Primary School Teachers' Perspectives on Parent-Teacher Engagement in a Rural Title I Charter School District in the Southeast

Children learn more effectively when parent-teacher engagement is high and homeschool communication and collaboration are optimal. The problem addressed in this study was a lack of parent-teacher engagement in two Title I primary schools within a charter school system located in a rural area of the Southeast. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore primary teachers' perspectives on parent-teacher engagement in a rural Title I charter school system in the Southeast. Epstein's parental involvement model and Vygotsky's social constructivist theory formed the conceptual framework. Research questions focused on teachers' perspectives on parent-teacher engagement and strategies encourage this. Purposeful and snowball sampling were used to recruit 12 teachers at a Title I charter system primary school with 3 or more years' experience, fully certified, with a bachelor's degree. Semistructured interviews were conducted face-to-face and audio recorded. Thematic analysis was completed using Braun and Clarke's six-step approach. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) parents engage using their communication, collaboration, decision-making, and volunteering skills; (b) parent-teacher engagement is affected by community, culture, and socioeconomics; (c) teachers use parental involvement programs, teacher support, and school resources to increase parent-teacher engagement; and (d) teachers use students' culture and home visits to engage parents. In Title I charter schools, understanding parent-teacher engagement dynamics from the teachers' perspective is valuable for designing educational interventions. Policymakers may use these findings to promote positive social change, influencing policies and practices that enhance the educational experiences for students and foster stronger parent-student engagement. [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.]