Parental Involvement and Educational Outcomes: The Significance of Institutional Arrangements of Educational System

Numerous studies in the United States have found that various forms of parental involvement in children's education positively affect children's educational outcomes such as high school dropout (McNeal, 1999; Teachman, Paasch, & Carver, 1997), post-secondary educational attainment (Sandefur, Frisco, Faulkner, & Park, 2004), and academic achievement (Epstein, 2001; Ho Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Muller, 1993, 1995). Researchers distinguish two dimensions of parental involvement depending on the context in which parents become involved (Downey, 2002; Ho Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Muller & Kerbow, 1993).¹ The first dimension of parental involvement represents what parents do at home and studies particularly have focused on the extent to which parent–child discussion on children's schooling, parenting style, and parents’ monitoring or rule-setting affect student's academic achievement and behavior. The other dimension of parental involvement includes parent participation in school activities and parent–teacher interaction. In particular, the literature has extensively examined the effects of attending parent–teacher organization (PTO) meetings or school events, and contacting teachers and school officials.