This study is based on a telephone survey of 1,220 parents with children in public school grades K-12 and a mail survey of 1,000 K-12 public school teachers, both conducted in Fall 1998. The surveys were preceded by eight focus groups with teachers, parents, and teenagers, and more than two dozen interviews with experts and practitioners in relevant fields.

The Survey of Parents

A total of 1,220 telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of households with parents or guardians of children in public school grades K-12. Interviews were conducted between December 10 and 20, 1998, and lasted approximately 30 minutes. Respondents were selected through a standard, random-digit-dialing technique, whereby every household in the continental United States, including those with unlisted numbers, had an equal chance of being contacted. The margin of error for the national random sample of parents is +/- 3 percent; it is higher when comparing percentages across subgroups.

The Survey of Teachers

The mail survey was conducted as follows: On September 15, 1998, a questionnaire was mailed to 5,000 randomly selected K-12 public school teachers in the continental United States; a reminder postcard followed; and this was followed by a second mailing of the questionnaire. A total of 1,000 surveys were returned by November 30, 1998. The sample was stratified by region and urbanicity. Middle and high school teachers were oversampled to insure a sufficient number of responses; when the study reports the views of teachers in general, their responses are weighted down to accurately reflect their proportion of the universe of all public school teachers. The margin of error for the sample of teachers is +/- 3 percent.

As in all surveys, question-order effects and other non-sampling sources of error can sometimes influence results. Steps were taken to minimize these, including extensive pre-testing of both questionnaires through in-person and telephone interviews.

The survey instruments were designed by Public Agenda, which is solely responsible for all analysis and interpretation of the results. The teachers' sample was provided by Market Data Retrieval, Inc.; the parents' sample was provided by Survey Sampling, Inc. Both surveys were fielded by Robinson and Muenster Associates, Inc. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Focus Groups and Expert Interviews

Focus groups allow for an in-depth, qualitative exploration of the dynamics underlying attitudes toward complex issues. Insights from these groups were crucial to the design of the surveys. To give voice to the attitudes captured statistically through the survey, quotes were drawn from the focus groups and from follow-up interviews with survey respondents who had agreed to be re-interviewed.

Eight focus groups were conducted across the country: two with public school teachers, four with parents, and two with teens. The focus groups took place in Chicago, IL; Oakland and San Leandro, CA; Westchester, NY; Birmingham, AL; and Greensboro, NC. In all cases, local professional market research organizations recruited participants to Public Agenda's specifications. All focus groups were moderated by Public Agenda senior staff.

Before conducting the focus groups, Public Agenda interviewed 25 experts in the field to obtain grounding in the current substantive issues concerning parental involvement in education. These experts included researchers, educators, school administrators, and parents, among others. Background research for this study also included a review of the current literature and previous surveys on parental involvement.

Sponsors

Funding for this project was provided by Kraft Foods, an operating company of the Philip Morris Companies, Inc.