Teacher Competencies Related to Family Engagement: The Impact on Families

Author

Melissa Kay WilliamsonFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

12-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Irma Harper

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

J. Scott Self

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Lisa D. Hobson

Abstract

Although there is a large body of research that addresses the essential elements of family engagement, little information was available on the impact that a family engagement program had on teacher evaluation and familial self-efficacy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to assess teacher competencies and family self-efficacy in a large urban district in West Texas. The research was conducted by gathering baseline data using questionnaires derived from the Measure of School, Family, and Community Partnerships survey and the 2015 Equitable Parent-School Collaboration Research Project University of Washington. In-depth interviews followed with both teachers and parents. Findings indicated that cognition, connection, communication, capabilities, and confidence were critical to the success of the teacher, and can impact their yearly evaluation. For teachers, this study implies that campus leaders should strive to purposefully embed intentional professional learning that provides background information and best practices on engaging families in order to build their knowledge and confidence to use family engagement as a strategy to support teachers as well as children. Moreover, the willingness of the teacher to use family engagement as a support strategy surfaced as well. Additional findings indicated that a campus environment that was developmental, collaborative, and relational supported building confidence and self-efficacy within the family. For parents, this study suggested that through a connection with the school campus, they were able to increase their knowledge and work together with the school campus to support their children’s learning. Ultimately, it is the principal and faculty who must extend themselves to families in order for the families to view themselves as equal partners in the education journey.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Williamson, Melissa Kay, "Teacher Competencies Related to Family Engagement: The Impact on Families" (2019). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 190.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/190