Examining home-school dissonance as a barrier to parental involvement in middle school

Abstract

Home-school dissonance (HSD), or differing values, beliefs, and behavioral expectations between home and school may contribute to variation in parental involvement (Arunkumar, Midgley, & Urdan, 1999). This study utilized data from parent and teacher interviews to examine perspectives on parental involvement and HSD in middle school. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Teachers described a spectrum of HSD ranging from low parental involvement (high-HSD) to high involvement (low-HSD). Although all parents reported involvement in school, some parents described negative experiences related to race and a fear of retaliation from school officials. Schools may benefit by improving policies and practices that decrease HSD, and thus increase parental involvement in schools.

Keywords:

• Home-school dissonance
• middle school
• parental involvement
• qualitative inquiry

Acknowledgement

The first author would like to acknowledge support from the William T. Grant Foundation and the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and Human Development Innovative, Developmental, Exploratory Awards program for partial support of this research.

Notes

1 Minoritized is used to refer to individuals from non-dominant communities. The use of minoritized allows the acknowledgement that minority and majority statuses can be fluid dependent upon various contextual factors (Chappell & Cahnmann-Taylor, 2013).

2 All participants were assigned pseudonyms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lora J. Henderson

Lora Henderson is a postdoctoral research associate with Youth-Nex: The University of Virginia Center to Promote Effective Youth Development housed within the Curry School of Education and Human Development. Her research interests include home-school dissonance and school-based mental health interventions for rural and tribal youth.

Joanna L. Williams

Joanna Lee Williams is an associate professor at the University of Virginia in the Curry School of Education and Human Development. She studies race and ethnicity as social contexts for youth development. She is a faculty affiliate with Youth-Nex.

Catherine P. Bradshaw

Catherine Bradshaw is a professor and the Senior Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and Human Development. Her research focuses on the development of aggressive behavior and school-based prevention. She is a faculty affiliate with Youth-Nex.