Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Sociology

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

“Family Matters. Or Does It?” uses select data and waves from the 1996-2016 Parents and Family Involvement in Education Surveys to investigate the following research questions in its efforts to probe the influence of familial involvement: (1) Does child behavior influence family involvement; (2) has the effect of family involvement on academic performance persisted over the past two decades; (3) does school selection influence family involvement; and (4) are homeschooling families monolithic in their involvement? Results indicate that behavior has unique associations with involvement, with no support being found for the reactive involvement hypothesis. Family involvement has a generally positive linkage with student academic performance. Familial school selection has a strong association with family sociocultural investment, particularly in the case of homeschoolers. First-choice homeschooling family status was positively associated with sociocultural investment, suggesting that family school selection motivations may influence their level of involvement. This dissertation argues that family involvement is multifaceted and should be probed to tease out further influential factors and forms of involvement.

Date

4-12-2020

Committee Chair

Schafer, Mark

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5236

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