Abstract:

Parent involvement has an influence on children’s educational engagement during the elementary years. The objective of this study was to examine the perceptions of rural Turkish parents about their involvement in schooling with elementary school students based on Epstein’s (1995) six types of parental involvement (parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community).  This study also investigated the differences among parent demographic characteristics (education level, income, marital status, and age) and parent involvement at the elementary grade level in rural areas of Turkey.  742 parents of elementary schools in three rural settings in the city of Konya, Turkey completed questionnaires and assessments.  A quantitative analyze method is used to analyze verified data. Findings indicated that family income had a statistically significant impact on combined factors of parent involvement. Education level by Age interaction, Income by Age interaction, and Education level by Income by Age interaction had a statistically significant impact on combined factors of parent involvement. No significant differences were found in parent involvement among parents who are from different education levels, marital status, and age groups in Turkey. This study showed that family income is the most significant factor on parental involvement in schooling for Turkish parents in all regions.

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