Degree Date

4-2024

Document Type

Dissertation - Public Access

Degree Name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Academic Discipline

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Stephanie Shames

Second Advisor

Sarah Lukas

Abstract

Parent and family engagement has become an essential part of education reform for schools across the United States. There were over 50 years of research on the topic and its impact on student achievement. The purpose of my evaluation was to study how implementing specific parent and family engagement activities at Title I elementary schools affected the reading achievement of fourth-grade students. The context of this inquiry was a large urban public school district where Parent Engagement Liaisons (PEL) were placed in Title I schools to coordinate the district-directed Parent and Family Engagement (PFE) program. I used a mixed-methods design that included interviews and extant data from the state end-of-year assessment. I interviewed administrators, teachers, and PELs at five Title I elementary schools. The findings of my qualitative research were that administrators, teachers, and PELs believed that PFE positively affected students’ academic achievement. I collected extant data for the 2021-2022 school year that showed improvement in student achievement levels from the previous year. Although my research participants had the perception that PFE positively affected student achievement, due to a lack of individual student PFE data, there was no clear relationship between parent and family engagement and fourth-grade student reading achievement. Qualitative data revealed inconsistencies in the implementation of the district’s PFE program at Title I elementary schools. My recommendation was for the PFE department to create a blueprint and timeline for each school to follow and to provide consistent professional learning on effective PFE to teachers and school administrators.

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