The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company released the Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher: 1998 in May. This series of surveys has been conducted yearly since 1984, with the 1998 survey consisting of separate surveys for teachers and students. Specifically, public school teachers and students were surveyed on:

* Actual versus desired level of parental involvement in education
* Schools' role in encouraging parental involvement in education
* Parental involvement in school policy decisions
* At-home parental involvement in education
* Validity of criticisms commonly made by parents

For 1998, 1,306 students in grades 7-12 were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,305 teachers who teach in middle schools, junior high schools, or high schools. The 1998 survey focused primarily on the various ways parents can be involved with their children's education. According to the findings reported in the Executive Summary, teachers and students are positive overall about the role that parents can and do play in supporting their public schools and their children's education. Specific findings from the report are summarized below.

Students' Perceptions

1. Most students (83%) report that their parents are at least somewhat involved with their education, and most (68%) would like them to remain as involved with their education as they currently are, but they do not want them to become more involved.

2. Students who earn grades below a C are less likely than others to say their parents are involved in their education and are less likely to say they would like their parents to be more involved in their education.

3. Most students (94%) feel that their parents encourage them to do well in school and that they provide them with the practical support necessary to succeed in school.

4. Students who are having trouble academically are less likely to feel that their parents are interested in their daily lives or in their aspirations for the future.

Teachers' Perceptions

1. Most teachers (83%) would like to see the level of parental involvement in their schools increase. These perceptions have not changed since teachers were first asked in 1987. Also, nearly all inner city teachers (95%) would like parents to be more involved.

2. Most teachers outside of urban schools give positive ratings to parent-teacher relations and are satisfied with the frequency of contact they have with their students' parents. Ninety-five percent of teachers in inner city schools feel that parent involvement is lacking.

3. Overall, parents are perceived by teachers to be more readily available and responsive when contact is necessary than ten years ago (63%).

4. More teachers believe that parental involvement in education should occur both in the school and in the home than they did a decade ago.

Perceptions about Encouraging Parental Involvement

1. Teachers overall feel that their schools do a good job of encouraging parental involvement. Teachers working in urban schools feel their schools are doing a better job of encouraging parental involvement. Students tend to be more critical than teachers of their school's performance.

2. Teachers are more likely to favor a wider range of parental involvement in education than ten years ago, but they are split over how much say parents should have in policy decisions affecting the classroom. Fifty-three percent of teachers believe that parents should be kept informed rather than actively consulted about curriculum changes and fifty-five percent of teachers believe that parents should only be informed about homework policies. At the same time, three-fourths of students believe that parents should have some or a lot of input in decisions regarding curriculum and sixty percent believe parents should have input regarding homework assignments.

3. In spite of the findings regarding parental input about curriculum and homework, the majority of teachers are in favor of including parents on committees that oversee school policies. Eighty-seven percent of teachers feel that parents should serve on teams that set school policies.

Perceptions about Common Criticisms of Parents

1. The majority of teachers (54%) and students (67%) feel that parents take too little interest in their children's education. The most frequently cited obstacle that teachers believe students face when doing homework is uninvolved parents and lack of parental support (20%).

2. Fewer urban teachers than in 1987 are critical of the role that parents take with regard to their children's education.

3. Overall, most students felt that their parents are at least somewhat helpful when they are having problems with their school lives or their personal lives. Minority boys are the most likely to report that their parents are very helpful when they seek help with their schoolwork (60%).
The major findings from this survey are available online at: http://www.metlife.org/Companyinfo/Community/Found/Docs/lifesurv.pdf
[NPIN editor's note (7-23-02): this url has changed: http://www.metlife.com/]

In addition, the entire survey is available by mail by writing to:

MetLife
The American Teacher Survey
P.O. Box 807
Madison Square Station
New York, NY 10159-0807

Additional Resources

On the Internet

Understanding Parent Involvement from a Parent's Perspective
http://npin.org/pnews/1998/pnew298/pnew298i.html

A Compact for Learning from the U.S. Department of Education's Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Compact/

National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education: Parent and Community Involvement
http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/library/parent.html [NPIN Editor's note (01-21-03): this URL no longer exits, see: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/library/parent.htm]

The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE)
http://www.ncpie.org/

National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
http://www.pta.org

Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education
http://pfie.ed.gov/ [NPIN Editor's Note (6-26-03): this url has changed: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/pfie/]

Fathers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/fathers/index.html

Multicultural Parents and Families: How You Can Be Involved in Your Child's Education
http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/npin/pnews/pnewn96/pnewn96j.html [Editor's Note (5-10-01): this url has changed: http://www.npin.org/pnews/1996/pnewn96/pnewn96j.html]

In Print

Barber, R. Jerry, & Patin, Debra. (1997). Parent involvement: A two-way street. Schools in the Middle, 6(4), 31-33.

Hoover-Dempsey, Kathleen V., & Sandler, Howard M. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children's education? Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 3-42.

Workman, Susan H., & Gage, Jim A. (1997). Family-school partnerships: A family strengths approach. Young Children, 52(4), 10-14.

Source

Louis Harris and Associates. (1997). The Metropolitan life survey of the American teachers 1998. New York: Louis Harris and Associates, Inc.