Page 27 - The Inquiry into the Development and Implementation of a Multimedia Resource to Help Improve Parental Involvement in Their Child’s Reading Literacy During the Primary School Years.

and managing parent committees and boards, thus encouraging low involvement.

Therefore, Epstein’s approach (Epstein & Dauber, 1991) was welcomed as it
categorised a variety of methods of involvement in which parents could potentially

engage directly with their child’s education.

The school needs to be proactive in communicating with the parents and

understanding their needs and concerns. A study conducted by Crozier and Davies
(2007) involving eight primary and five secondary schools, found that a poor

understanding of the needs and perspectives of their parent community was one of
the primary reasons parental involvement was not as successful as anticipated.

Parents were reluctant to make initial contact with the schools, preferring to wait for

the schools to contact them. Some parents did not attend the parent-teacher meetings
as they felt they did not possess the tools and understanding to discuss educational

matters with the teachers. Those who did not attend misunderstood the importance of
these meetings, unware that non-attendance would be construed as indifference.

Teachers often reported that they found parents ‘hard to contact’ (Crozier and Davies
2007; Sherbert Research 2009) or unresponsive (De Gaetano 2007). Parents, on the

contrary, often consider their educational involvement with their children are either

undervalued by schools, or have little value in themselves (De Fraja 2010). Although
many barriers exist when trying to build a relationship with the school community, I

pose the question ‘Can technology help overcome some of these barriers and
enhance parental involvement?’

2.5 How Technology Can Enhance Parental Involvement

I will now consider the various technology platforms available to schools to help

facilitate the inclusion of parents and the greater school community.
Parental involvement in the past has been primarily ‘offline’ such as face-to-face

meetings, phone calls and parent volunteering opportunities. The advancements in

technology and eLearning over the past two decades offer an additional medium to
parents. During the 2000s, technology brought more opportunities for parents and

teachers and schools to communicate through the use of email, instant messaging,

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