Students at the Center: Student Voice in Parental Involvement and School-Family Partnerships

This essay summarizes the literature on the differences in perceptions between adolescent students and parents of parental involvement in education and discusses how such different perceptions are linked to students' academic achievement and other outcomes. We present psychological research on why students' perceptions of parental involvement are stronger predictors of academic outcomes than parents' perceptions. We then highlight empowering student voice as a strategy to improve parental involvement and school-family partnership practices, programs, and policies. Research on student-led parent-teacher conferences is discussed as a real-world example of students actively engaging in school-family interactions. We recommend evidence-based strategies that school leaders and teachers can use to support students in playing an active role in improving school-family partnerships. We conclude by describing gaps in existing research that will benefit from future research on the topic.