School Engagement for Digital Native Parents: Parents' Perceptions of Effective Methods

This quantitative study examined parents' perceptions regarding the use of multiple methods of communication from the school administrator's office. The study took place in one school district in the Midwest with approximately 1900 students. The study used ex post facto data from a district's online parent survey. Responses were analyzed to determine the perceived effectiveness of a school administrator's communication effectiveness for providing information and showing what life is like for students. The study evaluated survey responses to determine if a parents' digital native status predicted what they perceived as effective methods of school communication. The study also looked at the extent parents' perceived effectiveness of a method of communication indicates parents' feelings of engagement in their children's education. A quantitative, inferential statistics approach guided the process of data analysis. The study sought to identify the differences in parent perceptions of effectiveness between communication methods for informational purposes. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to determine whether there were statistically significant differences between the four methods of communication for informational purposes. Of the 452 survey respondents, 110 answered that they were using all four methods of communication to receive information; newspaper, mass communication, social media, and the school website. The analysis indicated social media was the only method of communication found to be statistically significant based on a parent's digital native status. In addition, the data indicated the use of the electronic mass communication to communicate with parents was statistically significant in impacting a parents' perception of engagement. Results from this study suggest that school personnel should keep accurate, up-to-date contact information, utilize social media in the school communication plans, and provide regular features on the page for parents and community members to check daily. School administrator should specifically designate which types of information will be shared on each of the methods of communication as some parents still use the newspaper to find school information. Finally, school communication plans should be reviewed by all school stakeholders and updated frequently to reflect the national trends as digital natives and future generations of technology users become parents. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]