Parent-School Trust and the Parent-School Relationship: A Cross-sectional Study of a South Dakota Middle School

Parents, teachers, and administrators play a vital role in student success at the middle school level. The purpose of this non-experimental cross-sectional correlational study was to describe the relationship between parent-school trust and the parent-school relationship topics of family engagement, school fit, family support, family efficacy, student learning behaviors, school climate, student grit, barriers to engagement, roles and responsibilities, and school safety at the middle school level. The aim of this dissertation in practice was to develop benchmarks and engagement strategies for the public school district that was the focus of this study. A survey was completed by 94 parents, teachers, and administrators from a public middle school in South Dakota, using McAllister’s 11-item Interpersonal Trust Scale and the Panorama Education Family-School Relationship Survey. Pearson bivariate correlations revealed statistical significance for all participants when examining the relationship between trust and various aspects of the parent-school relationship, including school fit, family efficacy, student learning behaviors, school climate, barriers to engagement, and school safety. A regression analysis controlling for demographic variables found that household income was the only statistically significant control variable. This dissertation in practice is divided into three main sections: (1) the proposal with complete literature review, (2) a submission-ready manuscript with the complete results, and (3) a practitioner recommendation plan, including my reflections as a practitioner-scholar, and my leadership philosophy statement. Continued exploration of parent-school trust may help strengthen the parent-school relationship.

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Musick, Lacey

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bloomquist, Candace

• middle schools
• parent school relationship
• partnerships in education
• trust (psychology)

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://cdr.creighton.edu/handle/10504/161571

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/161571