Teacher Beliefs about the Importance of Specific Involvement Practices
Last updated: May, 2005


This scale is reported in Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Jones and Reed (2002). It was adapted from Epstein, Salinas & Horsey (1994), Epstein (1986), Stipek (D. Stipek, pers. comm., December 1998) and from a local program-wide evaluation effort as reported in Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2002). The scale assesses teacher beliefs about the importance of specific involvement practices.

The measure employs a six-point, Likert-type scale: 1=disagree very strongly, 2=disagree, 3=disagree just a little, 4=agree just a little, 5=agree, 6=agree very strongly

Alpha reliability as reported in Hoover-Dempsey, et al. (2002) = .90 (pre-test), .94. (post-test).
 
Participants were asked to respond to the following prompt:
“In this section, please indicate HOW MUCH YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the statements.”

  

1.	Having a conference with each of my students’ parents at least once a year.
2.	Contacting parents about their children’s problems or failures.
3.	Contacting parents when their children do something well or improve.
4.	Involving parents as volunteers in my classroom.
5.	Telling parents about the skills their children must learn in each subject I teach.
6.	Providing specific activities for parents to do with their children in order to improve their grades. (revised)
7.	Giving parents ideas about discussing specific TV shows with their children.
8.	Assigning homework that requires parents to interact with their children.
9.	Suggesting ways to practice spelling or other skills at home before a test.
10.	Asking parents to listen to their children read.
11.	Asking my students’ parents to help the child with homework.
12.	Asking my students’ parents to ask the child about the school day.
13.	Inviting my students’ parents to visit my classroom.
14.	Asking my students’ parents to take the child to the library or community events.
15.	Giving parents ideas to help them become effective advocates for their children.
16.	Sending home ‘letters’ telling parents what the children have been learning and doing in class.

References:

Epstein, J.L. (1986). Parents’ reaction to teacher practices of parent involvement. Elementary School Journal, 86, 277-294.

Epstein, J.L., Salinas, K.C., & Horsey, C.S. (1994). Reliabilities and summaries of scales: School and family partnership surveys of teachers and parents in the elementary middle grades. Baltimore, MD: Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children’s Learning and Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students, Johns Hopkins University.

Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., Walker, J.M.T., Jones, K.P., & Reed, R.P. (2002). Teachers Involving Parents (TIP): An in-service teacher education program for enhancing parental involvement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18 (7), 843-467.