Chapter 3: Building Social Capital for Parents and Families Through School Leadership

Research has found that parent, family, and community involvement is instrumental in addressing school dropout rates and promoting student motivation as well as higher educational aspirations (Barton, 2003). For students at both the elementary and secondary level, regardless of the parent’s education, family income, or background, parent involvement affects academic achievement across all races (Jeynes, 2003). Students come to school with diverse needs, abilities and backgrounds. These diverse characteristics can influence students’ varying levels of social capital, which can be essential in fostering academic success and closing achievement gaps. Parents too, possess diverse characteristics and bring varying levels of social capital as they attempt to navigate their child’s education. For some parents, the pathway to their child’s academic trajectory is clear—they visit, question, research, and make informed decisions. Others, may lack a basic awareness of how to approach such critical choices in the development of their child’s academic life.