involvement in the educational process is important to a child’s success. Researchers (Domina, 2012; Epstein, 1995; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997; and McNeal, 2012) have found that parent involvement can positively impact a student and the

and may change behaviors rather than cognitive ability; however, due to the overwhelmingly positive benefits to students, it is difficult to imagine why a parent may not become involved. In order for teachers to facilitate parent involvement he or she must understand the perceptions of parents. Once there is a better understanding of why parents may not get involved, teachers can work to overcome these barriers and address the needs of a diverse population of parents.