PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND SATISFACTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HIGH-SCHOOL CHARTER SCHOOLS AND TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine parents’ levels of satisfaction with school choice by comparing charter and traditional public schools at the secondary level. The main assumption of the study is that parental satisfaction with school choice is related to parental involvement with children’s education and their views of school-home communication. The study is guided by Bourdieu’s theory of capital to interpret parental involvement efforts and their assessment of school-home communication as ways to acquire social capital for themselves and their children. Epstein’s framework of parental involvement allows for operationalizing the concept with respect to school and out-of-school activities supporting children’s education. The results indicate that charter school parents are more ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse when compared to traditional public-school parents, while less educated, less affluent, and less likely to be homeowners. However, charter school parents are more involved and more satisfied with their child’s school. Furthermore, the study found that the most important predictor of parents’ satisfaction is their positive assessment of school-home communication.