Does Parents’ Valence toward School Relate to their Perceptions of Invitation to School Involvement?

Abstract

Parents’ involvement in children's schooling is usually affected by their prior personal experience with schooling. Thus, if we want to assess parents’ involvement in school activities and their children's learning it is crucial to assess their prior personal experience with schooling. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between parents' self-reported valance toward school and their perceptions of invitations to the involvement of the school, teachers, and their child. The study involved 1176 low-income parents of children from 55 primary schools in four regions in Northern Tanzania. A multivariate linear regression model showed that parents' prior schooling experience (school valence) has a statistically significant effect on parents' perceptions of general invitations from school, teachers, and specific invitations from the child. Results showed that the school attributes could affect the relationship between parents' valence and their perceptions of involvement invitations. Possible interventions to promote inclusive parental involvement through supportive schools will be discussed.