CAUSATIVE FACTORS AND LEARNING RELATED TO PARENT PARTICIPATION. DENVER-STANFORD PROJECT ON THE CONTEXT OF INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION, REPORT NUMBER 13.

DURING THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF THE PROJECT, PARENTS OF FIFTH-GRADE SPANISH STUDENTS WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE BY VIEWING THE TELEVISED INSTRUCTION WITH THE CHILD, PRACTICING SPANISH WITH HIM AT HOME, AND USING THE PARENT GUIDEBOOK AND PHONOGRAPH RECORD PROVIDED FOR THE COURSE. THE SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN OF PARENT PARTICIPANTS ON LISTENING COMPREHENSION TESTS CLEARLY INDICATED THAT IN THIS WAY PARENTS CAN ENHANCE THEIR CHILDREN'S LEARNING, BUT A PRECISE UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACTORS INVOLVED WAS LACKING. ACCORDINGLY, A QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTERED IN FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS WITH 200 PARENT PARTICIPANTS OBTAINED INFORMATION ON THE EXTENT OF INVOLVEMENT IN EACH OF THE ACTIVITIES, ATTITUDES TOWARD THE PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECT ON FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. NUMEROUS TABLES PRESENTED HERE EXPLORE THE SIGNIFICANCE AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS EXISTING AMONG ALL THESE FACTORS, AND YIELD THE FOLLOWING GENERAL CONCLUSIONS--(1) PARENT PARTICIPATION IMPROVED STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE EVEN WHEN ISOLATED FROM BACKGROUND FACTORS, AND PRODUCED A GENERAL MOTIVATIONAL INCREASE WHICH AFFECTED THEIR TOTAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE, (2) IT TENDED TO INCREASE FAMILY UNITY, (3) PARENTS' EDUCATION AND PREVIOUS TRAINING IN SPANISH WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS AFFECTING PARTICIPATION. FOR COMPANION DOCUMENTS SEE ALSO FL 000 147, FL 000 813, AND FL 000 821. (RW)