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- “What We Think,” An In-Depth Research Study on Urban School Climate
“What We Think,” An In-Depth Research Study on Urban School Climate
- By National School Boards Association
- Published 04/29/2008
- Commentaries and Reports
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“What We Think,” An In-Depth Research Study on Urban School Climate
Involving parents, families, and communities in the education of their children is imperative for all schools. The potential for parents and families to be skillful, knowledgeable, and effective partners, capable of ensuring that their children receive the quality of education to which they are entitled, should be a goal of every school system.
Research confirms that regardless of the economic, racial or cultural background of the family, when parents are partners in their children’s education, the results are improved studentachievement, higher test scores and grades, better attendance, more completion of homework, more positive attitudes and behavior, higher graduation rates, and greater enrollment in higher education.
Parental and family involvement is equally critical to school climate—the impressions, beliefs, and expectations about a school as a learning environment. School climate plays a critical role in the academic development of the student learner, and parents and families strongly influence that climate.
What We Think is the third school climate survey conducted by the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education. It follows last year’s Where We Teach, which surveyed 5,100 teachers and administrators to solicit their perspectives on the urban learning experience. The first report in the CUBE school climate series, Where We Learn, shared how students felt about their school environment through a survey of 32,000 urban students, the largest study conducted on urban school climate in public education.
With questions that mirror those of the student and teacher/administrator surveys, the third phase of this project solicited similar perspectives from parents and W H A T W E T H I N K
families about school climate. The report shares parent and family perceptions of seven major themes: parental involvement; expectations for success; safety; trust, respect, and ethos of caring; bullying; community welfare; and the importance of race.
Brian Perkins, CUBE’s Steering Committee past chair and school board president in New Haven, Connecticut, served as the principal investigator for all three studies, with the assistance of CUBE’s Urban Student Achievement Task Force. Dr. Perkins is professor of Education Law and Policy in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Southern Connecticut State University and adjunct professor at Columbia University, Teachers College.
The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) provided invaluable input on the shared recommendations included in this report. The recommendations correlate with the seven themes addressed in What We Think, and provide a collective perspective on the importance of asking the opinions of parents and families about school climate.
They also promote effective school, parent, and family partnerships, where both school and home share responsibility for children’s learning.
It is our hope that the results and shared recommendations of this study will encourage urban school boards to respond to the needs of parents and families and provide the supports necessary for them to be involved in their children’s learning.
Complete article
Research confirms that regardless of the economic, racial or cultural background of the family, when parents are partners in their children’s education, the results are improved studentachievement, higher test scores and grades, better attendance, more completion of homework, more positive attitudes and behavior, higher graduation rates, and greater enrollment in higher education.
Parental and family involvement is equally critical to school climate—the impressions, beliefs, and expectations about a school as a learning environment. School climate plays a critical role in the academic development of the student learner, and parents and families strongly influence that climate.
What We Think is the third school climate survey conducted by the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education. It follows last year’s Where We Teach, which surveyed 5,100 teachers and administrators to solicit their perspectives on the urban learning experience. The first report in the CUBE school climate series, Where We Learn, shared how students felt about their school environment through a survey of 32,000 urban students, the largest study conducted on urban school climate in public education.
With questions that mirror those of the student and teacher/administrator surveys, the third phase of this project solicited similar perspectives from parents and W H A T W E T H I N K
families about school climate. The report shares parent and family perceptions of seven major themes: parental involvement; expectations for success; safety; trust, respect, and ethos of caring; bullying; community welfare; and the importance of race.
Brian Perkins, CUBE’s Steering Committee past chair and school board president in New Haven, Connecticut, served as the principal investigator for all three studies, with the assistance of CUBE’s Urban Student Achievement Task Force. Dr. Perkins is professor of Education Law and Policy in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Southern Connecticut State University and adjunct professor at Columbia University, Teachers College.
The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) provided invaluable input on the shared recommendations included in this report. The recommendations correlate with the seven themes addressed in What We Think, and provide a collective perspective on the importance of asking the opinions of parents and families about school climate.
They also promote effective school, parent, and family partnerships, where both school and home share responsibility for children’s learning.
It is our hope that the results and shared recommendations of this study will encourage urban school boards to respond to the needs of parents and families and provide the supports necessary for them to be involved in their children’s learning.
Complete article
